Mochi’s terrarium is full of ants. I got home and got a frozen thawed rat ready for her, headed over to her terrarium and then noticed them. Mochi is completely fine, and i have a small carrier for her that she can stay in until we get her substrate replaced. What should i focus on right now and what should be done later this week? All help appreciated!
6 Likes
Oh no! Ants definitely can be the worst sometimes. I’m glad Mochi is okay.
Is it set up as a bioactive? They may have been trying to find a new home or thought something in there was tasty enough to invade.
The easiest thing to do first is to track where they’re coming from. Follow them back to the crack in the wall, door or window and see where they are getting in. You need to know where they are coming from.
You can grab some dish soap and water and do a quick wipe down of that area to disrupt the pheromone trails. That will keep the rest of the ants from following in for a bit.
If the bedding is easy to remove you can just empty the enclosure and give it a good wipe down. If it’s bioactive that’s a lot harder and not something I have experience with …
You can always look into getting a caulk or silicone sealer to close up the area they’re getting in from later if you need to. Or you can get some bait or sprays if you don’t have dogs or cats that may go after it
Iirc diatomaceous earth works well too in the area they’re coming in from if you need something that won’t harm the animals.
4 Likes
Thank you! She doesnt have a bioactive, i can probably clean her enclosure out this week.
4 Likes
I was looking for the main area where they are and i saw mochi’s old thermostat and they are living inside it. When i moved it, they started rushing out with their eggs and stuff. i waited for some of them to get back into the thermostat while i got a plastic bag from the kitchen, and i went back to the terrarium and used tongs to lift the thermostat and placed it in the bag, and then i sealed it. Theres a lot of them in the bag but also some still in the tank and some running for their lives around this room. I think im gonna replace her substrate and hopefully if i dont bring food in this room the remainder of the ants will die? i dont know much about ants…
4 Likes
It would take a while, but yeah they eventually die without the colony. They’ll just kinda wonder around and try to find it again.
That’s wild that they all were in there! Must have been the perfect temp and humidity when the queen found it
3 Likes
Update: Mochi looks stressed but fairly comfortable, and we can probably go get new substrate and replace it today, so she will be back in her comfy house. I might temporarily keep it a bit more dry, and hopefully that will do something to keep the ants from immediately moving back in. I’ll keep updating! ^^ Edit: I was getting some of her fake plants from her enclosure and didnt see any ants antmore? I stirred her substrate around and still nothing. Is she safe to go back in or should i still replace the substrate?
1 Like
You probably don’t have to replace the whole thing since you found the source and was able to remove it. They get out on their own when they realize the neat moved.
If they were down in the substrate for sure then that definitely would have been the case.
Glad Mochi is doing okay after that!
1 Like
Thank you! I’ll move her now! ^^
1 Like