Ants in enclosure.

[DiscoPat]

Today I found a colony of ants that seemed to have popped up overnight in Steve's enclosure. I gave him some night crawlers recently and I am thinking maybe that is where the ants came from.

I am not sure what to think of this. They look like some kind of wood ant. Some are winged.
I believe they're in there for his basking logs.

Should I try to get rid of them or let them be?

[infernalis]

Have any photos?

[formica]

they will die off pretty quick unless you have a fertile queen in there aswell, its very unlikly that you do as they tend to be in the depths of the nest far beyond the reach of anyone digging for worms. the Alates (the winged ones) might try to fly when the time is right (usually september for most Formica spec, wood ants), which could be a pain - that said, if your enclosure is sealed an humid, they wont be syncronised with the weather outside

Formica spec do spray acid - so that might be something to be concerned about, Formic acid can cause tempory blindness and respiritory problems - depends on how many there are tho, if theres a few hundred, then yes you should definitly get rid of them, if its only a few dozen then i wouldnt worry, they will die off quick either way

[DiscoPat]

I don't have any photos yet. I will take some in the morning.

It looked like only a few dozen of them. If I find more is there a safe way to remove them without harming the lizard?

[formica]

Originally Posted by DiscoPat

I don't have any photos yet. I will take some in the morning.

It looked like only a few dozen of them. If I find more is there a safe way to remove them without harming the lizard?

if its only that many, i'd leave them to die off by themselves, as long as they dont have access to sugar then that should be within a few weeks in that enviroment, often quicker if they dont have a fertilized queen with them - the alates may survive longer, really depends where they are holed up and what species they are.

no real threat to your monitor unless there are allot of them and they start spraying when he digs them up, even then its more of a nuisance than a danger - unless Monitors have a weakness for formic acid, i dont know, but african ant species are far more potent defenders of their nests than temprates like wood ants

if you do find allot, you may want to wear a mask and glasses to remove them, they spray up - formic acid is nasty stuff, will give you a sore chest for a few days if you breath it in

[infernalis]

scoop up the dirt with the ants quick, toss it outside. SAFE

[formica]

random AD. I've been considering what species of ant may be beneficial to a monitor enclosure - havent come up with an answer yet, wood ants wouldnt be the choice tho, would have to be an aboreal or tree hollow dwelling species that doesnt bite/sting or spray...choices are limited because most species which fit the bill require hibernation at 4C to surivive each year. end random/

[DiscoPat]

Yeah, they seem to have doubled overnight. I am going to shovel the dirt where most of them are outside and then let the rest die off due to the climate in the enclosure.

On a side note Steve does not seem at all bothered by them but I still don't want them to overrun the enclosure if I don't do something.

[formica]

Originally Posted by DiscoPat

Yeah, they seem to have doubled overnight. I am going to shovel the dirt where most of them are outside and then let the rest die off due to the climate in the enclosure.

On a side note Steve does not seem at all bothered by them but I still don't want them to overrun the enclosure if I don't do something.

how long has the enclosure been set up?

[DiscoPat]

It has been about 10 months now.

[formica]

Originally Posted by DiscoPat

It has been about 10 months now.

fair enough, was wondering if the colony could have established itself in the enclosure, but at 10months its not possible to get alates