# Hedgie ate an ant!



## rsanz (May 15, 2009)

We have carpenter ants in our house. Dexter, our brand new, 7-week-old hedgie, was in his playpen last night and encountered one of the carpenter ants. Dex made very quick work of him!

I know that we should be weary of pesticides. But one little ant won't hurt him, I hope...

We will try to keep a closer eye on him and make sure he isn't eating any foreign critters. Or, conversely, should we start collecting these little ants as treats for our new little boy?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated by a couple of new hedgie owners.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

I can't speak to whether ants would be good or bad. I would be wary of them biting the hedgie though when being eaten


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

As I previously stated in another thread about "wild" stink bugs....

You have no idea if there are pesticides on those ants, you have no idea what disease they might carry. You have no idea what foreign and harmful bacteria, etc etc that is on their body. You have no idea what they eat that might actually be toxic to hedgies.

So while one little ant may pass through without problems, it is not a risk I would take to catch more of those ants and feed them to your hedgie. 

These "wild" ants are not living in a controlled environment, and you have no idea what they might have gotten into that can kill your hedgie.


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

If you have true carpenter ants, you need to deal with them. They can inflict a vicious bite on your hedgehog and they are chewing your home into sawdust. They tunnel through wood in search of food, rendering it structurally unstable. 

They are difficult to treat and usually require a professional.


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