If there was still some flesh on the shell, it may not have been ants which got to the tortoise. However, it is hard to say without seeing the remains. I would expect that the skelton (IE, skull, neck, and leg bones) would still be there if ants ate the flesh. Larger predators might rip them off and devour them completely or carry them away.

I have used a powdered product called Orthene for killing ants which has been quite successful. It doesn't seem to harm tortoises, though I try to keep them away from fresh applications of it by placing 5 gallon pails upside down over the powdered areas for a couple of days. If there are larger tortoises, place heavy objects such as rocks, bricks, or cinder blocks on the pails. Obviously with even larger tortoises, you would need to use larger structures and heavier weights.

Actually, I use the powder and DO NOT cover the areas in some of my pens with adult Radiated Tortoises. It hasn't hurt them in the 5 years I have been doing so, or if it has, I am unaware of it thus far).

One point I will make is that this product has a very strong and not very pleasant odor. I can still smell it for days after the powder is no longer visible. Additionally, I store it in a shed outside because when kept indoors, it created too juch odor even from the tighly closed container.

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