Eastern lays in cold water dish all day.

[chris-uk]

My youngest one will hide under his water and kind of follow you as you move around the room. I think he's under the impression he's invisible while he's under the water.

Now that's a good point. My garters spend more time in their water when they are settling, so when new or after I rearrange their viv after a clean out - I've seen this with Cuitzeos, radix, and checkereds. Have you rearranged the viv, perhaps when you eradicated the ants, which could just have unsettled him?

[Foxrun402]

Whoa yeah you should get rid of the ants and any trace of them! I would probably even take that tank and all the substrate out of it and wash it out thoroughly and air dry it... Not only can they bite and harm they can reproduce and cause an even worse problem...

I keep my tank up off the ground about 4ft up and away from the wall a little bit... I don't want any unwanted guests trying to get in there.. already witnessed a fly doing push-ups on top the screen trying to break in... I'm a little over cautious though... I don't even like it when I look in her home and see small substrate pieces or anything floating around in her water lol... I'll change it asap if I do

Cleanliness is next to Godliness! I hope he is doing well for you!