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Hey, just sharing the set up for my new Atta's, got them this morning and really happy with them, they are looking great. Nice size garden with even what looks like a solider :), first time seeing one.
The set up is quite simple at the moment,
Storage box wish a smaller storage box at the bottom that is filled with water and houses an aquarium heater set at 30 degrees.
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2780_zps5b9fe23e.jpg
The box that houses the colony made up of John Innes No9 and coco fibre. Ive made 2 holes in the lid and 2 holes in the following boxes. I then silicone the boxes onto the lid. So one is a feeding the other possible dumping area.
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2783_zps54424798.jpg
I put a little play sand the in the 2 boxes to help catch any drips/ humidity etc and sticks in the holes for the ant to climb up. I've also put small ventilation holes in both boxes in the lids.
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2786_zpsbb7ab1dc.jpg
I also put some tin foil round the heating box to help insulate it as its a cold room but I left the front foil free for viewing and so the colony have light coming in.
Also got a temp gauge in there.
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2787_zpsa6365387.jpg
Some pics of the queen and colony, even seen some brood :)
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2795_zps0bb18884.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2801_zps46487073.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2799_zps5837fd49.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2798_zps51978bd9.jpg
Eventually will get a plastic shed in my back possible which ill insulate etc to house these colonys.
Looking good mate , don't let them reach 30c in that box though as the queen becomes sterile at that temperature. Best keep them between 24-27c as a good guide :D
Adam
Thanks Adam, yeh I've read that can be a possibility. The 30 degrees doesn't translate in to ambient temp, I'm just under 25 at the minute so pretty good. I've a mat-stat on the way so may change to 2 heat mats, one on either side
Fantastic mate , good luck and its great to see another fellow Atta keeper , especially here in the uk :D
Nice colony! A little strange that there's such a large soldier in there, those shouldn't appear until the colony is well off. Perhaps these queens after collection were boosted with fungus from the original supplier's personal colony :p I wish you the best with your colony and I agree with Adam, don't let it get too hot in there!
Vas
Quick update.
After receiving them and having a think about the set up I had made and what Adam had mentioned about temperature I decided not to use the set up and instead house them in an identical cube as I know these conditions are good and constant, I am just going to provide them with tile platforms for feeding at the moment. Sadly before I had chance to house the colony the queen died, that was pretty gutting. I contacted Andrew and he said these things can sometimes happen for no reason and replaced the colony which I was extremely grateful for.
So I added the new queen and fungus to the fungus and ants I already had and this has made for quite a few ants. He also advised me to remove the solider, It must have known as it was no where to be seen??? lol
I've put up a few new pics of the colony, initially with the first colony I had put the plastic tub directly in on its side but they had started to build a soil wall up against the opening. Andrew explained that Acromyrmex will move out to a better environment but atta will not so I made a hole in the soil and placed them in it. You can see the difference in the 2 pics (over 2 day period) in that they are slowly building the sides up and over.
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2811_zps74feda74.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2857_zpsd66b664f.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2812_zpse86cf081.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2818_zps8750db24.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2820_zps86331cdb.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2869_zpsea2d3bad.jpg
Amazing difference in 3 days
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2904_zpsf2e85052.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/DSC_2904_zpsf2e85052.jpg
It's truly amazing how the ants can construct a dome without the soil caving in. When the colony gets larger you'll see some interesting structures, they make bridges, domes, tunnels, ventilation shafts & exhaust pipes and garbage pits with complexity. Great photos keep them coming! :)
Hi all, here's my new Atta (capital letter wood-ant ;) lol) set up-is a rough job but you can get the idea, hope to do a refined one in the future.
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/1_zpsd8912268.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/3_zps0357644e.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/4_zps73da5733.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/5_zpsa2f63390.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/6_zps6781de34.jpg
Is a large diameter waste pipe with bendy vine leading from the nest to the feeding tank.
Holes drilled in the bottom of the white waste pipe to drain the water that gathers from condensation, it is then returned via a clear tube to the main container.
Can fit two cubes or an equivalent size tank.
A few cool clips I've been trying to upload for 2 weeks- Some nice soilders :))
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/th_soilder33_zps2515e894.jpg
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo47/deansie26/th_soilder22_zps7985f710.jpg