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Well i'm not sure I am doing the best thing or not but after reading some of the forum I decided to go for it as it seemed that ants are a tough creature and don't seem to need much to survive
Basically my brother has always been fascinated with ants and ever since we were young he has wanted an antfarm......so we thought we would treat him to one as his xmas present some 30 years later :lol:
So due to Xmas postal issues we have had to purchase everything a little earlier than we wanted (glassfarm/arena starter set with some extras and colony of lasius niger which hopefully will be arriving any day :)).....................this I knew would require us to 'babysit' them for a week or so
I wouldnt like to fill his formicarium display up with sand/loam so I was thinking that maybe the best idea would be to place the colony tube within the basin until my brother is ready to help them build their nest
I guess my question really is what should I be doing to help them in the mean time? I can provide them with honey water, dried crickets, fruit, ham etc but I am not sure that this would be a good idea as I have read on the forum that it can encourage them to hibernate............do they need any plantlife to make life interesting for them?
should I be giving them any sand/loam within the basin as a temporary habitat?.......I have read that the queen tends to stay in the tube for a while anyway but I wouldnt want her to attempt to create a nest in the basin ..........as I am sure my brother would want that to happen in the display
how about light and temperature?
in short the last thing I would want to do is harm the little critters but at the same time i'd like them to be ready to settle when they are passed to my brother :)
I'd really appreciate any tips and advice that any of you can offer and tbh ive enjoyed researching this and generally reading up on ants so much that I think I may get my own farm :grin:
thx :)
hi spooky
yes you are right by providing them with the food that you wrote as then they will settle in faster:)
they don't need any plants for them but you can provide grass if you wish as i do in my tanks
if you want to put some sand loam mixture in the basin for temporary arrangements then aslong as you put no more than 1 cm in the tank they should be fine if you place more in ther then they may dig:)
fo lasius niger there is no need to provide extra light or temperature as they cope really well all that you need to do is when you get them cover the test tube in maybe cling film remove the bung and place them straight into the tank:)
it is very likely that they wont move out of the test tube as this is perfect for small colonies they will move when ready:)
maybe you should also consider hibernation after about 2-3 weeks if they eat a lot they may get ready to go into hibernation :)
i hope that has helped
Sithmaster676
if anymore information is needed then visit my website at http://www.lasius-niger.piczo.com
Hello spooky
I would place them the basin ( Dont' fill basin with sand/loam ) and place a little food in and open tube so they can eat. Due to thier being no sand in the basin the ants wont nest in thier and will stay in their tube. They dont need water as there is a supply in the tube ( you will see when you receive them )
Feel free to ask any more questions you need help with :)
Hi Spooky and welcome to this forum.
They don't need for right away. just water is fine (but like sced sad, it is in the tube)
If they arrive they will probably be in hibernation (like all European ants right now) if you like them to be awake if you give them to your brother i would say put them in a warm room (about 15-20°c) but it is better for them to stay in hibernation until end of march. If you bring them out, keep them out of it for this your and let them hibernate next winter.
My opinion, just leave them in the tube give them to your brother next week, let him build his farm if it is finished put the tube in the farm (leave the ants in it) and put the farm in a room where it is between 5-10°c and let them hibernate until end of march.
Greets and good luck.
thankyou very much for your responses guys :)
they arrived safe and sound with the starter kit yesterday.........although smaller than I was expecting, the starter kit is of the highest quality and should get my brother off to a good start
Ive opened up the tube and laid it in the basin
I have laid a thin layer of sand/loam mixture and 'dampened' it as I noticed that the ants didnt want to walk on it when it was dry
Ive also filled the sponge that I placed within the feeding dish with honey water, which they seemed to enjoy
After almost vomiting after opening the tin of crickets :lol: I put a few in the basin for them but they arent one bit interested
They seem happy and determined to cause me grief as they occasionally escape from the basin but already I have wasted many hours watching them
I can sense another purchase coming on :D
Hi spooky
Congratulation for a good start with antkeeping. :D
You've said that you've had problems with ants escaping. If you don't want to aply PTFE there are other ways to prevent escape. Simple ones like cover the basin with a lid or you can just cover it with a woman nylon stock. It will allow the air to get in and it will keep the ants in too.
Lots of fun with the ants.
yeah hope your colony does well in its new home :)
you seem to be on the right direction
Sithmaster676
Good to here they are ok Spooky.
My lasius niger dont like crickets either :\ I recomend you ffer them a worm or a fly
that strange as my colonies first bug was a cricket when they where only 15 workers strong and they swarmed it but ate nothing maybe like you say they dont like cricket :)
Sithmaster676
Nice to here they are doing fine.
if the colony gets bigger they probably take one the crickets.
Now you better give them small bugs (like fruit flys or something). The honey is good. Are there any eggs in the tube ? if not they are probably preparing for there hibernation.