ma1thew: BEGINNER (1. Mär 2007 16:15)

hi i am interested in buying a lasius niger colony and i want to use a ytong nest but i dont realy want to make my own. which one would you advise i get? also what else would i need along with the ytong nest.
thanks
ma1thew

willi461: (1. Mär 2007 17:12)

Hey ma1thew what do you mean by " i dont want to make my oown.which one would you advise to get."
Antstore doesnt supply pre-made ones...unless you mean wooden ones.
I mean it's not hard to make them.

ma1thew: (1. Mär 2007 17:19)

i would of rather baught a pre made one but if i have to make one then i will. what will i need to buy to make my own ant farm. can you give me a list of everything i will need to buy please

ma1thew: (1. Mär 2007 17:20)

can you also give me a link to the wooden ones please. thanks

mpir: (1. Mär 2007 21:39)

You will need a block of Ytong... of course it can be some other brand name. A plexi glass or normal glass to cover it. Some plastic tubeing to conect it to arena. Plastic Tupperware-like box for arena. And of course something to cut ytong and to carve out small rooms for ants. The material is quite brittle so you can use various tools to play around with it. Look at the galery under topic "formikarium" for some good ideas or something you like. Good luck and have fun with it.

JimmyVe: (1. Mär 2007 23:39)

Y-tong nest are my favorites to, they are not so hard to make and friendly in use, to keep moist.

ma1thew: (2. Mär 2007 15:53)

hi. how do you keep ytong nests moist and also do antstore sell anything that i can use as an arena? will a ytong block 30cm*20cm be big enough?

ma1thew: (2. Mär 2007 16:03)

when my colony arrives what food will i need to feed it? will i have to feed it insects or can they survive on honey/sugar/water for a while? also how do they get water. i tried to understand the cotton wool thing from another post but couldnt. thanks

mpir: (2. Mär 2007 19:27)

The simplest way to keep ytong wet is to put the whole ytong nest into a dish or vessel and put some water in it. A cm or so of water will do. Antstore sells lots of things that can be used for arena... also YOU have a lot of things at home that can be used for arena! :D 30x20 cm block will do. If they outgrow it .. you can just connect another one. :wink:

Young colony is a small sistem that does not reqire a lot of energy. Honey/sugar water will do if there are no larva in the colony. Larva needs proteins (that is bugs, insects, egg yalk,...) to grow and develop. Water is important. When you'll get the colony you will understand the "cotton wool thing"! ;) Just in case I'll attach a picture. Don't be surprised if you don't see your ants running around the first day. They are timid and will need some time before they will come out of the nest in the day time.

Good luck

ma1thew: (3. Mär 2007 16:11)

ive decided to purchase the ytong brick along with a piesce of glass. could i use silicon to stick them together? also how long would shipping be to the UK. thanks