deadmeat30: could oasis be used? (2. Apr 2007 18:25)

hey all, just another question, my fiancee is a florist and she uses oasis form, its a foam you soak in water and hold moister very very well, and you can carve into it really easy the tunnels for your ant.

here a link [web]http://www.smithersoasis.com/uk/floral/products/showproduct.php?indexby=subcat&market=&cat=Floral+Foams&subcat=2&prodid=&div=F&full=0[/web]

i would be interested to see if any one has tried this before? as its really cheap to buy and so easy to add tunnels through.

thanks, Alan

JimmyVe: (4. Apr 2007 18:15)

I never tried it, but i think the ants can easily dig tunnels in there to, so it is not so perfect. Maybe it is a little bad for there health to, but I'm not sure about that. ;)

Val: (4. Apr 2007 19:33)

Oasis foam is a very good solution if you want to let your ants digging their own tunnels. It's not bad at all for their health and it's easy for humidity.
So it's very interesting.

deadmeat30: (5. Apr 2007 08:30)

hmmm this could be interesting, has anyone ever tried using it? i might try it sometime. oasis is so cheap to, its bout £1.50 for a good sized block. and so light too, so cheap to ship.

let me know if anyone uses this idea, and can get pictures of there set up. thanks, Alan

mpir: (5. Apr 2007 14:20)

@ Deadmeat30

I´ve never used it myself however I do know that it is/was used for this purpouses. I´ve also seen a French online ant shop that was selling display formicariums with oasis inside. They don´t sell them anymore, not sure why.

deadmeat30: (5. Apr 2007 15:35)

yeah, i might have a look into it, find out what its made out of and post it up here. if the ants can dig through it, then maybe its a half-way between a sand/loam mix and ytong. as the oasis would never collapse in on the ants.

thanks for the reply, Alan

Val: (5. Apr 2007 16:16)

On this website, they sell formicariums with oasis:
fourmis.fr
(the third one)

And there, it's a "private" nest with oasis:

akolab

JimmyVe: (5. Apr 2007 17:33)

Looks like it is possible, if your have tried it, let us know. ;)

deadmeat30: (5. Apr 2007 20:58)

yeah ill give it a go sometime, once my current colony starts up, if some1 else wants to try it out, there more than welcome! be very interesting to find out. i just like the idea of creating your own nest layout, then the ants changing it to there needs.

thanks for the input so far, Alan

JimmyVe: (6. Apr 2007 19:42)

That is not bad idea, i only prefer Y-tong because most ants can not adjust the nest. So if i want i can take a look in to the 'hole' nest. If they make there own layout there is a big chance the make rooms where you cant see. But if you don't prefer seeing the hole nest it is not a problem.

One thing is for shire, it is easier to handle than y-tong. ;)