ANTSTORE World of Ants

[paulhdear]

I'll wait and see what the consensus is amongst all you experts! Thanks!

[JimmyVe]

In deed they are not difficult but not easy nether so... If you really want to have ants that don't hibernate i'm more thinking of a exotic Camponotus sp. than.
I must say that it would not bad to keep some European ants first to get some more experience. Not that it is impossible to keep exotic ants but it is harder and most of the time they are more expensive than European ants so if they die... A dead ant is the last thing we want.
Good luck.

[paulhdear]

Hmmm. Maybe I'm too impatient. Anyone else have any comments on Polyrhachis dives? It's two votes against, so far!

[paulhdear]

OK, I've moved my Camponotus ligniperda to a shed in my garden. They will get a little natural light, and the temperature will be similar to outside. Is there anything else I need to do? Will they need any food, or not? Is there anything else I need to check?

I'm still tempted by Polyrhachis dives - large glass tank, mesh top, thermostatic heat control, humidity monitor.... or will it all go horribly wrong?

[miszt]

The fact that u acknowledge a lack of patience, tells me that you probly dont have the experience yet to keep exotic species, Ants require allot of patience, and you are better off getting expereince and patience before spending lots of money on exotics, coz if you cant become patient, you are gona get bored constantly, no matter what species u get

[paulhdear]

You're probably right I'll try to develop patience - just hope it develops quickly From my last post, am I doing the right thing for my Camponotus ligniperda?

[darradar]

alas much has been said since i was last here..!! and oh my my my mr paul what an impatient bunny you are and at your age the one and only most important thing you must first learn about ant keeping is PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE... everything comes to he that waits... and the more you wait, watch and learn with ants, the greater your reward......
Just remember to provide fresh water and honey water for your ants whilst they are in the shed, they may still take a wander for a drink and a feed.

[paulhdear]

Thanks, Darradar - I'll make sure my guys in the shed have what they need. Here's to an early spring....

[MilitANT]

Paul: spend the time you have now learning all about the exotic species you want to keep. Learning about them and preparing yourself for them isn't as fun as having them but it will help you pass the time -- education is key to being prepared. Being prepared will increase your chances of successfully keeping a colony of ANY kind of ant be it exotic or native.

One thing you really need to do early is design their nest, making sure you learn how to keep the temperature in the nest within the right levels. I've kept lizards before and it takes a while to adjust lamps and heating pads and read thermometers all day to make sure they are emitting the right levels of heat.

Designing the nest is something I enjoy a lot. It takes a lot of time and creativity but once you see your ants in the formicary, you'll see it's time well spent.

Something no one seems to be telling you is that you'll never be 100% prepared for any ant species. You can only learn what you can and hope you're doing your best. I had a friend named Chris who was very knowledgeable of harvester ants. He read a lot about them but never had a colony of his own. When he finally got his hand on a colony the ants began to slowly die off and soon the Queen died too. He did everything he read was right, he thought he made a good artificial nest but the ants just died off. No reason.

Camponotus ligniperda are nothing like polyrhachis so its really a catch 22 situation where people are telling you you need experience when the only way to get experience is to raise the ant you are unexperienced for. My advice would be to learn as much as you can and when you feel ready, make the move to get your ants.

Best of luck, mate!

[paulhdear]

Cheers MilitAnt and thanks for the encouragement. I plan to read up all I can about Polyrachis, and establish the formicarium. I figure if I can maintain the right conditions and get planting etc established, I can start to think about the ants later. If nothing else, I'll have a nice-looking vivarium while I wait!

[JimmyVe]

Its not that they (we) are telling you need experience with Polyrachis, that would be hard not having them. It is just experience with keeping ants that helps if you decide keeping exotic ants. They are a more difficult than European ants and in most cases more expensive.
(that is all i want to ad to it, i think Paulhdear now knows it already. )

Good luck to you Paulhdear.

[paulhdear]

Thanks Jimmy, and point well-taken. My aim is to get some experience with my C. ligniperda, and meanwhile to get some practice in keeping conditions suitable for Polyrachis (without the ants!). Then, we'll see how things go. Expense isn't the issue (at least for Polyrachis dives- they seem quite inexpensive), but I would hate to kill a colony from inexperience.

[SteveUK28]

Paul glad to hear what your going to do.. and brill idea. Just for the record if you was interested in something to keep your P. Dives in.. Sometime soon there "might" be a new type of formication availble to you..

[paulhdear]

Hi Steve, re the formicarium for P. dives, I was going to make a glass tank, probably 45cm 45cm square base, and 60-80cm tall, with holes for connecting to other tanks (later) and a part-mesh/part-glass lid. I figured a tall tank was better for above-ground-nesting ants? I'd be interested in any opinions on this. I need to read more about temperature and humidity control, though.

[SteveUK28]

Check ya PM for more details Paul