ANTSTORE World of Ants

[sparky999]

hi all still very confused by options,can someone really simplify and give me any links etc on how to set up a basic,CHEAP (but not meanining i want to not give them what they want) ,escape proof set up

thanks for your help so far im slowly starting to understand bits

im looking at fire ant or carpenter ants iideally

1.so from what ive read ,am i right in that,..the ants wont grow a colony bigger than they have room for ?

2. just need 2 different "rooms" ? one nest, one ..feeding? ive heard them called "farm" and "arena" whats the difference? they ned one room, which i need to provide a nest for them,within that room? and another room for ? waste? or food ?

3.how do i escape proof? i dont want to use anything that is unatural or gives off smell as im allergic to most things like that

4. just cost, i cant pay £60 for a set up its too much , can i just get 2 ytong things and conncet them? or how does it work ? i would like whatever set up i use,o fit on a large rectangular dinner tray thing ,and id like to havea little space for waste,so do i need 3 diff rooms then?



thanks very much

[Adam_Ant360]

Some quick advice: forget the fire ants. Never raised them myself and in all my years I never met anyone that did. Want a species that grows fast? Tetramorium and Lasius are great. Myrmica rubra if you can get a multi-queen colony is good too. Carpenters are also good.

1. The ants won't use space they don't need. Meaning: if you build a giant y-tong nest with too many chambers, those extra chambers will become rubbish rooms (ie: a place to put dead ants, rotten food, excrement, etc.). The rubbish will rot and/or form mold which isn't healthy for the nest.

2. Look at this photo: Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar. The ants live in the plaster/y-tong block. The area with the sand and wooden log is the arena.

3. I used lids when I kept ants in tanks. If you're a beginner then just use a lid. Much safer.

4. You can probably buy 2 y-tongs and connect them. I used to make all my nest on my own. Much cheaper and no shipping and handling required. But you probably won't need to do anything like that the first year you have your colony.

[sparky999]

ye the Myrmica rubra i was on about is known as eurpoean fire ant also ,apprently lol thats what I meant anyways

done lots more research,and decided on Camponotus ligniperdus (polymorphs,decent sized,les chance of escapes) or Pheidole pallidula smaller but have soliders

these are considered harder than the garden /meadow ant etc but not rocket science, im a experienced reptile keeper so know all about environments temps and humidity etc and have plenty of equipment so hopefully I will be fine

cant bloody wait! they like a real life interactive sim city /sims etc , ever changing over the years


question... do uk people who buy ants from the shop in germany ,get them here fine and alive reguarly? they seem much cheaper than uk prices

[Adam_Ant360]

Got ya. Never heard Myrmica rubra called that before. I gotta remember it's different names for you guys across the pond. Camponotus ligniperdus looks good. Ants are loads of fun to watch so good luck to ya. Better than goldfish at least.

[sparky999]

haha yep ,reptiles and ants are the way to go!

[luciduci]

I don´t know much about ants but I have read that shop/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=ytongnest+premium&XTCsid=d701bc1f8e6ec340c2cbef59eb86f5cf is good to start with.
Beacause then you have the "outdoor" thing on the top aka arena where they can dump stuff you can feed them :3