ANTSTORE World of Ants

[sbsshadow]

Hi All

Im getting this ant setup next week , its a ex shop display one, I have drawn an amazing picture of what it looks like but will put photos up when I get it.

The tanks are approx 2-3ft tall and approx 2ft wide.

Thoughts ...........


Steve

[LeonofLondon]

What is the plant for and what do you mean by ex-shop display?

[sbsshadow]

It was one that a local shop had setup as a ant farm (colony)

I am buying it off them ...

I thought the plant would supply them plaant material to build ... like leaf cutter ants

Is this not needed ?

Thanks

Steve

[LeonofLondon]

well are you going to keep leaf cutter if not then its completly pointless
as thats what I thought the set up was desighned for I wouldnt bother with a plant and also the one full of soil you wont see much nest activty as much of the tunnels will not be up against the glass due to it dimensions. What species did you want to get anyway.

[sbsshadow]

I think they have established ants in there already .....

So I dont think I could have much choice

If not a plant then I will put food in there ...

Any other suggestions ?

Thanks

Steve

[LeonofLondon]

Well if there allready ants in there and they are leaf cutters you are very lucky as you would be lucky to get them anywhere under £200 bet when you find out what species they are please let us know. And leaf cutters (Atta species) dont actually use leaves to build the nest they use it to grow a fungUs which is the main diet of the colony they are a agricultural species of ant you see but also a tropical species so have humidity a temperature requirements.

[sbsshadow]

Probably not then probably just niger

Cant wait though .... so excited .... any other suggestions ?

Any other advice ?

I have been a Tarantula and Scorpion keeper for best part of 15 years ..

Im only 2 weeks away from getting my DWA licence for Buthid scorpions ...

Thanks

Steve

PS ... I obviously dont see the above as giving me the right to keep ANTS but its something I have always wanted and I mean ALWAYS !

[sbsshadow]

I have just found out that the ants are no longer in there so basically im getting 2 3ft by 2ft tanks where water is around the intter tank and lots of tubing.

So what is the best ants to go for ?

All the ones in the shop are like 10 ants ! the ant farm im going to get next week seems very big for 10 ants !

Suggestions ................

Thanks

Steve

[JimmyVe]

Hi Steve

PS ... I obviously don't see the above as giving me the right to keep ANTS but its something I have always wanted and I mean ALWAYS !

Why wouldn't you have the right to keep ants ? Everybody does ! what Leon means is that the set up from the Farm you are getting is build to keep leaf cutter ants and they are not the easy species to begin with.

If its the first time that you are keeping ants you better start with an easy species like Lasius niger are something like that. ant read about the species you are willing to keep, every species need other things.

So fist decide what species you want to keep and then build the nest to it. and read about them on this forum or the net.

Good luck and have fun keeping them

If you have questions, just ask.

[LeonofLondon]

Well you would recieve your small colony from antstore in a testube which would be there home until they out grew it, Its best to conect your test tubes to a small foraging arena simply a small lunch tub or something with a hole bored in the side to fit the test tube. Then also you have to rember those from a cold European Climate require Hibernation every winter so should be kept cool Between late October-April which could prove difficult with a large setup also as I said early you would not see much nest activity inside that large amount of dirt and if you are going to keep L niger it would not be much different from watching ants come out of a nest in your garden.

[sbsshadow]

So what is your suggestion then ?

The ant farm will be in my heated reptile room, will this make any difference ?

Thanks for your help

Steve

[JimmyVe]

if you like to watch at there nest activities, maybe you better turn to a Y-tong nest. If you like to keep a sand farm, try it wit a apartment look a like (see at the antstore shop)

In summer it is not a problem but in the winter (like Leon told you, from late October till April) it is better that they stay in a room where the temperature not gets above the 10°C (8°C would be better).

Greets

[JimmyVe]

Btw: this is a very nice Farm. (build with Y-tong)

http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?t=3654

If you have difficulty with German, you can translate it here

Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar

[LeonofLondon]

You see L niger and other northern European ants to them hibernation is as nescerry as sleep is to you its as if they have a biological clock that tells them they must shut down at that time of year. So a heated room or not they will still require hibernation, to not allow them that would have a bad effect on the activities and overall health of the colony. So my suggestions would be maybe consider something a little more exotic. I have herd people keep more southernly species such as Messors barbarus or Pheidole palidulla with out hibernation so maybe that could be an option for you depends on your budget really.

[sbsshadow]

What sort of cost would that be to me then ?

Also do they need any special lighting ?

Thanks very much for your help

Steve