ANTSTORE World of Ants

[abz uk ants]

Ok so I bought a heat mat today but i dont know how to position it. Do I put the testube in a wooden box and put it on top on the heat mat.
Do I put my queen in a nest and put half of the nest on the heat mat.

Is there any other way I can postion the heat mat?

[SteveUK28]

OK, first is this a colony or just a single queen ??

If its just a single queen then really you dont need a heat mat.. what you do need to do is keep her somewhere dark and quiet and leave her alone.. if its a colony.. then put the heat mat half under your nest.. and put the open testtube into the basin and let them move on there own.

[abz uk ants]

I just have a queen but she used to have worker witch ran away newbie mistake but she wount lay eggs and my room is 20c so i have put the heat mat in my cuboard with half of the test tube on it and half of

[JimmyVe]

If i'm not mistaken you have that queen like a day or 2. You are always disturbing her and you are suprissed she doesn't have brood yet.

These ants don't like to be disturbd to much, in fact not at all.
It can take up a while before she will start laying eggs again.

Put the tube a bit on the heat mat (1/3) and not with the water part.

Feed here once a week (some small insect) and leave her there without disturbing her. (a would say for 4 weeks) than check if she has brood.

[abz uk ants]

will my queen eat fish falkes???

[Tiberius]

well we are having january...most of the messor species like to have a winter time even if the temperature should not be so cold like for a northern european species.
my messor (barbarus) just have 17 - 18 degrees and feel very well... If this isn'n a special "no wintertime" messor, I would just put them to a quiet place in a "heated" room (15-18 degrees), feed ones a week a little bit.

[abz uk ants]

I am going to leave her in my closet will she lay eggs if the temp is 18c

[Tiberius]

if you don't disturb her and feed her (a litle bit) I'm sure she will like it. But to be honestly, really big action will be in spring and later... than it's important to heat, they like it hot (25 - 28degrees) and she will lay a lot of eggs...

@anybody, please correct me if I'm wrong. My colony is doing very well with that treatment.

[abz uk ants]

I have put her under my mums bed in a wooden box without a heat mat. I will check up on her in 2 weeks for food.

[Tiberius]

i dont have a messanger^^ it a company notebook...

but one of the most important things is to be patience and to copy the nature of the origin location as good as possible.

[abz uk ants]

go ont to this chat/index.php we can talk there

[JimmyVe]

Fish flakes are not the best food you can give your ants. Much better would be small insects. To start off with.

[Zagone]

Also as a colony grows, I've noticed they become less picky about food. My L. Niger wouldn't touch fish flakes in the beginning but after they topped well over 200 ants they'd take almost anything, including fish flakes. I'm noticing a similar behavious in my M. minor hespirius.

[abz uk ants]

Oh ok I cant wait untill saterday so i can check my queen. I hope she has layed eggs

[abz uk ants]

Ok I just checked my queen now as I opend the draw i seen her abdomen in her houth do you think she is laying eggs?
If she is I will check her tomorow