29 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

Hey guys, instead of just throwing away some of the extra parts from my prototypes and testing, I decided to make two formicariums out of them to sell.

 

These are actually designed for medium to large sized ants. Smaller ants can be put in them, but because of minor flaws, I would not recommend putting ants smaller than 3 mm in them. They are made from two of the nests I made while practicing casting, and a few containers that won't exactly work with any of my new designs. Keep in mind these haven't been tested out, but they are a pretty basic design and I can't think of any real issues they could possibly have. The nest portions of these do have a few minor flaws, but nothing that will affect the functionality. You can pretty much see any of these flaws in the pictures.

 

The nest is screwed into a block of Ytong, with an acrylic front, so it can be taken apart and cleaned. The Ytong block is epoxied to the base tray, which is used for hydrating the nest. To hydrate the nest, you just pour water into the tray, and it will soak up into the Ytong just the right amount (I did test this part out). The out world just sits on top held in place by the slots in the Ytong and the tubing fit tightly in the nest portion. The back of the out world has a 3/8 inch port where tubing can be connected. The out world can be removed and 3/8 inch tubing can be connected directly to the nest too if you wish.

 

There are two one of these available, one with a white colored nest that looks a lot like Ytong, and one with a brownish grey colored nest that looks like sand stone.

 

When taking these apart and putting them back together, you have to be very careful not to strip out the screws, as they are only screwed into Ytong; only tighten them until they're snug. Also, be very careful with the acrylic front. Make sure it's in the right spot before setting it down on the nest. Sliding it around on the nest can scratch it because of the sand in the resin.

 

White nest

 

 

 

 

 

Brownish grey nest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BugFinder]

Those are awesome Drew.  Great job!

[Mercutia]

But but but but... no gigantic water reservoir D:

[Silvak]

My problem is that I would need it shipped......and I don't have any ants. Regardless, these are really good!

[dspdrew]

But but but but... no gigantic water reservoir D:

 

Haha not in these. Remember keeping Ytong constantly wet makes it soft.

[LAnt]

So this not recommended with pogonomyrmex right?

[dspdrew]

This is fine for Pogonomyrmex. Why do you say that?

[LAnt]

Didn't they chew through the ytong?

[dspdrew]

Oh yeah, but I think it was mainly because the Ytong was constantly wet, and that makes it softer. It was a large colony also. If someone was to put Pogonomyrmex in one of these, I would just say keep an eye on it. I would with any ants in it really.

[Vendayn]

Send me a private message. I think I want to buy one for my Dorymyrmex. Nothing concrete yet, but that looks great. I "may" have to wait till next month for my paycheck to come in (between 1st-3rd and usually the first). But, that would be perfect for my Dorymyrmex bicolor. And they like drier nests anyway.

 

(edit: If you have any still left that is. I noticed I'm a few days late of this post. )

Edited by Vendayn, February 26 2015 - 8:13 PM.

[dspdrew]

The white one is bought so far, I'm just waiting for him to get his money as well. I am slightly worried about the resin though. Even though drtrmiller has done plenty testing, and has found epoxy resin is completely safe for ants, I have two Acromyrmex who have been put in a container with resin in it, and they are both showing signs of neurological damage. This of course is a container with very little ventilation as you know since it's Acromyrmex, and the resin was poured about 24 hours before. The nests used on these formicariums have been cured for weeks. I'm actually going to test the brown one out for a while with some Veromessor pergandei workers.

[Vendayn]

Ah, so none are available? Though, I'd be a bit worried about the resin...but then again, you said they've been cured for weeks so might work out fine.

[dspdrew]

Like I said, drtrmiller has done testing, and I am doing some testing myself now too.

[ToeNhi]

Drew, do you have any still available? Do you have pictures of the brown one?

[dspdrew]

Yeah, I have the brown one still. Most of these pictures are of the brown one. When I talk about the color, I'm talking about the cast resin nest portion. I guess it's more of a brownish grey really. I revised the post.

[dspdrew]

I just checked out a little test I started early last night, where I put a few Camponotus workers in a small cylinder screw-top container with a quarter of an inch of resin in the bottom of it. I did this when the resin was even slightly soft still, so it was hardly cured at all. So far all four of the ants look to be doing perfectly fine. Also, the second Accromyrmex worker that I thought might have been starting to show signs of neurological problems, seemed to be just fine this morning. I'll check them all again when I get home from work today.

[dspdrew]

Okay it's been over 24 hours now, and the Camponotus queens I had in the little round container are perfectly fine, so I'm not sure what is wrong with that Acromyrmex worker. The other Acromyrmex worker still seems to be okay now as well. If epoxy resin was at all harmful I would know by now. Those Camponotus got the strongest dose of it they could have possibly gotten. So like drtrmiller said, it's clearly safe.

[dspdrew]

The brownish-grey one is now sold. I only have the white one left.

[Vendayn]

I'll be taking pictures (with an actual camera, not my low-quality phone one), but its a very nice and high quality formicarium. I'm really happy with it. I did use ants that were too small, but its still (at least mine) completely escape proof. Looks easy enough to clean, looks nice and the ants (Crematogaster) moved in right away. Definitely (as Drew told me) better for more medium/large ants...but, I find the ants I chose for it to be good. There are some gaps in the middle part that the ants can go through, but the sides are completely sealed.

 

Not sure when I'll be taking pictures, as its my dad's camera. Tomorrow he'll be busy all day, but you guys can look forward to awesome pictures. There is about 20-30 ants in there and still plenty of room, though some hide behind the sandstone looking stuff.

[Vendayn]

A bunch of ants crawled out. There was a very TINY gap they went through, didn't even see it and I thought it should fit snug...as it looked all sealed in. But, it was just one tiny gap and its possible it was my fault as one of the cats got in the garage and bumped into it. Nothing broken or anything, and I just used glue to fit it back in and so I'm letting it dry. It looks exactly as when I got it, except the ytong fits better now. No gaps or anything anymore, so it will work for small ants too.

 

Not having very much luck with ants lately for some reason, maybe I keep thinking about the mites and negative energy tends to bring more negative things.

 

So, on the positive side...

 

I got most of the Crematogaster though and the queen, plus all their brood. I put them back in the tube. I probably won't use them for the setup, but that means I don't really have any ants to use it with. The Pogonomyrmex only have one worker each, so I'd prefer to keep them in the tube. With that said, I'm going to Trabuco Canyon and going to an outdoor plant nursery afterwards...I had luck finding exotic ants in the same nursery last time. Except, it was only Pheidole megacephala and Solenopsis invicta who were both fighting a colony of Argentine ants that was along the road (the Argentine ants were losing). I'll see if I can't find a plant with something more interesting. Either that, or something out in Trabuco Canyon. I'm actually hoping either Forelius pruinosus/mccooki (they are easy to find) or Pheidole hyatti (harder to find).

 

Sorry if its a bit off the subject of your thread, by the way. Maybe I should post it elsewhere. But I'm on a phone and it took ages to press every button for this.