8 replies to this topic

[windedbread]

I was wondering if anyone has a small founding nest that they would be willing to sell to me PM me of you have one and are willing to sell me one if it homemade or made by a company doesn’t really matter to me

Edited by windedbread, July 8 2020 - 11:08 AM.

[SleepyAsianAnter]

When you say founding nest, is there a certain species or genus you are thinking of putting in there?

[cocdeshijie]

test tube = best founding nest

[Manitobant]

Just buy a mini hearth from tar heel ants. Literally the best founding nest out there.

Edited by Manitobant, July 8 2020 - 1:44 PM.

[windedbread]

SleepyAsianAnter I was looking for a small nest forTetramoruim immigrans

Edited by windedbread, July 8 2020 - 7:40 PM.

[TechAnt]

SleepyAsianAnter I was looking for a small nest forTetramoruim immigrans

TarHeel MiniHearth Formicaria Type III:

https://tarheelants....cts/mini-hearth

Test Tube Setup:
I am pretty sure you know this but, a glass test tube with a portion with water in it, then cotton, then empty space for ants to nest in. Then you plug the end with cotton, this works really well, and is really cheap. It is one of the most effective founding formicaria for most ants in all terms (cost, effectiveness, efficency, space, lifespan, etc)

The General Market Place also supplies good formicaria, including founding ones:

https://www.formicul...eping-products/ (dspdrew’s formicaria for sale, HIGHLY RECCOMEND HIS STUFF, works really well)

https://www.formicul...e-2#entry154212 (B_rad is good at making formicaria, reccomend his stuff too as well)

https://www.formicul...-30#entry154263 (CatsnAnts is really amazing at designing formicaria, and you can see his work in his journal. You can PM him or ask for a amazon link to his stuff for sale if he has one)

Please read the Ant Keeping Guide for beginners which is really helpful for new ant keepers. It contains 3 website links for ant formicaria and supplies (including founding ones): This is copy-pasted from the thread.

More In-depth Information


Ant Housing
This part of the guide will go over Formicariums, hydration, heating, and escape barriers.

It is easy to make your own ant formicarium and outworld.
Formicariums can be built from many different materials such as Firebrick, Grout, Ytong (AAC), gypsum, hydrostone, and others. They offer a high visibility view of your ant colony.
Plaster can be used, but it molds very quickly, often within weeks.
There are step-by-step guides on how to build Formicariums out of different types of materials in this forum.
There are some companies that sell formicariums that are designed around long term ant care if you don’t wish to build your own.

www.antscanada.com
www.byformica.com
www.tarheelants.com

There are hobbyists around the world who sell nests and outworlds.

A quick note about Uncle Milton and Gel farms. They are designed to hold worker ants for 2-6 months. Due to lack of humidity control, problems with collapsing tunnels, sanitation problems, and similar issues a queen and brood (ant young) will not survive for more than a few months. Many of those ant farms are just for observing the workers during their life span, not to hold an actual functioning colony with queen, eggs, larvae, pupae, and workers.

Edited by TechAnt, July 21 2020 - 4:49 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Test tubes are hands down the best way to raise young Tetramorium colonies. When they outgrow the test tube, give them a second one to expand into.

[Kaelwizard]

Techant you linked Jimmy Dave’s stuff not B_rad’s. (Sorry don’t remember everyone’s full usernames)

[TechAnt]

Techant you linked Jimmy Dave’s stuff not B_rad’s. (Sorry don’t remember everyone’s full usernames)

Oops.