367 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Honey mixed with a bit of water will be easier to drink. Maple syrup or sugar water is fine, too.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Okay, what about the cricket leg? Any suggestions on how to juice it?

[Acutus]

I will, just need to find out how to post a pic I have of her to the gallery

 

just go to gallery start an album, upload from your computer. When you make a post go to My Media and select Gallery Pictures and the code will get placed in your post!

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I did that a while ago but thanks for the help anyways!

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I fed her about a month ago so I figure I'll feed her again, and hope she can pump out a successful batch! I'll feed her at 5 PM, and leave it in the out world until I notice mold (I keep all my ants in my bedroom, so I should notice mold right away, but it's also a little breezy, but the warmest room in the house lol.  

[ANTdrew]

Okay, what about the cricket leg? Any suggestions on how to juice it?

No big deal, just cut a section of leg or squeeze some juice out of the abdomen.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I cut the thigh (cuz that cricket has thunder thighs), and I could try to juice it. The only problem was I put him in my freezer, and an hour later I checked and there was no cricket juice (and I just coined the term cricket juice).

I'm sure it'll work out

Pessimism gets you nowhere 

[ANTdrew]

I don’t mean to literally put it in a juicer or anything. You just want a tiny bit of the soft inner parts, so the queen can lap it up without leaving behind chitin that could possibly mold. Insects are basically a hard case filled with liquid, so getting a drop of something soft shouldn’t be hard. Just cutting a small section of thigh would be fine, too. The whole mold thing is kind of overblown anyway.

[NickAnter]

Why are you feeding her? If she is not painfully thin, leave her be.  Serviformica are claustral, they have all the reserves they need.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I don’t mean to literally put it in a juicer or anything. You just want a tiny bit of the soft inner parts, so the queen can lap it up without leaving behind chitin that could possibly mold. Insects are basically a hard case filled with liquid, so getting a drop of something soft shouldn’t be hard. Just cutting a small section of thigh would be fine, too. The whole mold thing is kind of overblown anyway.

I fed her a part of the cricket thigh and the juices did come out luckily. The honey water came out beautifully, looking just a tad like honey, and it'll stay there for a long time. Thanks Drew.

 

Why are you feeding her? If she is not painfully thin, leave her be.  Serviformica are claustral, they have all the reserves they need.

 

I fed her just in case she needed a protein fix. If she needs it, she'll eat it, if she doesn't need and it molds, I can always take it out. I don't mind the little extra hassle since it's on a piece of a paper towel it won't take me that long to take it out. Plus, the honey water will be their for (hopefully) her nanitics, that way she doesn't starve. I also fed her because I don't know how bloated her gastor is since she's been playing a mean game of hide and seek with me lol, so this way, she won't starve and she won't get stressed. 

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

She is officially in the dark (and has been for the last 24 hours), her gastor has remained bloated even after she ate her eggs so I hope she'll lay eggs, and she has food if she needs it. I can barely get a glimpse of her silhouette if she's standing on the water tower (due to how the postcard I'm using to block light is) so that's a plus. Wish me luck, 7th (ish) time's the charm! . Hopefully she'll at least have larvae the next time she gets a check-up (as if I was a mom I wouldn't want to eat that wiggling child that is hungry), but besides that not much to report besides if she decides to eat. See you all March 1st if nothing happens!

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

So the thing I'm using to block light fell off (so I had to put it back on), but she didn't seem to startled, so I figured I would sneak a peak at her mandibles (since she likes to carry her kids around). Didn't see her carrying anything, so she may or may not have brood, but I need to refill the water tower soon, so I could do a more detailed check then...

Also the cricket juice hasn't molded yet, so I am going to be thankful for ANTdrew this thanksgiving, lol

EDIT: I'll have to check in every once in a while to see if she actually laid, or what, but if not then I don't know what I'm going to do with her lol. 

Edited by Da_NewAntOnTheBlock, February 25 2020 - 2:47 PM.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

        Hello ladies and gentlemen, lads and lassies, I have an update or two. First off, the water tower was getting empty so I had to refill it (my queen decided to use her teleport ability, go figure), so now she's good for a couple more weeks. I also moved her formicarium onto a warmer spot (because my room is only 76-80 degrees, so I figured she should get some more heat), and also put her formicarium in a spot where half of it is in non-direct sunlight, and the other half is in the dark (this way she could start to get desensitized to light). She's been relishing it, and even going in the sun once or twice which surprised me, but she seems to enjoy it; another benefit is I can see her whenever I want to, and she doesn't mind! All and all, things are pretty good for her, and she doesn't have eggs, but I know she'll lay again, she just needs some TLC and patience. 

       On the Camponotus side of things, my Camponotus colony will be coming out tomorrow (yay)! I'll update the journal when I see some activity, and I have a sleeve on them, so I'll have to see when they want to peak their heads out, but besides that, I'm living the dream! Have a wonderful day everyone! 

[ForestDragon]

cool, my Camponotus already have pupae or a large larvae lol

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

nice!

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Well today is the fabled day I take my Camponotus out! Don't look at my status update because I kinda broke the box lol, but I'll message when they get active or at least somewhat active. See you in a couple hours (probably), and all hail Queeen Aphrodite!

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I'm not taking them in my room because o the condensation issues (there's already water in the container because of the water tower/feeder) so I would drown them out if I automatically put them in my room. To combat this issue, I am leaving her and her colony in one of the coolest areas of my house so they can wake up, and I can hopefully wipe down the water and make sure they don't get crap tons of condensation. I'm letting them stay in the cool room until 10:35 (two hours from now), so condensation would have stopped. After that, I'm taking out the Lego piece that is elevating the test tube slightly in case of flooding, giving them a sugargrass test tube, and feeding them some honey and a mealworm or two. Have a wonderful day everyone!

[ANTdrew]

Good luck! Expecting big things from this colony this year.

[RushmoreAnts]

My heated ants have condensation on the ceiling, yet the ants below seem unaffected. Every time I check them I wipe away the water with a Qtip.

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

I wiped it away with a tissue, and they didn't mind. The medians and queen are still passed out, but the 2nd gen was alive and well. One even decided to give me a hello and showed me how well her mandibles worked by just opening and closing them lol. Will most likely be a day or two before they come back, so I'll feed them some honey water and start to make the sugargrass tube. Now I can ignore Selene for Aphrodite!