Always want advice, opinions, and stories from more experienced keepers. Thank you!
Thinking of trying fluon but I had a few questions.
- What are good places to buy it from? Are there places I should avoid buying from?
- Are there different kinds of fluon? Is there a specific kind I should buy?
- How much should the price rang be and how much will be used in a month or year?
- Can you apply it while your ants are in a container or will I have to move them to apply it to an existing home?
- How often do you reapply your fluon and do you move your ants to a new home each time?
- Fumes? Will I have to take it outside until it dries? If done inside how long until it's safe to be in the same room with and with pets?
About formicariums.
What buyable formicariums have you got and which do you like best? What species do you keep in the ones you bought?
While most my species are small enough colonies and slow enough growing to not have to worry about and can live in a tube and tub setup right now... my Pheidole megacephala and Solenopsis invicta are growing pretty quickly and I'm looking for new setups for them in the next week or so. But I also want to be prepared to know what to get for some of my other species too. I still plan on making some DIY setups buuuut I've been running into some bumps involving that and it'll be more a future thing. Right now I'm digging through my options in some websites like Tar Heel Ants, Ants Canada, and Aus Ants. Feel free to suggest more places!
My concerns are of course containment, safety for my ants, and prices (RIP). I also would like view ability, I keep them to observe all aspects of their lives. Otherwise I would keep something like a natural formicarium which I might still do someday but for now I want more ability to observe inside the nest.
I already have an Ants Canada Hybrid Nest Mini 2.0 that I bought on a whim because I needed something for my Pheidole megacephala asap back when I first collected them. The product arrived shockingly fast and it has worked satisfactorily. I love the fact that I can clean out the old cotton that helps humidify the nest without disturbing them too much and not have to move them and clean the whole thing. I also love the fact I can remove the glass later if/when I move the ants out and can clean the whole thing then. The only thing I dislike is it is only a flat nest and connecting it to other things will take up more room. I currently have the nest connected to an acrylic fish tank that I modified to be their outworld. I was debating on just getting a bigger Hybrid Nest for my megacephala or getting a Solenopsis Hybrid for my invicta.
Another option from Ants Canada I was thinking about trying the Omni Nest Vertical. It looks like it'd be a more compact space (nest being vertical) while still giving space to grow and able to add new outworld space if needed with tubes. I like the idea of the dividers being able to keep the nest "small" and opening up more nest space as they grow without having to add new stuff or moving them completely. One problem though, would they actually see it as nesting space since there is no dark spaces? Would it actually be humid enough? Is there anywhere they could escape from since there is so many pieces?
Tar Heel Ants, I like the look of a lot of their stuff and seriously debating on some but with a few concerns mostly involving space for the ants and prices. Most the nests and tunnels I see look to be for larger species of ants but most my species are on the small side. I've also read that most their setups aren't really made for tiny species and escapes can happen. I like the idea of the nucleus-360 but I wonder if the queen is most likely to hide in the holes connecting the four sides. Or the Traditions, removable-glass with the outworld being slightly larger than the 4-sided one. Again I can connect more outworld space later. The tunnels though would they be too big for the tinier girls even if you chose the "small" or "tiny" options? The prices though woo... and here I thought ant keeping was going to be a cheap hobby compared to my other hobbies.
Aus Ants, I like the idea of Ytong Nests but I read they can be chewed through by destructive ants like invicta? Are the sponges adequate for humidity and do you have to wet them more often? Same with Ants Canada probably will take up more space because of how nests are laid out horizontally.
Other species I'd be rehousing in the (maybe far) future are species like Pheidole navigans and Pheidole floridana which are very tiny. To be fair I'd probably be better off making my own formicariums for them but if there are other options I'd like to check them out. My largest species currently are Camponotus floridanus and they are MUCH bigger than any of my other species. It seems most buyable formicariums are made for their size rather than my less than half the size other species so not too worried finding something for them.
