12 replies to this topic

[psx2k1]

Hello,

 

I am brand new to the keeping of ants.  I am very excited to be part of the ant keeping community and I hope you can all help me figure out the right formicariums for the types of and i would like to get as well as how the setups work.

 

I recently got a mini hearth with a foraging area attached to the top.  I was planning on housing a harvester ant queen, but now I'm learning that this type of ant may have trouble climbing.  Do I need to get a different type of formicarium for this ant, perhaps one that offers a side foraging area?  Or can I still use the one I got. 

 

In reference to setup:  

I got a nest mate as well as a liquid feeder.  The formicarium also has a built in water dish.  What may i use the nest mate and liquid feeders for?  Do I use the nest mate as an alternative water source and the liquid feeder for the food source?  I did get mixtures of protein, sugar and oil to create ant juice.  I was thinking of place the juice inside the liquid feeder.

 

I am attaching pictures so that you may see my setup.

 

Please advice if I can still use the formicarium I have for the western ant queen.  Otherwise, I am getting a Fortress type III formicarium for the queen and the colony she will produce.

 

I am looking into getting a Manica Invidia Queen, perhaps I can house this ant in the mini hearth that I already have.

 

Please let me know what you all think.

 

Thank you!

 

[ANTdrew]

I’m not sure about the climbing ability of Pogonomyrmex, but you could try scuffing up the tube a bit with some sandpaper.
I’d recommend using your nestmate for water and getting a much smaller liquid feeder to offer nectar in. The byFormica mini-feeders are the best.

[TechAnt]

I mean, I don't believe Pogonomyrmex are great climbers, I think a side outworld would be good.

[psx2k1]

I’m not sure about the climbing ability of Pogonomyrmex, but you could try scuffing up the tube a bit with some sandpaper.
I’d recommend using your nestmate for water and getting a much smaller liquid feeder to offer nectar in. The byFormica mini-feeders are the best.

Thanks for responding... how do I go about scuffing up the tube with some sand paper?  

 

I will look into mini feeders..

As far as the nectar, is that the "ant juice" i am creating when I mix the protein, sugar and oil?

 

Thanks

[psx2k1]

I mean, I don't believe Pogonomyrmex are great climbers, I think a side outworld would be good.

How about I just get the Fortress type III for them?

 

Are the Manica Invidia ants good climbers?

[ANTdrew]

I don’t recommend mixing nectar with protein, and ants definitely don’t need oil. Your Pogonomyrmex will get their protein from seeds and insects.
Take time to read the guide to ant-keeping for beginners on here.

[psx2k1]

I don’t recommend mixing nectar with protein, and ants definitely don’t need oil. Your Pogonomyrmex will get their protein from seeds and insects.
Take time to read the guide to ant-keeping for beginners on here.

Oh no...

 

I didn't mean to say I was going to be mixing nectar with protein...what I was getting at is if Nectar is what I am getting when I mix protein, sugar and oil.

 

The thing is that I got the mixtures of protein, sugar and oil from tarheel, which are supposedly the ingredients to create "Ant Juice".  But after reading about nectar, it thought that those ingredients create a Nectar like substance for the ants to eat.

[Dry_Twig]

When I had a Pogonomyrmex queen, she went up and down my mini-hearth, no problem. Sadly, she had not mated and would not settle down or shed her wings. 

A fortress might be a little big for just a queen. A test tube inside a outworld (because she needs to forage while founding) would be better, but I'm also new to this hobby as well, so I wouldn't rely on what I say too much. 

[DDD101DDD]

You can pull the tube connecting the outworld and nest out. It's a bit hard, but it will greatly assist the queen in climbing up. The water dish is to maintain humidity, not for the ants to drink out of. The nestmate is used for drinking out of. Also, the "ant juice" does not supply ants with everything they need, assuming you get a manica queen(not for beginners by the way).

[psx2k1]

You can pull the tube connecting the outworld and nest out. It's a bit hard, but it will greatly assist the queen in climbing up. The water dish is to maintain humidity, not for the ants to drink out of. The nestmate is used for drinking out of. Also, the "ant juice" does not supply ants with everything they need, assuming you get a manica queen(not for beginners by the way).

Thank you for the clarification and tip.  I will see to pulling the test tube out.

[psx2k1]

When I had a Pogonomyrmex queen, she went up and down my mini-hearth, no problem. Sadly, she had not mated and would not settle down or shed her wings. 

A fortress might be a little big for just a queen. A test tube inside a outworld (because she needs to forage while founding) would be better, but I'm also new to this hobby as well, so I wouldn't rely on what I say too much. 

I was actually going to get a fortress for a colony. 

[Dethundrel]

All of my Pogonomyrmex are horrible climbers but do really good in the mini hearth. I use a Q-tip to swirl some mod podge in the inside of the tube, then pour some craft sand down the tube until that part of the nest chamber is so full that it will pile up in the outworld. Once it’s dry, just dump out the excess. This allows not just workers, but new found queens to climb up and into the out world to forage for the seeds I leave.

For Pogonomyrmex, you will not need a liquid feeder, let alone one that big, I would just remove it.

[Kaelwizard]

My Pogonomyrmex could climb up the tube no problem. Just don’t bump the nest while they are climbing.

Edited by Kaelwizard, July 31 2020 - 7:49 AM.