42 replies to this topic

[NoveltyAntsYT]

I have a colony of Pogonomyrmex and they are growing quite fast. They have 20 plus workers and a ton of developed brood. I have been feeing them dandelion seeds. I am not sure if they have been eating them however the food that they enjoy the most (that I have seen) is wet dog food. (chicken.) They only eat it when it is wet though. This is a great food because it is cheap, easy, I already have it and I don't have to kill or culture. (Not that you cannot or that it is not okay.) I highly recommend this food source for those reasons. The ants are in a tubs and tubes setup with a small layer of sand and rocks. I have put a new water test tube in because their old one was dried. They have finally went in and are starting to drink from it. However they have not moved in brood and queen. I lightly mist a small section across the outworld. The ants are very good at digging and keep trying to no matter what the conditions. I believe they have also eaten part of a fly larvae and brought it in to their tube. I plan to give them a firebrick nest soon. I will be posting more about them at my YouTube channel here: . I highly reccomend these ants for beginners and experts. Do not fear their sting, because of their poor climbing skills. And they boast a nice red color. I will update this on my YT channel tomorrow, thanks for reading, have a nice day and stay tuned for the next update. (Reply w/ questions or comments.)           

Edited by NoveltyAntsYT, December 18 2022 - 1:20 PM.

[MsTesaAnt]

Hi.  I enjoyed reading about your colony, especially what you feed your colony.  I feed mine dry chicken cat food that I crushed and added to water.  But after reading you post, I think I'll try soaking the cat food for about 30 min and then putting the uncrushed food in my outworld.  My ants also enjoy chicken baby food. 

 

I visited your website and your ants are BEAUTIFUL!

Edited by MsTesaAnt, March 22 2021 - 7:52 AM.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

Hi.  I enjoyed reading about your colony, especially what you feed your colony.  I feed mine dry chicken cat food that I crushed and added to water.  But after reading you post, I think I'll try soaking the cat food for about 30 min and then putting the uncrushed food in my outworld.  My ants also enjoy chicken baby food. 

 

I visited your website and your ants are BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks for looking at them. The only problem is that it dries before they can finish.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

Ok so it is the next day and something not so good is happening. The ants are moving their brood to a small plant in the outworld. I think they want more heat but my heating able isn't hot enough to get in their test tube but instead just heats the sand. I cannot cut a hole to use a tube into a more heated nest. What should I do?

Edited by NoveltyAntsYT, March 22 2021 - 8:23 AM.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

UPDATE: I have thought of a temporary solution, I put a straw on the bottom of their outworld right above the heat. I hope this will be hot enough for them. They have found it and are roaming inside. I will post videos on my YT found here: And I have found that these ants are amazing at digging. They do not just carry grain by grain, but instead just start repeatedly slapping the sand like a dog, and can dig a small tunnel in a mere matter of minutes. Just about to post the video, however it does not capture this behavior very well. If you enjoy my channel, please consider subscribing! Thanks. edit: vid is up

Edited by NoveltyAntsYT, December 18 2022 - 1:21 PM.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

UPDATE:  I have officially found the perfect food source, and the ants seem to love them. They are organic chia seeds and the ants have piled them in their test tube. Also I gave them some fish food which they took in as-well. I will be uploading on my YouTube channel, found above in like an hour or so. I hope this helps.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

UPDATE: I have confirmed that they will eat, fish food, I crumpled it up in to small pieces and 3 days later I see an ant carrying an egg that had red on it, meaning it ate the red fish food. As I said before they put it in their test tube.

Edited by NoveltyAntsYT, March 25 2021 - 11:38 AM.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

Ok so its been a bit of time since I have posted. But the ants are still alive. The reason I haven't posted is because I feel like not that many people are interested due to low replies, but relatively high views. However I have decided that I will be continuing this journal. Now, onto the ants, I have seen them digging a-lot recently, but there is not enough sand and they keep giving up, so I added in a small mound where they can dig. And they have, a few holes can be seen from the surface. I suspect the worker count is around 25. Fish food seems to work well for them. Might not be back here for a bit, but if someone replies I'll respond. Thanks

[NoveltyAntsYT]

I am back. Nothing crazy has happened but I cut up some fly larvae and the ants seemed to like it, drinking at the insects insides. 

[Kaelwizard]

Insects are a good supplement, but they should be primarily feeding on seeds if at all possible.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

Insects are a good supplement, but they should be primarily feeding on seeds if at all possible.

Yeah they are.

[Lillyrose]

What kind of seeds do they like best? I guess to reduce trash you wouldn't want them in shell?

[NoveltyAntsYT]

What kind of seeds do they like best? I guess to reduce trash you wouldn't want them in shell?

Well they bring in chia seeds but idk if they eat them or not, plus now they covered them in sand sooo. But anyway I feed them almond and sometimes see them nibbling at it (not sure if they are actually eating) I also harvest dandelion seeds and at first they didn't work but they have a few in their nest now. Personally I like having the shell because it shows me that they are eating that seed and taking the shell off. However for harder shells you can crush them.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

UPDATE: NEW YouTube video, okay fine its not that entertaining... But anyway I gave my ants some sugar water and immediately ants started to drink from it. Didn't think this would happen since ppl say they don't like sweets. Here it is Please like and subscribe, the amount of views on this journal is so cool! Comment if u want 

Edited by NoveltyAntsYT, December 18 2022 - 1:22 PM.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

It had been a while, the ants are doing good! They are starting to put more and more larvae and pupae in their other test tube that has water in it. It seems they don't mind the light. Also their population is doing really well and they are  most likely at the 50s!! And they still have tons of developed brood. Please like and subsribe to my YouTube channel, NA Ants for more updates!

[Lillyrose]

That's awesome, glad they're moving well. It's funny how some hate light and some don't care.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

[attachment=6689:EAA03409-FCC5-4DC1-96C5-D1283AAAE76D.jpeg]

[NoveltyAntsYT]

Update: The queen moved to the new tube and new workers just hatched! So many more pupae to hatch!

[NoveltyAntsYT]

[attachment=6698:09A7CCD4-3F31-4FF5-B993-8CF573DB6629.jpeg]​ worker drinking

09A7CCD4-3F31-4FF5-B993-8CF573DB6629.jpeg​ worker drinking

(Newly hatched with queen right behind.

[NoveltyAntsYT]

[attachment=6699:82D1BFE6-5F71-4961-96B8-C67D1A0BFDA9.jpeg] New test tube, still more outside and in old tube.

Edited by NoveltyAntsYT, April 23 2021 - 9:38 PM.