5 replies to this topic

[BlueNinja]

Hey All! 
This is my first post here and my colonies are finally ready to move into nests! I'm designing nests on Fusion360. 
I'm running into one problem; HYDRATION. I am terrified of this hydration situation and it's the only reason I haven't built a nest yet.
I'm not sure how to go about providing them a consistent source of water/humidity that won't mold and that won't require constant attention in case I go out of town for a week. I have some soft facial sponges as well as the fine stainless mesh at my disposal. I'm also thinking about using perfectcast on the interior so it doesn't look boring and has a more natural look.
My idea:
I was thinking about embedding a small tube in the corner which will be filled with perfectcast like a little mound. One person mentioned to have a small core of sand inside as a tiny resevoir to help it distribute. The tube can be filled with water which will then soak down into the perfectcast over time. I'd also provide a backup source of water similar to THA's 'nestmate' just in case they weren't able to get enough from the mound. 
I've seen people make solid plaster/grout/stone/perfectcast nests with little cutouts in which they place a piece of sponge that they saturate so it's somewhat similar to the design I'm proposing above. I have also seen little water reservoirs with mesh tops in the THA hearth nests that they can stand above. I'm having a really hard time deciding and I don't want to end up killing a colony that I've spent so long raising. 

Does anybody have any suggestions or feedback? Thank you!   
 

[ANTdrew]

Make a water tower similar to THA. Take a suitable round container and your fine mesh and fuse the mesh to the container using the heat from an old frying pan. Embed this in your Perfect Cast with a tube running to the outside for refilling. If you use a big enough container, you won’t need to refill for weeks.

Edited by ANTdrew, May 25 2021 - 9:12 AM.

[BlueNinja]

Make a water tower similar to THA. Take a suitable round container and your fine mesh and fuse the mesh to the container using the heat from an old frying pan. Embed this in your Perfect Cast with a tube running to the outside for refilling. If you use a big enough container, you won’t need to refill for weeks.

Are you talking about the little makeup containers they use that they embed halfway into the plaster material? How can they drink from that though if the mesh is above the water and not in contact with it or are they able to drink by absorbing moisture from their air? I thought they had to "put their mouths on it".

[PetsNotPests]

I'm pretty sure the water tower's porpoise is to provide the nest with moisture and humidity, and not a drinking source. TarHeel ants has a thingamajig called a "nestmate" which is the drinking source. 

[ANTdrew]

Yes, it is for humidity. Provide nectar and water to drink in their outworld.

[Mettcollsuss]

I'm fairly certain that the ambient humidity from water evaporating from the water tower into the nest is enough for most species. None of my colonies have water sources in the outworld (though they probably should) or nestmates, they're doing fine with just the water tower.