4 replies to this topic

[Tangerine]

So my new camponotus colony now has 2 nanitics, and some brood. had 3 nanitics but one of them died not sure why. well now I see what i think is mold on the cotton, the cotton is also almost dry. I connected their testube to a new one with some tape in between. made one dark and one light, the queen is trying to move the brood to the new testube but the workers keep pushing her back, picking up the brood and putting it back in the moldy testube.

 

What do I do to make the workers and the queen agree on the move? I'm not sure when to feed them again if they don't want to move since I have the two testtubes stuck together. Don't want them to starve or anything.

[Manitobant]

In my experience, camponotus are especially stubborn when it comes to moving tubes. I’d honestly just dump them into the new tube.

[AntTitan]

yeah, I'm even a new ant keeper, but this happens to me all the time, whenever i'm trying to switch out moldy test-tubes, or what-not. I've know that sometimes you can put a towel over the new testube and put a light over the old testube and they will be more likely to move out of the light into the good testube, or you can try by putting a bag of ice-cubes/cold under or near the old testube so they can hopefully move away from the cold and into the new testube. But for me, sometimes you just have to shake or knock them into their new testube if they are being really stubborn.

[azzaaazzzz00]

Yea, but do it rather carefully because 1. it could harm the queen, the workers, or the brood and 2. (don't know if this is just me or not) you might drop the test tube and break it depending on the position you're dumping them in.

[NancyZamora4991]

Yea, but do it rather carefully because 1. it could harm the queen, the workers, or the brood and 2. (don't know if this is just me or not) you might drop the test tube and break it depending on the position you're dumping them in.

That's not just you...