7 replies to this topic

[Just_antz]

I am a new perspective ant keeper. I am currently researching formicariums, ant species, etc. I would like to know if I need an outworld. I am minimalistic, and I envisioned hanging my formicarium on the wall. But after reading through this forum, it seems that an outworld is essential. Do I really need one? Someone please explain. 

[SleepyAsianAnter]

It is certainly possible, however it requires a lot more work. For example, when you feed a mealworm or other protein, the ants won't have an outworld to dump their trash in, so you need to remove it from the nest as soon as they finish before it molds. You'd also need to place sugar feeders or feeding plates directly into the nest and replace it. Constantly opening up the nest will stress them out, leading to slower growth.

[AntsCali098]

Definitely want to have one. They stress could even lead to death from opening.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

They need an outworld.

A place to take their trash, otherwise their excrement, and their food waste just pile up and rot where they are trying to live. It is no better for them than it is for us to live in our own filth.

 

While i find they will pick their own toilets which may or may not be easy for us to clean. When given a definite outworld space apart from their nest, they will generally transport their trash out to it.
Though with ants there are complexities to take into account. For example if they have way too much open empty nest space for how big the colony is. They might start filling up the extra nest space with their trash if they don't like too much big empty space around them. rather than talking it to a provided outworld.

 

 

Additionally an outworld can allow you to give food and clean out trash without needing to directly disturb the nest(vibrations, they don't like their nest being vibrated, they think something is about to dig in and eat them) too much to do so.

In a tiny setup for a small colony, something like a THA mini hearth is an all in one setup. You can't exactly take the lid off without the nest becoming aware.

 

But you can attach an outworld to it using a bit of tube like so:

 

 

 

Additionally a larger outworld can start to allow the ants to show you more of what their real world foraging behavior looks like.
In a small enough space their sent trail communications don't really work the same what with the "line" crisscrossing back and forth over itself again and again in a tiny little space.

once i opened up the outwrold space to this:

 

their behavior is strikingly different.

they "hang out" in the  small and med outworlds. but they explore and forage in the large outworld.

Additionally this image was from when i first hooked it up. The trash pile is still there in the left front corner of the med outworld.
The first group activity within about 15 min of hooking it up, was to move the trash pile to the far right side of the large outworld. As far from the nest as it gets, they clearly want to keep the trash away from their nest. They take full advantage of as much outworld space as i give them.

 

And this is for a small 20+ colony that's now at about 40 or so. I intend to move them into larger nests as needed, but i plan to keep expanding their outworld space as much as i can.

I am also noob to ants.

Here's my notes so far in case it helps.

https://www.formicul...x-occidentalis/

[Canadian anter]

Not that it's easy, but you could theoretically hang an outworld off a wall if you overdesign it or somehow find a hanging box

 

 

Solid Wood Glass Cover Display Box Cabinet Wall Hanging Diy Micro Landscape Hand-made Jewelry Building Blocks Storage - Storage Boxes & Bins - AliExpress

 

 

Something like that ^

Something like that 

[FelixTheAnter]

You definitely need an outworld! And honestly, an outworld is where you'll find the most interesting behaviors. As Yeti said, in a small outworld they can't form proper trails. It works, but a large outworld is when things get REALLY interesting. You can watch a single worker find food, lay down a scent trail back to the colony, and then watch the colony follow that exact trail to the food.

Not that it's easy, but you could theoretically hang an outworld off a wall if you overdesign it or somehow find a hanging box


Solid Wood Glass Cover Display Box Cabinet Wall Hanging Diy Micro Landscape Hand-made Jewelry Building Blocks Storage - Storage Boxes & Bins - AliExpress


Something like that ^
Something like that

You could also just put up a mini shelf for a regular outworld! I've been debating doing that, it would be cool to have a full wall-mounted setup.

[rptraut]

Once, I mounted an aquarium on a wall for a friend.  We picked a wall in his rec room where the utility room was on the other side containing the furnace, water heater etc.  I cut a hole in the drywall on the rec room side that was just big enough for the front of the aquarium to fit through and put a frame around it, like a picture.  On the other side (there was no drywall on that wall, only studs) I built a shelf to hold the aquarium and assorted stuff like pump, food etc.  It was easy for him to feed and look after the fish from the utility room while in the rec room, the aquarium looked very "neat" from a number of viewpoints.  In this instance the aquarium was meant to be viewed from one side only, but I'm sure you could make an ant setup that would look good from both sides of the wall.  Or, if you have something like a utility room or even a closet, you could mount the nest in one room, drill a hole through the wall, run a tube through it and connect the nest to an outworld on the other side where no one will see it, but it's easy for you to look after.  

[FelixTheAnter]

Once, I mounted an aquarium on a wall for a friend. We picked a wall in his rec room where the utility room was on the other side containing the furnace, water heater etc. I cut a hole in the drywall on the rec room side that was just big enough for the front of the aquarium to fit through and put a frame around it, like a picture. On the other side (there was no drywall on that wall, only studs) I built a shelf to hold the aquarium and assorted stuff like pump, food etc. It was easy for him to feed and look after the fish from the utility room while in the rec room, the aquarium looked very "neat" from a number of viewpoints. In this instance the aquarium was meant to be viewed from one side only, but I'm sure you could make an ant setup that would look good from both sides of the wall. Or, if you have something like a utility room or even a closet, you could mount the nest in one room, drill a hole through the wall, run a tube through it and connect the nest to an outworld on the other side where no one will see it, but it's easy for you to look after.

Ah, good ole American houses with their hollow walls. This would be significantly harder for anyone with concrete or brick walls lol