7 replies to this topic

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

My Camponotus in a mini hearth keep dying of spraying themselves with formic acid. They first start spraying the outworld plastic them 30min later they are dead I lost 5 workers from this and this is still a small founding colony they only have 5 workers left they had 10.

I want to know why this is happening and how to stop this.

[The_Gaming-gate]

Something is probably disturbing the ants, causing them to spray acid in defense. Keep them in the dark or use red light to avoid disturbing them. Taking the lid off of the outworld should also let the acid air out a bit. Adding sand to the outworld may absorb some acid so it doesn't touch ants.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

I already do all this it is a open top outworld and i keep them in the dark. 

[The_Gaming-gate]

I already do all this it is a open top outworld and i keep them in the dark.

All you can really do is add sand then. Leaving ants with lots of food should distract them from spraying. Try putting a small fan over the outworld. You should probably boost them too in case more workers die.

Edited by The_Gaming-gate, March 30 2024 - 6:13 AM.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

I never thought about adding sand I will  try that.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

Something to consider. An all in one setup like a mini means anytime you are interacting wiht the outworld (feeding/cleaning), you will be disturbing the nest too. It's all in one and quite small, so kind of  impossible not to really.

If you had an outworld that was connected by a couple inches or more of tube, then it'd be a to easier to do keeper work and not disturb the nest/colony as a whole.

 

Additionally if you can give them a large enough open top outworld it would help in not concentrating their fumes on them as quickly. Keep in mind, minute moist particulates, and different gasses may not all float up and out, but fall down and concentrate in the lower portion of a walled in outworld even with no lid.

 

While it is possible to put ants in too large a nest that stresses them. You can't give them more outworld than they would have had in nature, you'd need the 1:1 earth sized outworld to do so.

Moving the outworld father away from the nest, and letting it be as big as you can, will likely help with this particular issue. If you have an outworld with additional ports on it, use of vented /screened plugs in those ports could also help allow any heavier gasses to drain out rather than concentrate in the bottom of the outworld.

 

 

More or less this is a response to their nest being disturbed. They would be outdoors, and they would spray the whole area around the nest down carpet bombing style. But being outside in the open flowing air their is no real issue with being able to concentrate those gasses enough to harm themselves from it. 
So whatever you can do so your interaction with the colony is as little nest disturbance as you can manage, is where to look for prevention to this. And after that figuring out good ventilation to avoid the concentration of this acid gas, for those times when it was unavoidable.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

I have the side connecting out world so I could add tubing from the nest to the out world for less disturbance.

[The_Gaming-gate]

I have the side connecting out world so I could add tubing from the nest to the out world for less disturbance.

You should do that. If you are using tweezers to feed the ants, it really shouldn’t create vibrations. Right now I would just dump a bunch of food in the nest and then avoid interacting them until the acid issue goes away.