3 replies to this topic

[Stubyvast]

Being very proud of these creations, I have a few things to share with y'all! I love building Vivariums, as they are almost completely self-sufficient, needing only water and the occasional leaf litter, and they take nature and put a bit of it in a glass container (which I gotta say, is surprisingly satisfying). If anyone else has some cool outworlds/vivariums to show, please do! Lots to be inspired from. Here's the first one:

 

My 4th edition of this Vivarium (I never took pictures of the first few versions, sadly) I used to have a desert-like world in here, and before that a series of woodland worlds. This one has tons of Wood bugs inside, as well as aphids, which sadly are not the kind that ants farm, but the type that they hunt to eat. So no harm done I guess! Planning to eventually introduce a colony in here sometime, but unsure which type.

 

My latest Vivarium, which I've called Gnome Island. This one's specifically designed for my Lasius Niger colony to enter through a small port among the wood bits through a bit of vinyl tubing. Planning to introduce plenty of soil creatures here at some point (and line the edges with some vaseline, of course).

 

 

Sorry about the bad visual quality here, I don't have a very good phone to take pictures with...hoping to get a better camera someday!

[ANTdrew]

Fast growing ant colonies have a knack for trashing nice vivariums.

[IdioticMouse26]

Very cool! You might want to decrease the level of soil in the outworld though, the ants might nest in it.

[Stubyvast]

True for both! To ANtdrew I'd say definitely true, although to remediate at least a bit of that I put some soil creatures inside to help break down some of the debris, although inevitably you are right. For IdioticMouse, I did make sure not to include so much soil, for exactly that reason (this being in the second outworld). I instead layered pretty much the first inch and a half with rocks, and then a tiny 1/4 inch with soil. Hope that'll work anyways! Plus the conditions in the outworld are likely too moist for permanent residency. As for the first one, you are definitely right and I should probably do something about that, or somehow make it into a formicarium.

I intend to let these outworlds sit for a bit while the plants and soil creatures hit that nice balance, before introducing ants/predators.