42 replies to this topic

[1tsm3jack]

Update 10/7/24 (also questions): I bought her a heating pad and she seems to really like it , when I first put it in this morning I put only the very edge of her setup against the heat pad, when I got home this afternoon she was trying to dig a new nest on the side where the heat pad was, so I moved it to where more like half of her container is on it, the container has gotten very humid, as I can tell by the condensation, is this a bad thing, or should I just leave it and let the substrate dry out a bit more? Also how long should I have it on/off, or should it just stay on all the time? Thanks

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

That is something that most keepers would try to avoid because of visibility problems. Did you have any problems with it before when she was digging the nest?

[1tsm3jack]

That is something that most keepers would try to avoid because of visibility problems. Did you have any problems with it before when she was digging the nest?

It just started becoming humid when I put the heat pad on, because some of the water was evaporating I guess.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

 

That is something that most keepers would try to avoid because of visibility problems. Did you have any problems with it before when she was digging the nest?

It just started becoming humid when I put the heat pad on, because some of the water was evaporating I guess.

 

Yeah I know that but did you move the pad because she was digging? And also you can try to do a day/night cycle by increasing and decreasing the temp

[bmb1bee]

Raising and decreasing the heat really isn't necessary at all. Founding them in constant high heat has the best results. Typically, people found them in just a tube with some seeds and leave it an incubator for a month. A simple way to make an incubator is to get a styrofoam box and stick part of heat cable inside.

[1tsm3jack]

Raising and decreasing the heat really isn't necessary at all. Founding them in constant high heat has the best results. Typically, people found them in just a tube with some seeds and leave it an incubator for a month. A simple way to make an incubator is to get a styrofoam box and stick part of heat cable inside.

She is already in a setup where she has dug a nest, so I can't really get her out now haha, how would you suggest I get the humidity to stop?

[Ants_Dakota]

Raising and decreasing the heat really isn't necessary at all. Founding them in constant high heat has the best results. Typically, people found them in just a tube with some seeds and leave it an incubator for a month. A simple way to make an incubator is to get a styrofoam box and stick part of heat cable inside.

How do you know raising and lowering the heat is not good? Just curious.

Edited by Ants_Dakota, October 9 2024 - 4:37 AM.

[kenonical]

have any updates for us? 

[1tsm3jack]

have any updates for us? 

Nothing really, she has dug even more chambers and she has also coated the inside of the attached test tube with substrate, but not living in it. She also has a few more eggs now.

[1tsm3jack]

Update 11/1/2024

One larva    
I couldn't get a picture because as soon as I picked up her formicarium to check on her as her chambers are all right on the plastic on the bottom she promptly picked it, and the few eggs up and ran off haha

[1tsm3jack]

Update 11/6/2024:  She has one pupa now, I guess by the time I realized she had a larva it was already almost done with the larva stage, as it was very big and it is now a pupa, and she also has a very small larva and 5-8 eggs from what I can tell, so Nanitic/Nanitics soon  . I've got seeds coming in the mail this week for her. 

 

Edit: how long are the different stages for these girls?

Edited by 1tsm3jack, November 5 2024 - 10:14 PM.

[kenonical]

about 1-2 weeks for each stage, but it depends on the humidity and heat.

[1tsm3jack]

about 1-2 weeks for each stage, but it depends on the humidity and heat.

It is very humid and pretty warm in her setup so I guess that helps, I am guessing hers are growing in around one week because that larva became a pupa very fast and I checked on the other larva today and it is already significantly bigger.

Edited by 1tsm3jack, November 6 2024 - 3:38 PM.

[1tsm3jack]

11/9/24

I went to check on her this evening and she has passed. She was fine last night, taking care of her brood, gathering the seeds I had just gotten in the mail for her, etc. (other Pogonomyrmex things) she had just recently gotten a pupa and she had a larva and some eggs as well, she seemed to be doing so well, so I have no clue why she died, but this will be the end of the journal, hopefully I will be able to order some more in the future, but it will not be the same as collecting her myself in Utah. 

 

I have given her brood to my T. immigrans colony to see what would happen, as that is the only other colony I have on heat right now, so I will see how that goes but yeah.

Edited by 1tsm3jack, November 9 2024 - 5:09 PM.

[AntsGodzilla]

That's so sad! I hope you can get Pogonomyrmex again.

[1tsm3jack]

That's so sad! I hope you can get Pogonomyrmex again.

Yeah I hope so to, but like I said it won't be the same as collecting them myself.  I wonder if the seeds somehow killed her....... because she was fine before I gave her the seeds.

[AntsGodzilla]

 

That's so sad! I hope you can get Pogonomyrmex again.

Yeah I hope so to, but like I said it won't be the same as collecting them myself.  I wonder if the seeds somehow killed her....... because she was fine before I gave her the seeds.

 

Can you send the link for the seeds?

[1tsm3jack]

 

 

That's so sad! I hope you can get Pogonomyrmex again.

Yeah I hope so to, but like I said it won't be the same as collecting them myself.  I wonder if the seeds somehow killed her....... because she was fine before I gave her the seeds.

 

Can you send the link for the seeds?

 

I just got them from stateside, it's probably not the seeds but that's the only thing that was different so that's the only thing I can think of.

[AntsGodzilla]

A lot of wild caught queens are just bad and will die for no reason.

Edited by AntsGodzilla, November 9 2024 - 6:15 PM.

[1tsm3jack]

A lot of wild caught queens are just bad and will die for no reason.

I have had her for 6 months now though and she had brood and she was about to get her first workers so it makes no sense.