9 replies to this topic

[Ants4ever7]

I am giving my ants small pieces of lunch meat but they don't seem to be eating it. They are small colonies and are very receptive to liquids. I was wondering if you could somehow boil the protein out of it or something. Does anyone know how to make protein jelly. If anyone knows any recipes that'd be great. 

Edited by Ants4ever7, October 22 2024 - 6:26 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Get mealworms, crickets, wingless fruit flies, or dubia roaches. Save the lunch meat for your sandwich.

[Ants_Dakota]

When discussing the topic of feeding ants human food, you should view this post by user RPT for more information.

[bmb1bee]

Also depends on what species you're feeding, as some tend to be more picky than others with their food.

[rptraut]

Hello Ants4ever7;

 

I tried feeding protein jelly to my colonies, hoping it would be a good substitute for insects while I was away on vacation.    Unfortunately, my ants didn't seem to like it.    Others may have had better results.   If you're looking for a liquid protein, I'd suggest raw egg yolk.  My ants like egg yolk cooked, yours might like it raw as well.  

 

If you've read the posts recommended above, you'll know that I feed mainly meat products to my ants.   I rarely feed insects to my larger colonies, I feed some insects, like flies, to smaller colonies along with their meat ration.    Right now, I feed cooked chicken and turkey dark meat, cooked chicken and turkey liver, cooked egg yolk, raw ground pork, cooked salmon and canned dog food (the inexpensive dollar store kind).   For small colonies I include small pieces of crickets, all kinds of flies, earwigs, beetles etc.   I don't feed any lunch meat or other processed meat, too afraid of salt or preservatives harming my ants.   

 

If your colonies are small or shy, you might find they'll take protein better if you place it under some kind of cover, I use the feeding tray.   Even something as simple as a small, dried leaf gives shy ants cover and the confidence to forage longer and take more food if they don't feel exposed while doing so. 

 

 

 

This is a good sized Tetramorium colony enjoying their ration of chicken liver and egg yolk.    I don't know how many crickets it would take to replace this amount of protein, but I do know there'd be a lot more trash to remove when the ants were done with it.

RPT

 

 

[Ants4ever7]

Thank you for this info. Is it safe to feed them raw egg yolk or should I cook it first to make sure its safe?

[ruth]

Hello, giving them Jelly is not a bad idea, it can prevent them from drowning. Here is a simple receip to make jelly.

 

1. Add 2 cups of sugar in a frying pan

 

2. Add 1 cup of water to the sugar

 

3. 1 tsp of lemon juice and honey (Be carefull with citric acid because it can affect ants)

 

4. Mix it and bring it to boil (Sugar has to dissolve)

 

5. Cook for 1 minute more and turn off the flame

 

6. In another frying pan add 1/2 Corn flour

 

7. Add 1 and 1/2 cup of water

 

6. Mix it and turn on the flame until it thickens

 

7. Add sugar syrup 

 

8. Mix for 15 minutes 

 

9. Add 1 tbsp of butter

 

10. Mix it until it doesn't stick to the pan

 

Finally, put it on a topper and let it freeze for 2 hours.

 

I haven't tried it but let me know if it works

 

[ruth]

There is no problem if you feed them with raw yolk, you can try with cat food too.

Edited by ruth, October 23 2024 - 7:54 AM.

[bmb1bee]

Hello, giving them Jelly is not a bad idea, it can prevent them from drowning. Here is a simple receip to make jelly.
 
1. Add 2 cups of sugar in a frying pan
 
2. Add 1 cup of water to the sugar
 
3. 1 tsp of lemon juice and honey (Be carefull with citric acid because it can affect ants)
 
4. Mix it and bring it to boil (Sugar has to dissolve)
 
5. Cook for 1 minute more and turn off the flame
 
6. In another frying pan add 1/2 Corn flour
 
7. Add 1 and 1/2 cup of water
 
6. Mix it and turn on the flame until it thickens
 
7. Add sugar syrup 
 
8. Mix for 15 minutes 
 
9. Add 1 tbsp of butter
 
10. Mix it until it doesn't stick to the pan
 
Finally, put it on a topper and let it freeze for 2 hours.
 
I haven't tried it but let me know if it works

Doesn’t seem to provide protein though, which was the main subject of this thread.

[ANTdrew]

Zero protein, but sounds good on some toast.