Hi All
Thought I would past two DYI formicarium I made from lunch snap top plastic London drugs containers. The seem to work well.Pics below.
Some things worked well and a few issues needed slight adjustments;
Issue-
1,Top thick plastic and I put a very small species in so I needed small air holes( too small even for the smallest drill). I used a heated sowing needle to add air holes. Holes still a little big so I added Fluon to the sides and around lid. Seems to keep them all in. Would use a heated small pin next time.
2, Used a 150 x 25 test tube and put a straw to drink opening so ants would still have founding chamber and could forage. Well all my ants including queens moved into the straw and don't lay in the test tube and I can't see if they are laying in the straw. Should I disturb them and remove straws or just leave them and hope as the colony grows they move into test tube?.
Positives on this container include;
1, Container is not too tall but tall enough to fit with spare room a 25mm test tube
2, The lid clamps shut and has a gasket which ensure ants stay in and tight
3, Lid is plastic not glass like some so air holes can be added.
4, Base wide enough to have short water towner, feeder dish etc...
I feed them organic honey, pin head crickets and an ant jelly my wife makes in star wars silicon moulds.
The ant jellies are made of organic juice & organic bone marrow Gallatin making them high in both protein and carb. However my colony is so small and the ants so small it is hard to tell if they eat anything at all. I might post feeding my Camponotus queens and workers in a few weeks and star wars jellies as they are giants.
