4 replies to this topic

[Jamiesname]

My Camponotus p. Queen and 4 nanitics are gorged. I've been putting honey, sugar water, crickets and spiders in their test tubes. They avoid the protein, so it must still be a touch early for that right now. Regardless, these things look like honey pot ants. I know that's stretching it 😁, but I'm worried they'll eat too much. Do they eat constantly if food is available, or will they wait until they require it?

[FeedTheAnts]

they are fine, overfeeding should never be a problem.

[drtrmiller]

Many ants are scavengers, and must collect food as quickly as possible as it becomes available in nature. For ants kept in captivity, if a user continually provides food faster than can be consumed, many ants will continue to collect and store the surplus food. Depending on conditions in the nest, the uneaten food may be highly susceptible to molding. Therefore, while it is not possible for ants to overeat, a user can create potentially harmful situations by offering too much food too quickly. The benefit of many formicaries is that the user can see how much food is being stored inside the nest. It's okay to feed your ants if they have some food stored inside the nest, but not if they have excessive amounts.

[Jamiesname]

Thanks for the info guys! As for the mess from feeding, there's only 5 ants in the tube so I only put a tiny drop and/or piece of food on a piece of foil and slide it in the tube. I pull it out after several hours and repeat the process the next day or every two days. It's just that the queen and nanitics are so full that their gasters are stretched out and a grayish white membrane is showing between the segments. As long as they stop eating when they're full I won't worry about it.

Edited by Jamiesname, October 9 2017 - 3:11 PM.

[sgheaton]

I get scared I don't feed my ants enough as I'll give them a round of food to see a swarm of ants covering it. 
Next couple of days I'll continue to give them food.  95% of the time they will cover the food in sand, where I've been told that is a form of storage by them. They don't need the food quite yet and are saving it for later (aka leave to let mold over and be cleaned up later.)