5 replies to this topic

[Sandy329]

I have a camponotus queen that laid her first eggs that grew into nanitics. Though, she hasn't laid anymore eggs since. They also don't take well to food, especially proteins.

[FeedTheAnts]

When did you take them out of hibernation?

[Sandy329]

January 24th

[Sandy329]

When did you take them out of hibernation?

January 24th

[FeedTheAnts]

It could be that they are not hot enough, do you keep them heated? Camponotus ants usually grow slowly at first, and the queens lay eggs in batches. If you do have them heated and they seem to be healthy then I would just leave them alone. Unless something is wrong the queen will lay at some point.

[KBant]

Maybe she’s not ready to take on the responsibility of raising kids. Maybe she wants to pursue a singing career and having more kids would only drag her down.

But maybe she just needs more:
protein- try cutting up some crickets so juices are easy to access, protein is most important for eggs and brood development- I keep frozen crickets in a ziplock bag in my freezer and take out as needed,
warmth- use a heating cable- and only put under one corner of the test tube or formicarium- not under the water or it’ll be a sauna- so that her and her workers can self regulate- you’ll notice they like to move brood around a lot, either closer or further from the heat source depending on the surrounding temperature,
and sugar water- try equal parts sugar dissolved in water. - I always add some fine particles- basically powder- of salt from my salt grinder to help them grow.
Also keep them in a dark area and don’t check up on them too often! That can startle them to the point where they don’t feel safe enough to go outside and eat/look for food.

Hope you have sucesss!

Edited by KBant, March 17 2018 - 2:50 PM.