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Hibernation Issues...


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7 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Devi - Posted October 16 2020 - 6:51 AM

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I put some of my tetramorium in the fridge yesterday for hibernation. I checked on them today and they looked... Well, not so good. They were spread throughout the test tube and all laying on their backs. Please tell me this is normal and they are not all dead?

#2 Offline TestSubjectOne - Posted October 16 2020 - 6:55 AM

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Take them out and see how they react. The fridge might have been too cold for them depending on how cold they get in the wild.


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#3 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted October 16 2020 - 6:57 AM

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this is usually how ants hibernate, i think.


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#4 Offline KitsAntVa - Posted October 16 2020 - 7:51 AM

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There’s a small but noticeable difference between dead and alive when they are asleep they have their legs kinda curled up but not like how you see a dead spider you can tell they are dead when you see them curled in a ball with their legs out, they can’t really move in hibernation so them being on their backs is somewhat normal. Taking them out for a while is good to check in them though as Testsubject said.
We don’t talk about that

#5 Offline ANTdrew - Posted October 16 2020 - 7:58 AM

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Make sure your fridge is not too cold. If you can adjust the cooling level, lower it to increase temp. Also don't put your ants close to where the cooling comes out because that can be significantly colder than the rest of the fridge and could even freeze them. I've never seen hibernating Tetramorium on their backs.


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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#6 Offline steelplant - Posted October 16 2020 - 9:13 AM

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You probably know this, but you need to lower temperature slowly over 2 weeks so they can make their blood antifreeze.
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#7 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted October 17 2020 - 12:54 PM

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That depends on how cold you plan on keeping them. Many people don’t keep them nearly cold enough for the antifreeze to even kick in.

#8 Offline steelplant - Posted October 17 2020 - 2:42 PM

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Thanks kaelwizard.




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