264 replies to this topic

[UtahAnts]

Here's a Camponotus hyatti queen in the foranto style wood nest:

 

 

 

 

All they have for hydration is a tube with cotton at one end and a plastic plug at the other, or a refillable water reservoir:

 

 

 

Edited by AntsUtah, October 29 2021 - 1:56 PM.

[UtahAnts]

I recently had a customer ask for a custom formicarium, similar to an antshack nest but made with different materials, and also designed to accommodate pogonomyrmex:

 

 

 

A top view:

 

 

 

The Ant Shack Medium sized nest, which this one was based on:

 

 

 

Materials used:

-Perfect cast

-Oak wood

-Desert Sand

-Other misc. materials such as screws, mesh and tubing

[UtahAnts]

Another custom nest, this one was designed to be a smaller version of the rectangular perfect cast nest:

 

 

 

 

On another note, here's some outworlds for the custom nests shown above:

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

This thread is so cool, I've ordered some perfect cast to try and make my own! 

[MrPurpleB]

Is perfect cast mold resistant, does it expand a lot when it cures, and how difficult is it to remove the plaster cast from the container you use to mold it in?

[UtahAnts]

Is perfect cast mold resistant, does it expand a lot when it cures, and how difficult is it to remove the plaster cast from the container you use to mold it in?

 

To answer your question, perfect cast is:

 

1). Mold resistant (I have never had any large outbreaks)

 

2). It does expand, and is comparable to hydrostone in that aspect. Because of this it is harder to remove the mold from the casting container. To get past this problem, I either use cheap, expendable containers when casting, or use slightly flexible containers. I like to use these ones from Walmart:

 

 

You can easily get the mold out without breaking, at the same time they are solid enough to make a hard edge with perfect cast. Not to mention they come in several sizes

[ANTdrew]

Man, I love that nest!

[MrPurpleB]

 

Is perfect cast mold resistant, does it expand a lot when it cures, and how difficult is it to remove the plaster cast from the container you use to mold it in?

 

To answer your question, perfect cast is:

 

1). Mold resistant (I have never had any large outbreaks)

 

2). It does expand, and is comparable to hydrostone in that aspect. Because of this it is harder to remove the mold from the casting container. To get past this problem, I either use cheap, expendable containers when casting, or use slightly flexible containers. I like to use these ones from Walmart:

 

continer.jpg

 

You can easily get the mold out without breaking, at the same time they are solid enough to make a hard edge with perfect cast. Not to mention they come in several sizes

 

Gotcha, thanks! I have been interested in building a few nests like this. Didn't know this was also an option until now, looks great.

Edited by MrPurpleB, August 20 2021 - 2:27 PM.

[UtahAnts]

This nest is going to house some crematogaster, hopefully the "5x stronger then plaster" on the front of the bag holds up.

 

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I moved my one of Crematogaster colonies into it, and they seem to enjoy it. I'll show the final result in my journal.

 

 

The first worker, taking a look:

 

 

 

And a quick look into the molding process:

 

Edited by AntsUtah, August 28 2021 - 3:55 PM.

[UtahAnts]

Firebrick Formicarium v2

 

I finally tried out firebrick nests again, and it was surprisingly entertaining. I'm going to make a guide on the process I went through, so if anyone ever wants to try this material, they can have an idea for what it's like. (Link to guide here)

The firebrick itself was coated in grout (polyblend sanded), this is to preserve the soft material, and to stop the ants from chewing out, along with preserving humidity. The list could go on and on, coating the firebrick with something like grout, or rubber sealant in crystal's case, is paramount. 

 

It's difficult to see the similarity, but I based this nest on a wild Formica nest (image below). The smaller chambers on the top, are probably to help keep the nest at the right temperature, and take advantage of the sun. The lower chambers purpose, as far as I could tell, are to create a space to place brood, the closer to the rock/surface an ant goes, the warmer it will be. I tried to mimic that, but I don't know how I could simulate heat coming from the top as in a natural nest. Perhaps a heat lamp would do the trick.

 

 

 

 

 

The wild nest:

 

Edited by AntsUtah, September 29 2021 - 7:42 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Brilliant!

[UtahAnts]

Another small rectangular perfect cast nest for Formica species, PM me if you're interested in a custom nest. I also tried making a removable out world base, which you can take out and switch with a new one if it gets too filthy.

 

 

 

 

[UtahAnts]

I recently made 2 formicariums using sand as the main molding material. By doing this, the obvious benefits are:

• Very quick and easy to make many nests.
• The surface of the chambers is easier to grip to then a bare clay-cast nest.
• Many sand sizes and colors available.
• Looks nice.

 

 

With my first nest, I was just testing the material (fine grain sand), and getting a feel for the capabilities of the material:

 

 

 

 

With my second nest using this technique, I molded definite chambers, making this nest look like a mini-labryinth or something similar. I will definitely be making similar nest in the future. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The appeal to using this technique is that as soon as you mold the chambers and pour, you are done. No epoxy need be applied, or in my case sandy casting material. Simply wash the sand out, or collect it for future use.

[UtahAnts]

My most recent customer nest, this one was actually made for AntDrew. You can check it out soon on his Crematogaster journal here. The nest was made of Hobby Lobby Perfect Cast, which should prevent the Crematogaster from escaping. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nest when it came out of the mold:

 

 

 

The outworld after a good washing:

 

 

*Edit:

 Please note I simply offer a cheaper alternative to the largest brands in ant keeping. Each nest is custom-made, and therefore one of a kind. I have no product line, the nests I show on this thread are only to show the advanced ant keeping community that DIY nest solutions are possible. Among other brands, I respect THA and Foranto as some of the best in the business. It should be noted however that most nest making companies have no legal protection for their products. Instead, sellers like Foranto rely on the pure skill and art they put into their products to set them apart in the market. I have bought nests from both THA and Foranto, both of which excel at what they do. Me making some DIY nests will not affect Mack's business; ant keepers who already make formicaria themselves will continue to do so, those who buy professional quality formicaria will continue to buy.

 

If anything, making DIY formicaria helps the community as a whole, as new people to the hobby often are turned away at the prospect of buying an expensive nest for something they have not learned to appreciate yet. As they become more advanced however, and their colonies grow, ant keepers often turn to larger and better formicaria. Cheaper nests should, and do, serve as the intermediate step(s) between a simple test tube and a THA Fortress.

Edited by UtahAnts, September 1 2022 - 5:52 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Yup!

Edited by ANTdrew, November 1 2021 - 7:39 AM.

[ExponentMars]

Wow, the nests you make look insanely good, keep it up  

[kiedeerk]

[quote name="AntsUtah" post="202325" timestamp="1635544427"]

My most recent customer nest

Watch out. You will receive angry emails and letters from someone soon lol

[UtahAnts]

These nests were made for a wide variety of species. Each nest has different chamber sizes and depths, along with a large humidity gradient. I have some more nests coming along nicely as well, and I'm ecxited to show all of you in the next few updates.

 

 

 

[UtahAnts]

I had been wanting to make a vertical nest with a top view point for a while, so when a customer asked for something similar to a Tar Heel Ants "Atrium", I was very interested. The nest was made from Perfect Cast using a wood mold. It's a 3 sided nest with a wide vertical shaft going through the middle. I refined the edges with an electric sander and drill press. The outworld was made with a natural vermiculite sand mix combined with red soil, along with some "wonder stones". I also got some AMAC boxes so I'm starting to use those as well. The chambers vary in height from 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch, allowing almost any size of ant to feel comfortable in the formicarium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bottom layer of the nest might seem larger relative to the rest of the nest. This is becuase of the extra tall water towers used. The nest has two water towers, each one has extra space underneath the actual water reservoir, allowing LED lights to be hidden under the formicarium.

 

 

 

When lit up, the nest, and especially the vertical shaft, look very interesting. The texture of the shaft reminds me of a termite nest with all the small nooks and chambers in the sides.

 

 

 

 

 

[UtahAnts]

This nest was made for a customer's unidentified Formcia species. It's lower ceilings and large humidity gradients should allow the Formica to feel right at home. 

 

 

 

 

The setup (sorry about the bad angle)

 

 

 

 

On another note, here's an update on the 3-D printed nest, it houses a sizeable Tetramorium colony with no problem yet.

 

 

Edited by UtahAnts, February 21 2022 - 4:40 PM.