26 replies to this topic

[Lillyrose]

So I tried to use the heating cable but it says it's not safe to use on acrylic .. only glass. My babies are in an acrylic outworld with the nest inside... what do I do?

[drtrmiller]

So I tried to use the heating cable but it says it's not safe to use on acrylic .. only glass. My babies are in an acrylic outworld with the nest inside... what do I do?

 

The Zoo Med brand works just fine when resting on most acrylic.  If you are using a different brand that gets hotter, then that won't work.

Read my earlier post and use as I instructed, avoiding overlapping the cable or running it too close together, which can create hot spots.

[Ants_Dakota]

you could put cloth between the formicarium and the heating cable. that might work.

[Pickle]

In the case of a test tube set up, how far away should I put the heating cable?

[Flu1d]

Some ants want it to be closer, however since I keep my house warm, I just leave it at the tip under the dry cotton at the front of the tube.. and for my nest, my invicta like it HOT so I have it closer to the middle and they build their brood to sit as close to it as possible.

[AntsCali098]

Some ants want it to be closer, however since I keep my house warm, I just leave it at the tip under the dry cotton at the front of the tube.. and for my nest, my invicta like it HOT so I have it closer to the middle and they build their brood to sit as close to it as possible.

Agreed. Definitely don't put the heating cable too close to the water either it could create a condensation issue, and could drown/bake the ants. 

 

You are brave for keeping invicta. Good luck capturing them when they break free 

Edited by AntsCali098, June 5 2023 - 9:11 AM.

[Flu1d]

Some ants want it to be closer, however since I keep my house warm, I just leave it at the tip under the dry cotton at the front of the tube.. and for my nest, my invicta like it HOT so I have it closer to the middle and they build their brood to sit as close to it as possible.

Agreed. Definitely don't put the heating cable too close to the water either it could create a condensation issue, and could drown/bake the ants.

You are brave for keeping invicta. Good luck capturing them when they break free

Haha my first ants were invicta. I started during the fall and the only ants that flew were invicta. Since they were all I could catch, I kept them. So far, they don't even try to escape. I feed them loads of sugar water, honey water, roaches and fruit flies. They tried to test the talcohol a few times but didn't press it too hard since they get plenty of food and water, and I keep the nest (I made my own nest and outworld using Cheeto's design( nice and warm with plenty of hydration. They don't seem like they care to explore.

I also have created my nests so I can attach more to increase the size, plus I have several other sizes awaiting their overgrowth.

The only ants I have that I'm worried about escaping are my Brachymyrmex patagonicus, they are OUTRAGEOUSLY tiny (especially since it is a young colony comprised of nanitics and smaller workers and they are ALWAYS wanting to look for small places to escape regardless of how much I feed them).

And I wholeheartedly agree with the Heating cable not being too close to the water.. that's a good way to drown out your colony. I noticed it happening with one of my earlier invicta colonies that I no longer have.

I am curious to see how long it takes before this colony decides its time to send out scouts further, I am hoping they don't try chewing their way out of the plastic lol