6 replies to this topic

[azzaaazzzz00]

I've seen and read about many people just leaveing their outworld bare when they use a bin and a test tube. Is that okay or are outworlds with substrate better. If substrat is better, what's the best kind of substrate to use (I usually just use store bought dirt).

Thanks

[ANTdrew]

A thin layer of dry sand or a thin layer of plaster with sand embedded in it is best. Ants use sand for a lot of their projects/ mischief. A bare outworld wouldn’t look very good, and test tubes would roll too much.

[azzaaazzzz00]

Ok great! I'll start using that, thanks!

[Ants_Dakota]

of course it is not necessary if you don't have the time to do it, but it does let your creative side come out.

[Serafine]

There's 2 main reasons you want substrate:

 

- Without a substrate stuff will just lie around and ooze all over the place. This isn't that much of a problem while the colony is small (and doesn't drag food around or poop a lot), it will become one with a large colony.

- Substrate not only soaks up fluids from food and ant poop, it also takes up ant pheromones making it easier for ants to navigate and communicate. Also many ants use visual guidance like landmarks and optical flow to navigate and you can mount those in the substrate (to prevent decorations like artificial plants from falling over).

 

Actually, there's a third one. Blank tubs just look ugly.

Edited by Serafine, September 14 2022 - 7:14 AM.

[azzaaazzzz00]

So is it ok if I make some parts of the outworld more elavated than other parts to make it look better? I don't have plants to put in the outworld yet although I am planning to buy some.

 

Oh and another thing that I didn't want to make a whole new thread for, how do you make a talc barrier for the outworld? I usually use something else but I wanted to try out talc.

Edited by azzaaazzzz00, September 14 2022 - 12:30 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Why wouldn’t it be? Look in the List of Handy Links for info on talc.