27 replies to this topic

[aqandres4]

It is not something that exists yet.

I was simply keen to understand if such a product would overcome your objections to feeding insects, since I'm contemplating developing such a product.

Well, I could just feed them food that we usually eat (I'll be careful not to feed them anything bad for them.) since I don't think that's a bad idea.

[drtrmiller]

 

It is not something that exists yet.

I was simply keen to understand if such a product would overcome your objections to feeding insects, since I'm contemplating developing such a product.

Well, I could just feed them food that we usually eat (I'll be careful not to feed them anything bad for them.) since I don't think that's a bad idea.

 

 

Just like it would be inappropriate to feed dogs human scraps throughout their entire life, your ants will probably be very short-lived if you rely solely on what you have in your pantry.  It is necessary to feed ants primarily what they would encounter in nature.

 

When dspdrew mentioned that he sometimes feeds his ants chicken, he does not mean as a staple part of their diet, but rather an occasional food offering.  The primary nutritive property many ants will obtain from chicken and other human foods is salt, which is something that ants kept in captivity require, but are frequently deficient.

[aqandres4]

 

 

It is not something that exists yet.

I was simply keen to understand if such a product would overcome your objections to feeding insects, since I'm contemplating developing such a product.

Well, I could just feed them food that we usually eat (I'll be careful not to feed them anything bad for them.) since I don't think that's a bad idea.

 

 

Just like it would be inappropriate to feed dogs human scraps throughout their entire life, your ants will probably be very short-lived if you rely solely on what you have in your pantry.  It is necessary to feed ants primarily what they would encounter in nature.

 

When dspdrew mentioned that he sometimes feeds his ants chicken, he does not mean as a staple part of their diet, but rather an occasional food offering.  The primary nutritive property many ants will obtain from chicken and other human foods is salt, which is something that ants kept in captivity require, but are frequently deficient.

 

Yeah I had a feeling having them rely only on human foods was kind of wrong and feeding them what they usually eat obviously makes more sense. Thanks again. It's probably possible for me to find a solution to feeding them since I'll have about a month to worry about that which should be enough time.

[aqandres4]

I just noticed how I was exaggerating with the prices when I heard how cheap everything is. I'm sometimes really clueless. Instead of me finding out how to make my own, I tried relying on people who sold these stuff. But if you try making it yourself (which I believe I was too lazy to do at that moment), everything is a lot more cheaper from what I heard. I'll try making my formicarium and outworld myself this time. I never thought about making this from a fun perspective, which it really actually is. I hope I can find some queens today. Thankfully, I also have $50 so I really shouldn't have any problem right now. Thanks again for the help.

Edited by aqandres4, June 16 2016 - 7:58 AM.

[Loops117]

 

Don't give up! I think i'm doing really good, and i've spent a grand total of $16 on supplies. $6 of which was for messing around and on grout i've yet to use. You can make an outworld and nest for literally $3, not to mention you can make them out of almost anything (trust me). Last night i made an all acrylic nest for $5.60. It's too big for all of my colonies, so i'll be making a much smaller version for $2.60 today.  You can also feed your colony food from your house. A small crumb to you could be a week or two's worth of food for a colony. Out of all my hobbys, this is by far the most cheapest, most captivating, and most rewarding.

How do you make such nest? This would really help me.

 

I'll put together a video on how i make mine. And i'll include pricing of each item. Even if you don't have equipment to cut, you can use containers and tubing. Which would prolly be a smarter start considering the nest will be a little less permanant.

[spytim]

There is a 3 dollar tower post somewhere on these forums, very nice! I've built 3 of them so far and my Pheidole, Camponotus and Solonopsis love them!
Here it is.
http://www.formicult...wer/#entry35609

[sgheaton]

I found all of my current, yet to be confirmed if fertile, queens in my yard. Using one of those screw/bolt/tool organizers as my starting chambers because I had them laying around. Using my cats/fish food as ant sustenance for right now. It's all literally been things I've found around my house. I will admit that I did put it on the back burner thinking that I had other things of higher priority first...when the queens just happened to appear luckily right then. It's all a matter of timing I'd say. 

Edited by sgheaton, June 27 2016 - 5:45 AM.

[aqandres4]

I'm allowed to feed insects to the ants, by the way. I just want everyone to know that.

 

By the way, check out this easy and efficient method to make a formicarium for starters:

 

 

 

 

If you're wondering about how to connect outworld go to 1:32 in the video. You just need something that connects your formicarium to the outworld (you can obviously use a tube).

 

Now that I think about it, you could extend that formicarium using tubes as the tunnels like AntsCanada's Omni Nest!

 

I was planning to make a formicarium with my dad but I'll stick with this for now because it's efficient, a good size to be considered as a starter kit, and because I like it's simple design. It just looks cool to me and I have ideas for it.

Edited by aqandres4, July 22 2016 - 7:52 PM.