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Post by Joona on Aug 27, 2013 18:59:55 GMT
Cheers for that, that's a lot better then the ones I used lol I don't think my heat mats use enough wattage to make it work though, I'll keep looking as I think this will be my next investment, especially as winter kicks in,
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Post by Joona on Aug 27, 2013 18:06:37 GMT
I can send you a Lasius Niger I got from the July flights, they should have there first workers any time now. If your in the uk and don't mind paying the postage.
Good luck with your hunts in the mean time.
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Post by Joona on Aug 27, 2013 12:57:51 GMT
Wow that's a lot of brood! Makes my little colony look silly lol
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Post by Joona on Aug 27, 2013 5:48:03 GMT
Yeah, I remember being gutted when I lost my first Messor colony. Had them from a single queen and they were well over 1000 strong. I honestly think I'd cry if these don't work. Although I have seen some German set ups that are quite frankly poor and the colony's are thriving! I'm inclined to believe its all about how quick they get to you and start cutting again. I suppose nature does the rest.
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Post by Joona on Aug 26, 2013 17:12:25 GMT
Wow, your set up is amazing Mark. I bet you find it hard waiting to get the ants in it, but it will all be worth it in the end if the colony thrives like Adam's Atta do on his journal. Yeah it's a killer mate I won't lie. But I know they'll be here soon, and hopefully they'll be ok. I'm just so nervous that they'll die or I'll kill them some how as its kind of an expensive learning curve, and my wife won't say yes twice!
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Post by Joona on Aug 26, 2013 16:18:24 GMT
So I have been wiping the condensation from the set up all day as its getting a bit excessive and going no where no matter what I try but its finally going down a touch although the humidity is still on 99% RH on both digital meters the analogue one is showing 86% and the temps are set at 24-26'C I might drop these to 23.5-25.5'C so the average is 24.5'C so at the minute there is room for improvement so I'll keep working on this as I want it right. Sadly I'm some what of a OCD perfectionist and I cannot keep my eyes off it constantly jotting things down and tweaking here and there. I might take the substrate out of the spheres and just keep it in the main little tub that they will go in and the two foraging areas, depends how the condensation goes over the next few days. Here's the finished article (for now lol) Foraging Area's more Temp More Temp Humidity Sphere Substrate Set up complete Counting down the days now Really cannot wait. Mark
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Post by Joona on Aug 26, 2013 15:25:00 GMT
As soon as he's back from Trinidad I'll order them which I believe is the last week of September / first week of October. The thermostat just switches the heat mats on and off when It gets to 23.5'c they come on and when the probe hits 25.5'C they go off. I might get a new one that's always on but just dims the heat from the mats, I used those when I had snakes and there quite good with heat lamps but I'm unsure about heat mats. Lol hey again Antboy
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Post by Joona on Aug 26, 2013 10:25:44 GMT
The scabs are my 5 year olds, I think there great though such an active species although at the moment there plagued by winged males and they won't come out the ytong! My messors are only a few months old, I had a big colony a few years ago but they never recovered from a hibernation, I put them in my moms green house and the temps dropped and sadly they never made it. I also have a few Lasius Niger and flavus queens that I caught this year with the flights. I'm trying to down size everything as I know the Atta will take over my life and house lol
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Post by Joona on Aug 26, 2013 9:17:44 GMT
Same place Adam got his, he's the only seller I've managed to find in the UK www.tropicalhouse.co.uk/livestock.phpMost sellers I managed to find are from Germany and I wouldn't trust them in transit. I'm actually thinking about driving to Scotland to pick them up, 900 mile round trip but at least I know they'll be safe. If they get too big I have an unused conservatory that they can go in and it's heated lol.
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Post by Joona on Aug 26, 2013 7:21:31 GMT
Hello Mark , looking great mate , really looking forward to seeing your colony thrive. Will look fantastic with the ants scurrying about. Just a quick bit of advice , you mentioned you wanted them to expand slowly , If I were you mate I would let them expand as quick as possible to begin with, small colonies are less stable and the more fungus gardens they get up and running the better off they will be. : D A Sorry I was rushing, I want the bottom shelf to get full ASAP lol but the top shelf I want to put a few big containers just for fungus I want these to grow slowly as the will be my removable ones that aren't really seen. My wife won't let me put a tube through to the bedroom lol. Thanks for the support
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Post by Joona on Aug 25, 2013 19:13:05 GMT
Hi guys, first off let me say hi and thanks for allowing me to share my experience of keeping this amazing species with you. My names Mark I am from Walsall in the West Midlands. I have been keeping ants on and off for 6 or 7 years along with a wide variety of snakes and lizards but sadly due to family commitments (getting married and having two children) and living in a small flat I had to get rid of most of them. A few years ago my local garden centre got a colony of leaf cutters (I'm unsure on what species they are), I would spend ages in there looking at them and fell in love with ants all over again. After a quick Google I came across Adam James's Leaf cutter journal and that soon went in my favourite's list I read the entire thing over and over taking notes and translating German journals on other sites for what little info I could find. After buying a small Lasius Niger colony again and then progressing yet again to three colonies I begged my wife to let me have a colony of Atta and she said no, after much sucking up to her and lots of good deeds around the house she said I could have some if I could promise her they wouldn't escape and eat all her plants! I might add that at the moment I do not have the colony as the person who sells them is in Trinidad and will not return until the end of September. The Build
I wanted something similar to Adams set up rather then the dirt in a tank with a water jacket as I feel you can't watch the colony or fungus grow and crowd control can be an issue when you can't access the fungus with out being bitten. I ordered the spheres from eBay, I went for 120mm spheres, 5 to start off with and a small reptile breeding box for foraging until a bigger space is required. The spheres
I then built a incubator around the shelf I want them on to avoid condensation from direct heat underneath this way I'm hoping it will be mostly equal. (although I know now that it doesn't) My Small Messor colony enjoying the Incubator
When my humidity / temp gage arrived and 1mm and 4mm drill bits, I set to work on a few test to see how the heat mats will cope. I dampened some cotton wool and put the humidity checker in one sphere and the thermostat probe in another. I'm aiming for 83-90% humidity and 24-25'c temp. Humidity / Temp Gauge
Ok so I finally got my hatchling box from eBay (last time I use that guy!) and with my impatience I ordered another and both came the same day, I did a bit of rethinking and used both of them in the end. I'll use one primarily for feeding until there ready for a big foraging arena and the other to help regulate humidity. Then hopefully they will be used for fungus. I brought a third heat mat to keep the temps constant 25'c throughout the set up, I have noticed that as the temps rise the humidity drops but at 24'c I get around 74RH and that's just with leaves in there! All the spheres and boxes have seven 1mm holes drilled in them and tomorrow I'll block them all up with modelling clay for the ants to remove as they see fit, and attach the final two spheres and larger 'T' section for the fungus containers above and foraging arena below. I joined all the spheres together with 16mm ID tubing. I have ordered some coco fibre substrate and will place a small piece in each of the spheres and foraging area, hopefully it will hold the water fairly well and stop puddles caused by condensation. I plan to put the fungus garden and queen in a smaller tub that I will place inside a sphere as I know too much space can stress the queen out and cause problems with fungus growth, as soon as it fills the smaller pot ill transfer it to a sphere. Nest Area
Joined Spheres
Foraging Boxes
Smaller Tub
With Perspex Lid on
With the initial set up that the ants will have is now complete. I've yet to get there foraging area but I think there will be no initial rush hopefully not till next spring (I plan to add it when they have two fungus gardens). I'm unsure on size but I'm hoping in the region of 3ft x 2ft x 2ft with about 8 - 12ft of tube between the shelf and the foraging area. In the wild they can go up to 100meters away to forage and the slower the get the leaves back the slower they'll expand, we'll that's the plan anyway I have added coco fiber to the spheres and foraging areas to help regulate humidity and catch any condensation. The set up is now giving 88%RH and has temps between 24'C and 25'C so hopefuly I am heading in the right direction. And finaly the set up as it looks now. Left Side
Middle
Right Side
I hope you all like it and I must give Adam James EVERY credit! If I hadn't of found him and his journal I would of never been inspired to even try to do anything like this and all the info he has given me has been invaluable and I cannot thank him enough. I will update when I make any changes and in October when I get the ants.
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Post by Joona on Aug 21, 2013 6:33:48 GMT
Do they hurt when they get you? I've not been bit yet, but I suppose it's a matter of time.
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Post by Joona on Aug 13, 2013 13:06:12 GMT
Just a tip both my colony's go mad for fresh chicken, I tried chicken slices like you buy from super market and they turned there nose up at it. They also like cooked rice for some reason.
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