The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

So with my small Campo Pen. colony, I noticed when feeding them today there was a newly enclosed nanitic (already darkened to match the rest) with it's legs bound by something (assuming it was the cocoon) and the other nanitics were feeding it (no idea how long ago it enclosed, can't be too long as they just came out of diapause a couple of weeks ago) yet weren't helping it more so than nibbling at the very tail end of the bind.

I isolated the bound nanitic and removed it from the enclosure, grabbed a magnifying glass, blunt tip needle, tweezers, and dampened Q-Tip. I was able to free the ant from the bindings, it was by all rightful means confused and dazed, stumbling around a bit before getting it's footing and bolting back and forth in the small container I was working with it in.

When reintroduced to the colony, it ran to the main opening where other nanitic dragged it into the nest by the other cocoons and began to groom it, carrying on like normal, queen even fed it.

My question is, has anyone else seen something like this at all and was what I did the ethical thing to do? Surely as their care provider and for lack of better term "god", showing mercy and allowing the ant to carry on normally with it's legs free and under it's own mobility was the right call rather than let a new, smaller colony lose a new nanitic.

I mean they're your ants so you can do whatever you want with them, whether it's ethical or unethical. It was fine that you helped the ant out.

I think you're over analyzing the situation lol

I had that happen to one of mine, however mind was further stuck and it ended up dying a few days after I removed it. Something was wrong with the environment, think it was too dry causing it not to form properly.

Ethically tho? You ARE the ant god. Do what you will, as long as its in the effort of helping the ants.

if i were the ant i would feel very grateful.

CherrieEvolved wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:29 am

I had that happen to one of mine, however mind was further stuck and it ended up dying a few days after I removed it. Something was wrong with the environment, think it was too dry causing it not to form properly.

Ethically tho? You ARE the ant god. Do what you will, as long as its in the effort of helping the ants.

That's what I was thinking as well, however the queen actively joins the other workers while foraging, pushing away other workers from food at times to carry it back herself, so I have her and the colony in a semi-claustral set up. (She tears away at any cotton blocking a path she wants to take). So I'm hesitant about increasing the humidity at the moment until their stored food is taken out or is eaten.

If you have a test tube portal, just use that. Both of my colonies with workers right now like to carry the protein (super worm parts) back to their nest next to their eggs. Because of this I hooked a clean test tube onto the portal as well, so as soon as their current one gets too moldy they can just move to the other one. It will already have their smell near it so it should be an easy move. I also do not use cotton unless it is a really small species, AntsCanada sells plugs for the test tube portal that stops issues from cotton-pulling ants.
GL!