Making a formicarium feel more like home

[Cappy64]

In the past I have had some of the gel ant farms and thought they were really cool. They are hard workers and really fun to watch. It makes me sad though that they die out. This is why Im looking more into the hobby and will hopefully be catching my first queen soon. I was wondering if the ants in a formicarium miss the part of their lives where they build their own nest and other activities they may have done in their natural environment.

[ooper01]

First off, we suggest you stop using gel farms. They are hazardous to the health of the ants. Second, I don't really know if there is a definitive way to tell if ants in captivity miss certain aspects of a non-captivity life. I would think, however, that they don't miss the "I wonder if something is going to eat me or smash me today" aspect though

I think it is nice to try and offer as much of a natural environment as possible. For example, I keep Harvester ants and that species really likes to dig. These are the species that have shipped with Uncle Milton ant farms for 50+ years. I provide as much outworld space as I can as well as a homemade soil formicarium for them so they can dig.

Best of luck.

[Martin]

Hello,
I keep Camponotus in a cork nest and I think it is the best option for them They are able to dig and the humidity is easy to maintain at certain level. Smaller - no digging species can't dig, but it is a good compromise between soil and plastic anyway