Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Posts and questions relating to ant diet & nutrition. Let us know what you’re feeding your ants.

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Jadeninja9
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Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 27482Post Jadeninja9
Mon Jul 31, 2017 1:43 am

Serafine wrote:
Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:35 am
It really depends on your environment. If you know that there are no pesticides used nearby it's not an issue at all - I regularly feed spiders from the woods or around the house and never had any issues. Actually my ant's primary food source are frozen bee pupae I got from a friend and no problems so far.
When you get the spiders, do you smack them? For instance, if there was a spider on your wall that you wanted to feed to your ants, and you smack it with a shoe, wouldn't that get rid of most of the guts that the ants need?
Keeper of:
1x Camponotus Hyatti
1x Lasius alienus colonies
1x Tetramorium immigrans

Serafine

Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 27491Post Serafine
Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:39 am

I catch them in a small screw glass and freeze them.

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Jadeninja9
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Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 27517Post Jadeninja9
Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:22 am

Serafine wrote:
Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:39 am
I catch them in a small screw glass and freeze them.
Ok
Keeper of:
1x Camponotus Hyatti
1x Lasius alienus colonies
1x Tetramorium immigrans

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idahoantgirl
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Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 27531Post idahoantgirl
Mon Jul 31, 2017 2:08 pm

Serafine wrote:
Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:35 am
It really depends on your environment. If you know that there are no pesticides used nearby it's not an issue at all - I regularly feed spiders from the woods or around the house and never had any issues. Actually my ant's primary food source are frozen bee pupae I got from a friend and no problems so far.
True. I just want people to be very careful.
Proverbs 6:6-8

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

Keeping Tetramorium immigrans, Tapinoma Sessile

Cartil
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Location: Halifax, NS

Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 28137Post Cartil
Sun Aug 06, 2017 12:12 am

idahoantgirl wrote:
Sat Jul 29, 2017 11:28 am
I would not recommend feeding bugs from out doors. It could prove fatal for your colony. A founding colony definitely should have insects as it's main protein. After they have a larger amount of workers you can bounce between insects, meats, egg, dog food, ect. But make sure that they are still getting insects as at least a *****. They probably won't thrive quite as well as if they were being feed a fully insect diet for protein, but they should be fine. I buy a package of mealworms or crickets and freeze them. (fruit flies work great for a very young colony) And then I freeze them (except for the fruit flies which will produce flies for a couple months. I would dump some fruit flies into a big jar every couple of days and freeze them, but leave the culture to produce more.) When my colony is hungry, I take out a mealworm or cricket and cut it up to make the juices easily accessible, and stick it in a testtube inside the outworld.
Quick question though: Where do you find fruit flies? You're saying you have a culture of them, but I am assuming you got the initial batch from somewhere?

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Jadeninja9
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Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 28151Post Jadeninja9
Sun Aug 06, 2017 1:42 am

You can get them from pet stores like petsmart
Keeper of:
1x Camponotus Hyatti
1x Lasius alienus colonies
1x Tetramorium immigrans

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idahoantgirl
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Location: Idaho, USA

Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 28157Post idahoantgirl
Sun Aug 06, 2017 9:34 am

also, the fruit fly culture will die in a couple of months after purchase. unfortunately they do not breed never-endingly.
Proverbs 6:6-8

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

Keeping Tetramorium immigrans, Tapinoma Sessile

muhilanirudh

Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 28419Post muhilanirudh
Tue Aug 08, 2017 11:59 am

termites can be taken from the surroundings they dont cary any pesticides be cause they are very sensitive to it.

Cartil
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:13 am
Location: Halifax, NS

Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 29093Post Cartil
Mon Aug 14, 2017 10:22 pm

Great, thank you!

CampoKing
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Location: Colorado

Re: Non-Bug Protein Sources?

Post: # 45911Post CampoKing
Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:28 pm

I personally use the freeze-dried bugs for sale as reptile food (such as Fluker's® Freeze Dried Medley). I just rehydrate the bugs in water, and my Carpenter ants love them. Hope that helps.
Keeper of Camponotus:
C. pennsylvanicus, C. subbarbatus, C. nearcticus

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