Help, she's dying... I think

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argh226
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:58 pm
Location: Québec

Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49445Post argh226
Tue Sep 04, 2018 7:02 pm

Hi,
I've been trying to get myself my first queen and while I was searching for one... I never been able to get any.

While talking on the phone at a campground, one just passed by! Picture : https://ibb.co/eZscze

I took her right away and put her into a tube... 2 days later I kind of fear that she might be dying. She's not moving much if any at all.

What should I do?

cheetawolf
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Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49449Post cheetawolf
Tue Sep 04, 2018 7:58 pm

haha shes not dying, just resting, getting ready to start a colony. just dont check up on her too often, once a week at least
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argh226
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:58 pm
Location: Québec

Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49452Post argh226
Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:31 pm

cheetawolf wrote:
Tue Sep 04, 2018 7:58 pm
haha shes not dying, just resting, getting ready to start a colony. just dont check up on her too often, once a week at least
Lets hope so... I had another a few months back but that one didn't make it.

Should I worry about temperature? Its in my basement... which was my kids "game room", colder than my main floor, but not cold. I expect it would be colder in the ground tho...

I hope it'll work fine for her, I dont have much time left to get any other ants.

Thanks @cheetawolf

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idahoantgirl
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Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49453Post idahoantgirl
Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:34 pm

Hmmm... Is she on her side? That doesn't look to good... Video will help
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

argh226
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:58 pm
Location: Québec

Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49454Post argh226
Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:40 pm

I got her out of the tube and was barely moving but was moving so little was it. She's on the side yes. Cleaned another tube and got fresh water and got her back into it.

As much as I want to watch to make sure she's still alive I dont want to disturb/stress her anymore than needed.

Hunter36o
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:57 am
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49464Post Hunter36o
Wed Sep 05, 2018 3:04 am

If she is alive you in a way you have to open up the tube and only if you have to, don't go open it just cos.
Try giving her a drop and I mean a tiny drop of sugar water. Ants and bees differ a lot but one thing is for sure. When they run out of energy they literally crash and burn. Have you even seen a bee and it's acting relatively the same. On its side. Barely kicking. Then you give them some nice sugar water and bye bye happy bee. Same goes for queen ants just not as often due to their natural ability to time their flights.

However a well time flight could seem good but if the temperature booms up a little more queens looking for a new place to nest can burn up and dehydrate. In a way I hope this is the case because it is manageable
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

argh226
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:58 pm
Location: Québec

Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49476Post argh226
Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:52 am

I will try tonight... if she still moving, but I fear the worst now :(

In the tube : https://ibb.co/ma102z

Could it be a lack of oxygen? Too much air tight?

AntsLuxembourg
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Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49478Post AntsLuxembourg
Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:00 am

Alright here some basic tips for you to avoid to stress her too much and to give here a good chance to survive. First. Could your perhaps send us a picture so someone could identify the queen because it is hard to give the best help for your queen if no one knows what she is. Perhaps also add the location (Country and town) where you have caught her. The size of her (in mm/cm). Those help us a lot to identify the queen.

Second. Make sure that she is in a proper test-tube setup if possible or at least a long piece of tubing. Fill the test-tube partly with water 1/2 or perhaps 2/5 with water. The rest should be for the queen. This way the queen can choose between moist and dry.

Third. Place her perhaps in your wardrobe under some sheets or something that keeps the light from her. Ants normally always want to avoid the light so they try to find the darkest spot if possible.

Fourth. Check on your queen perhaps once a week so she can find her peace and start laying eggs. If you stress her too much she probably won't lay any eggs or even eat her current eggs or brood. They can also die from too much stress. So I would avoid stressing them too much so the queen can live a long life. This is perhaps the most important and also hardest step because you would love nothing more than to watch them for hours a day. Believe me. She needs her privacy like every lady does. I checked on my queens perhaps once every 1-2 days to see if they had laid any eggs. As soon as I saw eggs I moved them to the fertile area to disturb them less when checking on the other queens.

Alright. With those things in mind I would say we have to wait for the identification so we can provide you with some guidance. Like whether or not they need food during founding or if they need workers of another colony (slave making queens for example). There is the possibility that they need seeds which makes it important for you to get some so the colony can start working as soon as they got some workers.

You can always offer them some honey because they love their honey. :D
If you have any more questions just ask and we try to help you :P
Doing some proper research is the best way to start an antcolony.

Need help or want to help? https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=18153#p70566

Currently not keeping any ants anymore.

AntsLuxembourg
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Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 7:17 am
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Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49479Post AntsLuxembourg
Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:03 am

argh226 wrote:
Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:52 am
I will try tonight... if she still moving, but I fear the worst now :(

In the tube : https://ibb.co/ma102z

Could it be a lack of oxygen? Too much air tight?
Just saw this. The queen looks kind of dead. That's true but if she is still moving a little bit than everything is fine. For the oxygen. Yes they need it but unless you have put an ultra thick piece of cotton in their (like super compressed which would act like a rubber stopper) she should get some oxygen. If she is pulling on the cotton something might be wrong with the tube. Keep us updated anyway. It will be interesting to know if she made it. Perhaps she just needs a lot of peace so put her in a dark place which isn't disturbed every few hours.
Doing some proper research is the best way to start an antcolony.

Need help or want to help? https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=18153#p70566

Currently not keeping any ants anymore.

argh226
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:58 pm
Location: Québec

Re: Help, she's dying... I think

Post: # 49481Post argh226
Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:12 am

@AntsLuxembourg

Hi,
I would believe it’s a carpenter ant, it’s pretty much what we have around in Québec and pavement ants. I think I got her covered for the tube/quiet zone and darkness. As for the stress I might have failed miserably as for my kids keeps poking me to see her every few hours or so. Obviously I didn't, but might have done too often none the less.

The size is a little more than 1cm, or close to.

If I dont have any honey at hand at the moment what would be the best next thing to offer her?

Thanks!

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