Advice on heating test tubes

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DeanMontague
Posts: 35
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 6:25 pm
Location: UK

Advice on heating test tubes

Post: # 92098Post DeanMontague
Sat May 07, 2022 5:15 pm

I live in the UK and we are currently getting around 15-20 degree Celsius weather. I have my ants in my bedside table and my room is usually room temperature or above after having the heating on.

I’ve had a lasius flavus queen for nearly a year with no workers and a camponotus H queen who arrived a week or 2 ago with 7 larvae and now she’s eaten them all. The move has probably stressed her out but I’m looking to apply a heat source to speed this up. They’re in a box wrapped in a cloth flannel but i doubt it’s doing much. I’ve just ordered a small heat mat and plan to use it on half of the test tube only.

I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but I can’t seem to get a single workers from my queens - maybe it’s from checking on them, but when I check on them I literally only pull back the cloth to have a peak and then pop it back over - I don’t move the tubes or anything if possible.

So any tips on using a heat mat without killing them? The place I got my queen from recommended a heating cable instead - but the one they recommended was 5m long and I wasn’t sure on how safe it was to use especially just to heat 2 small test tubes.

SolenopsisKeeper
Posts: 2402
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:41 am
Location: United States, Florida

Re: Advice on heating test tubes

Post: # 92103Post SolenopsisKeeper
Sat May 07, 2022 10:54 pm

DeanMontague wrote:
Sat May 07, 2022 5:15 pm
I live in the UK and we are currently getting around 15-20 degree Celsius weather. I have my ants in my bedside table and my room is usually room temperature or above after having the heating on.

I’ve had a lasius flavus queen for nearly a year with no workers and a camponotus H queen who arrived a week or 2 ago with 7 larvae and now she’s eaten them all. The move has probably stressed her out but I’m looking to apply a heat source to speed this up. They’re in a box wrapped in a cloth flannel but i doubt it’s doing much. I’ve just ordered a small heat mat and plan to use it on half of the test tube only.

I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but I can’t seem to get a single workers from my queens - maybe it’s from checking on them, but when I check on them I literally only pull back the cloth to have a peak and then pop it back over - I don’t move the tubes or anything if possible.

So any tips on using a heat mat without killing them? The place I got my queen from recommended a heating cable instead - but the one they recommended was 5m long and I wasn’t sure on how safe it was to use especially just to heat 2 small test tubes.
Greetings!
Sorry about your loss, and does the new nest mat turn off automatically as a “safety” feature? If it does, it insures the tubes don’t get too hot. I would recommend not heating the water reserve Becuase Camponotus hate humidity, and heating it will give humidity. I recommend heating near the Cotten, that way if the Cotten molds, the queen is far away with her brood.

I use a heat mat for my acrylic nests, my Camponotus love it. It was worse in tubes Becuase I made the mistake of heating the water reserve-Which I believe made the queen stressed, as she didn’t lay eggs for a while(Unlike her) I am just now getting larvae again, so I would like to emphasize to NOT heat the Camponotus water reserve
When you accidentally reply to yourself…

DeanMontague
Posts: 35
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 6:25 pm
Location: UK

Re: Advice on heating test tubes

Post: # 92105Post DeanMontague
Sat May 07, 2022 11:01 pm

Hey!

It has an overheat mechanic yes and a temperature dial - although no stats on the dial so guessing in the dark with that - I don’t know how hot they’re meant to be

I have the queens in tubes inside a plastic Tupperware box currently and wrapped in cloth for darkness - I planned on putting half the mat under the right side of the box (so not directly touching the tubes) on the side the water reservoir isn’t - will this be okay?

SolenopsisKeeper
Posts: 2402
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:41 am
Location: United States, Florida

Re: Advice on heating test tubes

Post: # 92120Post SolenopsisKeeper
Sun May 08, 2022 5:45 pm

DeanMontague wrote:
Sat May 07, 2022 11:01 pm
Hey!

It has an overheat mechanic yes and a temperature dial - although no stats on the dial so guessing in the dark with that - I don’t know how hot they’re meant to be

I have the queens in tubes inside a plastic Tupperware box currently and wrapped in cloth for darkness - I planned on putting half the mat under the right side of the box (so not directly touching the tubes) on the side the water reservoir isn’t - will this be okay?
Should be fine, I suggest the lowest setting for heat so you don’t overheat them, I made this mistake when I first heated queens, I wrapped the queens in a blanket with a heating pad set on medium, and they slowly died
When you accidentally reply to yourself…

DeanMontague
Posts: 35
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 6:25 pm
Location: UK

Re: Advice on heating test tubes

Post: # 92128Post DeanMontague
Sun May 08, 2022 6:38 pm

Okay I set it up - she’s got another egg now since I last checked so I’m glad she’s re-laying again. I had it on high with half under and it felt too hot so I turned it down to medium. I’m now considering not having the mat touch the box at all - since the mat and the queens are in my bedside draw I think the locking in of the heat of the draw might be enough? It’s almost impossible to only heat a half of her chamber itself due to how small it is inside the test tube and I know she needs a heat gradient - saving that I might just have the edge of the mat under the cotton end only - I’m quite nervous about this as it’s hard to know what they want inside the test tubes since there’s little room for them to go elsewhere

Another question: should the tube itself feel hot to the touch or should you not feel any difference in the temperature of the glass of the tube ?

SolenopsisKeeper
Posts: 2402
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:41 am
Location: United States, Florida

Re: Advice on heating test tubes

Post: # 92134Post SolenopsisKeeper
Sun May 08, 2022 10:15 pm

DeanMontague wrote:
Sun May 08, 2022 6:38 pm
Okay I set it up - she’s got another egg now since I last checked so I’m glad she’s re-laying again. I had it on high with half under and it felt too hot so I turned it down to medium. I’m now considering not having the mat touch the box at all - since the mat and the queens are in my bedside draw I think the locking in of the heat of the draw might be enough? It’s almost impossible to only heat a half of her chamber itself due to how small it is inside the test tube and I know she needs a heat gradient - saving that I might just have the edge of the mat under the cotton end only - I’m quite nervous about this as it’s hard to know what they want inside the test tubes since there’s little room for them to go elsewhere

Another question: should the tube itself feel hot to the touch or should you not feel any difference in the temperature of the glass of the tube ?
Warm, not hot. If it is hot on touch, it is Likly to hot for eggs. If you see she clings the top of the tube and the Cotten, it may be too high
When you accidentally reply to yourself…

BillPisechko
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2022 11:47 pm
Location: Springfield, MO USA

Re: Advice on heating test tubes

Post: # 92691Post BillPisechko
Tue May 24, 2022 9:08 pm

DeanMontague wrote:
Sat May 07, 2022 11:01 pm
Hey!

It has an overheat mechanic yes and a temperature dial - although no stats on the dial so guessing in the dark with that - I don’t know how hot they’re meant to be

I have the queens in tubes inside a plastic Tupperware box currently and wrapped in cloth for darkness - I planned on putting half the mat under the right side of the box (so not directly touching the tubes) on the side the water reservoir isn’t - will this be okay?
How did this work out for you? I keep my tube in Tupperware too.
Thinking about putting t shirt down, the coil off heat cable, then t shirt, then tube attached to outworld.
Thoughts?
Bill P.
NOOB Ant Keeper :ugeek:
1st Ant Colony(May 22) - C. Herculeanus

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