The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

So it looks like I have a Pogonomyrmex queen and was told by the community that she is semi claustal! So I decided to make a quick outworld with some plaster, rocks, sticks and a bottle cap (for the pure raw honey)
Anyways long story short I haven't seen the queen go back to her test tube or eat anything. There's some honey. A little pice of almond and a dead Junebug from last night !! Any advice please !! This is my first queen

Try wrapping the test tube up to make it dark, even ants like a little privacy. Perhaps make a much smaller outworld, just a small space in which to leave your offerings.

Most Pogonomyrmex species require seeds. Give her feed for small birds that contains grass seeds.

ACaseoftheMondays wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:14 am

Most Pogonomyrmex species require seeds. Give her feed for small birds that contains grass seeds.

I put some small bird seeds in the test tube and put her back in there I still haven't seen her eat anything. The other day I saw her trying to bite at the cotton

Assuming you made this recently, there is probably still a lot of moisture in the plaster. So, for the time being, she probably hasn't needed to return to the tube.

You can also make the entrance to the tube smaller. The easiest way to do this is to plug the tube with cotton, and insert a small piece of drinking straw beside the cotton. Mine really seem to like that. Also, I put loose play sand in mine as a base, and the like to use the sand to further customize the entrances and insides of their tubes.

She just laid some eggs finally. How long does it take for the next stage ?

I would cover the tube, and also provide only a small tunnel in between her test tube and the outworld. Do this by first blocking the entrance of the tube, and then shoving a section of drinking straw (1 inch long) in between the exit cotton and the side of the tube. This makes it feel less open. I mean, how would you like it if your house had a wall that was completely open to the world? also, there is absolutely no need to create a smaller foraging basin for her. Think about it. In the wild she would have the entire world to forage in!