When to move ants to first nest?

[NotSagnifiAnt]

When would be a good time to move my camponotus irritan colony? Right now i think i have around 10-12 workers. First time getting this far into owning ants since all the ants ive caught over the years are infertile. Actually got the queen locally from someone.

Also another question would be how big of a formicarium should i provide them? Thinking pretty small at this size of a colony.

[Antloverhuman]

You should wait a little more and keep them in test tube setups till they have around 30 workers. But it depends on their size also. My camponotus compressus are very small sized and have around 46 workers but i still keep them in test tube. Don't give them very big nest. Start small and keep increasing the size as they grow

[NotSagnifiAnt]

You should wait a little more and keep them in test tube setups till they have around 30 workers. But it depends on their size also. My camponotus compressus are very small sized and have around 46 workers but i still keep them in test tube. Don't give them very big nest. Start small and keep increasing the size as they grow

My species is around the 7-14 mm think ill wait until they get more crowded. When might be a good idea to move them to a 82mm formicarium? Im not sure which formicarium i should get.

Shipping and tax is twice the price of the actual formicarium from most places. Maybe ill grab some hybrid formicariums once the taxing prices go down but for now ill just go with one a local hobbyist makes. These are what the formicariums look like. Im wondering which shape would be best for larger ant species? (All 82x82mm)

[NotSagnifiAnt]

Nevermind im not sure how to post pictures here. Maybe just going by the size might be okay.

[Antloverhuman]

If you have the tools you can make a formicarium yourself. U can use cement, plaster or ytong to make one. Wait till they have atleast 25 workers. Only you can give them the perfect nest as you are seeing their size and can compare it more effectively. Nest chamber's height should be as long as half the length the queen so the ants and the queen can "stand" to clean themselves. There are tons of tutorials on YouTube that you can see to have and idea. I would recommend making a nest yourself as it gives you better idea and you can customize it the way you want. The only downside is that there is a risk of loose ants if you don't do it properly

[NotSagnifiAnt]

If you have the tools you can make a formicarium yourself. U can use cement, plaster or ytong to make one. Wait till they have atleast 25 workers. Only you can give them the perfect nest as you are seeing their size and can compare it more effectively. Nest chamber's height should be as long as half the length the queen so the ants and the queen can "stand" to clean themselves. There are tons of tutorials on YouTube that you can see to have and idea. I would recommend making a nest yourself as it gives you better idea and you can customize it the way you want. The only downside is that there is a risk of loose ants if you don't do it properly

Thanks for the info! I saw some videos online on how to make one. I already got an acrylic one but i think for my next upgrade i want to try to make one of the vertical ones as nobody is selling those here. Thanks i didn’t know i need to calculate the queens height when making the tunnels.