sand as hydration media??

[Natebillsyou]

Trying to find someone that uses just sand as hydration media I would like more in depth information about it

thanks

[AntFarmer7]

I use just sand for my Lasius colony and they’re doing fine! I just put in some more water when the sand looks dry. Just make sure not to drown them!

[Hunter36o]

I actually experimented with this with the founded stages and one of my queen's was put into a wet sand set up.
The pros I found to this is the queen is able to set her self a lovely chamber of her own design the workers once that arrive will begin renovations almost immediately. That particular queen's founding colony is booming. Now I do have a bigger starter colony but they had a head start as the queen in the sand was caught at the end of Lasius season. Her brood count and worker numbers in terms of time out weights the rest with growth speed.
The only issue with the sand I found is visibility. I cannot monitor her as well as the others as they are all in test tube set ups and no sands and dirt.
You will need to water this sand a minimum of twice a week however I would suggest 3-4 times for ideal conditions.

Sorry for the read but I hope this helps with your decision to use sand.

[Natebillsyou]

Thanks for the info I'm using a hybrid nest 2.0 so the sand is under the nest the ants have no access to it I did put some dirt in the chambers for them to play with tho

[Hunter36o]

Ooooh. I do not know sorry. I've only seen Mickey use cotton in his.
Same as above still applies, only you may get away with only twice a week given the quantity. I'd say give it a shot. The media is the easiest part to clean and replace so trial and error can come into play.
Just find out how you can tell the ants do not have enough humidity and monitor them from there.