Aus Ants Ytong Founding Nest

Dimensions

Width65mm

Length84mm

Chamber depth15mm and 10mm

Total depth40mm

Material

The Aus Ants Ytong formicaria are made from the highest possible quality of materials. Including...Lightweight Ytong brick (AAC), laminated timber fibre boards, removable cast acrylic top lids, stainless steel bolts with embedded metal threads, premium non-toxic marine grade glues, biodegradable hydration media, and several coats of a durable and sustainable protective coating. These materials combined; work together to create a nest which is reliable, safe, and perfectly clear for viewing the activity of your ever growing empire!

Hydration

The nests require around 5-10 ml of water every 4 to 7 days, depending upon ambient temperature, and the particular ant species being housed (as some ants may prefer their nest wetter or drier than others). We advise doing some research and experimenting in order to determine your ant species ideal humidity preferences.

Colony Size

Aus Ants Ytong formicaria are the perfect environments for ant colonies, big and small. This founding sized formicarium is suitable for housing a colony ranging from 1 to 500 ants (depending on the size of ant species). The depth of the chambers (10mm) is more than enough to comfortably accommodate all ant species.

WHY PICK AUS ANTS YTONG NESTS?

Aus Ants have been keeping ants for many years. One look at their YouTube channel "Ants Australia" and it's clear, they know what they're talking about. To develop their Ytong nests they poured all of their knowledge and ant keeping experience into designing, producing, and then meticulously testing hundreds of nests, until eventually, they arrived at these designs. Each aspect has been carefully considered and developed with both the occupants and caretakers in mind. Aus Ants strongly believe that their Ytong nests are the best formicaria on the market!

How can they make such bold claims? Well, after extensive testing they became a real fan of Ytong and its beneficial properties, but this material alone was not enough to guarantee the success of their colonies. The design of their nests and how it is manufactured is of the utmost importance. Therefore, they work very hard to ensure the end result is nothing short of perfection.

Some of their favourite features of their Ytong nests include...The Ytong itself! From the moisture retentive properties that lead to stable humidity levels...to its excellent insulative properties, helping to keep temperature fluctuations to a minimum (much like wild ants living underground would be accustomed to)...to the material's porous surface, making it easy for any type of ant to grip onto, as well as aiding the developing larvae in the spinning of their protective silken cocoons. Ytong really is perfect for the job!

Their removable, crystal-clear acrylic lids are secured in place by stainless steel bolts which are screwed into a machined metal thread embedded into the Ytong. This not only provides a clearer view of the ants, but also allows easy removal of the lid for cleaning purposes. The lids also feature laser cut micro holes for improved ventilation.

The entrance/exit holes are designed to holster standard 10mm internal (13mm external) vinyl tubing, which is the same as the minimum chamber depth of the nest. This allows the ants to travel in and out of the nest unhindered by a reduction of tube diameter adjacent the connection point (which often results in bottle-necking of the ants' traffic). This also allows larger ant species to comfortably enter/exit the nest.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
To learn more about Aus Ants range of Ytong formicaria and other ant keeping products, head over to the official Aus Ants site here.