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Posted by Pennebaker on August 26, 2002 at 23:29:59:
In Reply to: Re: 2 questions Lester or Loren posted by kumpfamily on August 26, 2002 at 22:47:30:
Modestum babies are smaller than your thumbnail! That's the difference. Platyrhinos hatchlings are much bigger and can handle the larger ants right away. Still, many of my modestum hatchlings have eaten Lifestudies ants within the first week.
Modestums are the smallest, most sensitive and short-lived of all the legal HLs in the pet trade (if not all of them).
:I am sorry. I meant ants, I did not mean to right crickets. So feeding the hatchlings harvester ants is okay. Right? You said unless you have Modestum babies. What is different about them? These just happen to be Modestum babies!!
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::Hello Kumpfamily,
::You definitely misread my past post. I certainly would never recommend such a thing! Feeding 2-3 crickets every half-hour for 24 hours is a sure recipe for DEATH! Please re-read my post!
::Your hatchlings need ants! They lots of space so that they can run from the ants and feel secure. Feed 1-2 ants per hatchling every 30 minutes for 14-hours, everyday. You need to do this for at least the first 3 months. Always take any ants out if they are stressing the hatchlings or attempting to bite and sting them as this will traumatize the HLs and spoil their appetite for ants.
::If you have a lot of hatchlings (more than 4-5), then you should separate them into different enclosures to make feeding (ant regulation) and observation time more efficient. If you are keeping 4-5 per enclosure, still only offer 2-3 ants every 30 minutes. When you notice the hatchlings eating more, adjust your ant-numbers(fed) appropriately. Always watch your hatchlings, from a distance if necessary, to make sure the ants do not start attacking them. Never put a bunch of ants in and just leave! Don't resort to crikets and worms as this usually resorts in a slow, painful death.
::Unless you have modestum babies (roundtails), regular harvester ants from Lifestudies should be fine. If you need smaller ants, find an anthill outside of urbanized areas and search until you find sizes appropriate. If all else fails, you might want to resort to pinhead crickets, flightless fruit-flies or other tiny forms of insect life that would be free of any possible pesticides. Do not feed worms. As a matter of fact, if your hatchlings refuse to eat ants, it generally spells their own doom. Keep trying ants. Change the enlosure or ant feeding techniques as needed.
::The bubbler sounds fine but you will definitely still need to mist the hatchlings. Try nice, warm (filtered or distilled) water for best results during misting. Mist AT LEAST once per day!
::good luck (you will need it)
::loren
::
:::I am soon to have some hatchlings running around. I have searched through the forum and found many different opinions, but am wondering what you think about feeding hatchlings. Loren I saw in one of your posts that they needed to be fed 2-3 crickets every half hour for 24hrs for I think it was 2wks (correct me if I am wrong)? Lester I also saw in one of your responses that you recommend Pogonomyrmex californicus or Pogonomyrmex maricopa bought from infowest.com. I am wondering if these are the same harvester ants that I am getting from antsalive.com These harvester ants are just so mean, I am nervous to feed even one to the hatchlings! Your advice is appreciated.
:::Second questions is about watering. I have a water dish that actually has a bubbler in it so that it is not still water. The dish originally is about 1.5 inches deep with water, but I have filled it with about three large rocks. Will this work as a water source?
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