MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Advice and help for new keepers and those starting to keep Leaf Cutting Ants for the first time.
jimimardlin
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MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by jimimardlin » Thu Aug 11, 2016 9:28 am

I woke up and my queen is in the water so picked her up and put her on her fungus garden and the workers seem to be pulling her to where the leafs are (off the fungus) she is moving very little and it looks like some of the workers are biting her WHAT DO I DO PLEASE HELP this is my first colony and I really cant afford another ive only had her for 3 days

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Deansie26
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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by Deansie26 » Thu Aug 11, 2016 9:49 am

Hi Jim, that doesn't sound good, how is the queen able to get in the water? Do you have a photo of your set up?
I'd leave the queen with the workers and see how it goes, not much else you can do but maintain good temp and humidity and ensure she doesn't get a third bath :o

jimimardlin
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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by jimimardlin » Thu Aug 11, 2016 10:13 am

how am I supposed to ensure she doesn't have another bath with out blocking every single entrence, they cant forage with no foraging area and they cant get to it with out a hole

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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by Formica123 » Thu Aug 11, 2016 10:17 am

The queen rarely leaves the fungus garden, the workers must've dragged her out unless there's an edit to the water RIGHT next to the fungus, it's a tricky one
I keep over 20 species of ant, inc. Acromyrmex Octospinosus
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Deansie26
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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by Deansie26 » Thu Aug 11, 2016 10:29 am

As Marco said the queen rarely leaves the fungus unless something is wrong although I have witnessed it happen myself very recently.
The ants may have decided somewhere else in the set up is more suitable and began moving, if the queen was to try crossing those little sticks for example she may have fallen.
Some clear photos of your set up would help Jim,

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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by Jackie62 » Thu Aug 11, 2016 11:32 am

Hi Jim, I use good-size twigs from shrubs, or bramble stems as walkways, as they are strong and the ants walk along them very easily. As Jamie says, maybe those small sticks are not robust enough? Good luck with it all.

jimimardlin
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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by jimimardlin » Thu Aug 11, 2016 11:46 am

hi everyone thank you for the helpful advice, I bring good news she is alrightish, no workers are attacking her and she is no longer in a ball (she is slowly walking) but not on the fungus but very close to it, I hope she walks on it soon. I will send pics soon (photo bucket website is extremely slow) and yes I will swap the small sticks to logs hahaha

jimimardlin
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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by jimimardlin » Thu Aug 11, 2016 12:03 pm

some workers have started to bite her again about 2 or 3 this time, but I was thinking are they really biting her coz surely one of the bigger ants could easily cut her leg off, so why arnt they im thinking this because im not used to leaf cutter behaviour so they could actually be protecting her, im really mot sure. tbh

here is my set up


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jimimardlin
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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by jimimardlin » Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:03 am

she has passed away in the night, :cry: :cry: this morning all the ants where cleaning here (seeing there tongues) it was my first colony and because of my very inexperiencedness they only lasted 3 days :oops: blooming water! I would love to try again I really enjoyed watching this colony do its day to day work. at times i was literally sitting and watching them for 2 hours straight :lol: but I really cant afford another mainly coz im poor :cry: thank you everyone for your very helpful advice but sadly it was not enough, if only there was some magic spell which makes her come back to life. :cry:

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Bitterlime
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Re: MY QUEEN NEEDS HELP, PLEASE HELP!!!

Post by Bitterlime » Fri Aug 12, 2016 9:02 am

Im really sorry to hear that your queen has died but don't give up, hopefully you'll be able to try again!

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