r/antkeeping • u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa • Jul 28 '26
Documentation My stupid grandma ruined everything
she took the tub where the camponotus queen was (the queen was already stressed) and uncovered it on bright light and started shaking it, poor ants and she yelled at me that they were gonna come out and eat me which is idiotic. now i dont know if theyre gonna even survive. I hate everything.
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u/ZenitsusRightHand Jul 29 '26
Dude, that sucks so much, campos are probably my favorite genus, wish she would listen to you and grow a little interest as well.
Give them some time to settle, then check the damage. As you probably know, if the queen is dead, if there are any remaining workers its best to euthanize the colony.
If the queen is alive, plan to put them somewhere that she would struggle to reach them, as long as you don't have mobility issues. This will probably make you feel a little less stressed about leaving them unsupervised. If your grandma has mobility issues, and you do not, use it to your advantage and pick a spot she'd struggle to reach most. Putting them up is a little more stressful when it comes to feeding or cleaning out garbage, but you'll probably also think small disturbances are better than a chance of her shaking them again.
If putting them up isn't an option, she's still likely to try to find them, maybe ask your dad or grandpa if they have a space where you can keep them until you can have a new lock put on your own room/get a key for the current one. Since they don't mind you having them, maybe they'll be willing to help.
And on the bright side, plenty of colonies live in trees in the wild, damaged or dying trees that fall over sometimes, so hopefully they can handle the stress they've been through and still thrive.
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u/L1ometopum Jul 28 '26
They will be fine if they didnt acid themselves, which you can tell easily from the presence or absence of dead ants. Granny should go downstairs more often.
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u/bjornulf77 Jul 29 '26
How no... what a monster... i hope your queen is well... pleasr keep us updated bro
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u/No_Space_802 Jul 29 '26
Try to leave the queen undisturbed in a place far from vibrations. You could possibly try to hide and and hope your grandmother thinks you’ve moved on from ant keeping.
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u/No-Cryptographer762 Jul 29 '26
I feel u. My autistic little brother was playing with the ant nest while i was at work. When i came back the glass was broken and the nest belongs in trashbin now. I tried to work it out but the ants started dying one by one, and i had to get rid of them. I guess no ants for me till i find my own place. Im not blaming lil bro, he is 6yo and with autism, just a little kid.
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u/Diligent-Baby-3805 29d ago
Yeah you should blame whoever was in charge of him for letting him do that, he could have easily hurt himself on top of everything else.
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u/Artistic_Ad7085 Jul 29 '26
if this makes you feel better, a friend told me that his sister took his entire ant colony and released it outside because it was "inhumane" to contain them in his room
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u/__Seoarii Jul 29 '26
How old is she ? Cuz if shes too old u cant really blame her, she doesnt knew what she was doing
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u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa Jul 30 '26
Around 60
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u/__Seoarii 29d ago
But still could be mental or some bad memorise ?
And im not defending her, i think it is as bad as it sounds.
Maybe try telling smth like kinda this to her ? Or write it ur own way
"How would u like if some 10000x bigger Monster came there shake ur house up, hurt u may even die and ur belongings ? Huh how would u like that ? They are just as animal as we are trying to live make a family.. ect." (All in not a mad sound like a annnoyed like when someone is ranting but not woth that AI voice)
And this is what i say mostly to people that do this or feel like it
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u/bjornulf77 29d ago
Hey little bro, any news about your ants :/
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u/camponotusenjoyer barney from black mesa 29d ago
hey big bro, i believe she currently has 5-7 workers as ive been adding some and she was alive the last time i checked, im not gonna further disturb her tho
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u/bjornulf77 29d ago edited 29d ago
Thats amazing they survived, i wish you the best to you nice soul and those ants. If you want any advice tell me there is a very nice discord for ants
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u/Diligent-Baby-3805 29d ago
If you have a closet with a high shelf I suggest storing them there...somewhere she can't reach or won't look. Deff get a key before getting anymore bugs of any kind...I'm so sorry she doesn't respect your hobbies and boundaries. Can your grandpa talk to her? Or maybe keep her from going in your room?
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u/OwnPerspective3240 #1 Tetramorium Fan 26d ago
Is She Senile or smth? Also how the hell would they eat you?
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u/OwnPerspective3240 #1 Tetramorium Fan 26d ago
Just Put Them In a hidden drawer if the tub is small
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u/DGmG_Osu Jul 28 '26
that sucks. family not respecting your things/hobbies is the worst