I ordered off ebay because I wouldn't have been going to any shops that sell it. Just looked for something cheap, and they were actually advertised as for helping those with dyslexia, 5x A4 sheets so there will be more than enough for later down the line too. The acetate I ordered was 200 microns thick. That's a lot thicker than I expected it to be!!! So it was a bit tougher to wrap tightly around the tube than expected.
I cut a rectangle that had the long length from just past the cotton plug holding in the water to the opening of the test tube. This should mean that the ants perceive the whole tube as being dark which will be great for them. Short side was just long enough to go round the whole tube with a small overlap. I then put sticky tape on one of the long sides, stuck it in place on the test tube and the rolled the test tube (sorry ants...greater good and all that!!) To make sure the acetate was tight around it. I used another piece of tape to secure it.
They seem soooooooo much happier now. It's not a big shock to pull them out the dark when I want to check on them and there's no need to keep them in that little box anymore so that's gone now. Only problem I found was it meant the tube could roll around easily, obviously not good. So I grabbed a bit of blutack and stuck it to the sides to keep it still. The red makes it a bit harder to photograph them but I think you should be able to make out everything including the brood here.
So I'll leave them to settle in their uprated tube for now.
I have decided to feed them too but this update is already pretty long for something so simple (!!!!!). So will tell you about that next time :-)
P.S. had an update on my extra things I ordered with my ants and they're on their way!! Can't wait to show them off :-)
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