Like humans, ants need food to live. An effective nutritional substance for your own ant colony is a specially-prepared honey mix. This recipe needs the following ingredients: a half cup of honey, a half cup of water, and ¼ of a multi-vitamin or mineral tablet, crushed. Mix all the ingredients together, then store in the fridge so it will not ferment.

To feed your ants, use an eyedropper to serve the food to your new “pets.” It is very important that you do not overfeed them. If you are unsure about the amount of food to give them, observe a small group of ants for the amount that they consume, and increase proportionally to the size of the colony.

Another good food alternative is dead insects, a a good source of protein. Crickets are particularly nutritious, and can be purchased from pet shops or bait stores. Freeze the dead crickets, cut them into pieces, then feed them to your ants. Most of the cricket’s nutrients can be found in the head and the thorax. One cricket can feed up to 20 ants for two days.

Water is also a very important element in rearing ants. Ants can actually survive for days without food, but never without water. Always remember to keep your ant farms humid so your ants will not dehydrate. For dirtless nests, keep water tubes filled.