A box! Can you guess what is inside the box?

If you recall a post that I did last week you may have a pretty good idea what is inside this box...

For a refresher, the post can be seen here:

https://steemit.com/life/@jrcornel/today-i-did-something-i-thought-i-would-never-do

That's right, my ants have finally arrived!

I understand how disturbing and weird that might sound, but remember they are not actually for me but instead they are food for my stepson's horned lizard. It turns out crickets and mealworms are not enough to keep him running at his optimum level. 

Time to open the box...

I have to admit I was a bit hesitant opening this box as I wasn't exactly sure how they would be packaged as this was the first time I have ever ordered ants before. Would they be running loose inside this box or concealed in some kind of plastic container? 

I was betting (and hoping) on the latter...

Much to my relief they were not running wild inside that box!

The first thing I saw was a piece of paper with some instructions on it. That is exactly what I need as I have no idea how to store these things or handle them.

As you can see the first line on the paper was a warning about not touching the ants. This was something I was already planning on not doing, but I guess it was good to be reminded. :)

Next, after I read over the paper to make sure I was doing everything correctly. It was time to take a look at the precious cargo...

That is one heck of a lot of ants!

I ordered 500 not really knowing how many he would eat and how long they would stay alive. Perhaps next time I will need to cut my order in half. 

Time to transfer the ants

Next it would be time to transfer some of the ants to their new home. Well, it would be their home at least until they are devoured by the lizard.

This is where it got a bit tricky.

I had to open the lid and scoop some out without letting any of the others escape. Luckily harvester ants are not particularly good climbers so it was difficult for them to climb up the sides of the container.

I got a plastic spoon and put a couple scoops into the cage as quickly as possible. Somehow I managed to get 3 scoops in without a single ant biting me, touching me, or escaping. I was quite pleased with myself. :)

As per the instructions, I put a couple pieces of fresh fruit (strawberries) in the corner to give them some food so they don't die right away. 

All those little reddish/black dots are ants. I may have put too many in to start with but the lizard hasn't eaten in a few days so I am sure he is pretty hungry.

As you can see the lizard looks like he is starting to notice his new supper running around. 

What do I do with the rest of the ants?

Now the tricky part becomes what do I do with the rest of the ants that I didn't feed the lizard? 

The instructions say to leave them in their container and put them in the refrigerator to keep them cool which basically puts them into hibernation. They can survive that way for about 2 weeks. 

Something is telling me that the Mrs. is not going to go for letting me keep ants in the fridge though... 

I guess finding out what to do with the rest will be my next adventure. Hope you enjoyed reading this one! 

Live well my friends!

Follow me: @jrcornel