Nest Comparison: WaKooshi Venus Nest vs Saturn Nest
Bruma 8 min read
In short
The WaKooshi Saturn nest beats the Venus nest 3 points to 2, offering a much bigger outworld, up to 7 test tubes and two auxiliary ports. The Venus costs about half (£16.95 versus £34.95) and its red cover helps founding queens, making it great for new colonies on a budget.
Venus? Saturn? Which of these two very popular ant nests better suits my needs? Which should I buy for my ant colony? Let’s compare them!
Today I’m going to compare two great ant nests made by the company WaKooshi, the Venus nest and the Saturn nest! Let’s see which is the best! But before we start the actual comparison, I want to take a moment to describe the two products very quickly.
The Venus Nest
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This peculiar nest model made by WaKooshi is constructed of acrylic and is based on the test tube setup. That means that the actual nest in which the ants live is, in fact, a very basic test tube setup, considered by most ant keepers to be the gold standard of starter nests.
In this nest, the test tubes are placed next to each other in order to form a sort of test tube cluster. The 3D-printed structure can hold up to 3 test tubes, which is not bad at all considering how little space this nest occupies!
Each test tube has its own little entrance, which connects the nests to a small outworld. The outworld of this nest is neither too big nor too small, and it’s a fair compromise between usability and size.
If you want to find out more about this cool nest, I would strongly suggest you check out my WaKooshi Venus nest review! In this one, I go into detail on this nest, listing the pros and cons of this type of setup!
The Saturn Nest
Discount!
Get this extremely cool ant nest on the WaKooshi online shop! Use the discount code BRUMA to get 10% off your entire order!
The other nest in this comparison is called the Saturn nest. Made by the same company, it shares the main nest structure with its smaller sibling. Like the Venus nest, it uses the test tube setup as the main living area and also features a fair-sized outworld.
As you can clearly see, the main difference between the Venus and this nest is its larger size. Thanks to its bigger volume, it can hold more test tubes, giving the ants a lot more nesting space! Due to its size, it also has much more space for the outworld section, creating an easier-to-manage feeding and drinking area.
Just like for the Venus nest, I’ve also made a dedicated review for this nest! If you are interested, you can check it out here!
The Company
These are two of the most popular ant nests made by WaKooshi.
If you have never heard of them, WaKooshi is a UK-based company, very popular in the ant-keeping community for their 3D-printed nests. If you are interested in one of these nests and want to check out more, you can find their online shop at www.wakooshi.com.
The Comparison
To determine which of the two nests is the best one, I will assign a point to only one of the two products in five different categories: price, build quality, features, aesthetic, and expandability. At the end of the comparison, the nest with the most points will be the winner!
Let’s start with the first category!
Price
At the current date, the Saturn nest is about twice as expensive as the Venus on the WaKooshi online shop. The price of the Venus is currently £16.95, or €20.95 if you live in a country that uses the euro.
On the other hand, the price of the Saturn is £34.95, or €41.95. With a price difference of £18, the Venus is definitely much cheaper compared to the larger Saturn.
For this reason, the Venus easily wins the point in this category!
Build Quality
Both these nests are built using 3D printing technology, a very modern technique used to create custom plastic parts. This technology uses an additive process that constructs the plastic components by depositing various layers of material one above the other.
The quality of the 3D printing is extremely good in both nests! There aren’t any signs of smudges or errors caused by the 3D printer, and the surfaces are well-made!
If you, like me, really appreciate 3D-printed ant nests, I would suggest you take a look at this other nest! This one is made by the same company and is perfect if you have a very small colony or just a newly mated queen ant!
The acrylic panels available on both nests are also made with high-quality materials, and the cuts are extremely precise. The acrylic panels of the outworld and the red covers of the Venus are very clear, facilitating the view of the ants inside the nest.
Given that both nests are made with the same 3D printer, this could be considered a tie! However, I really love the test tube holder section of the Saturn! The test tubes fit perfectly inside the special handles, and they also look amazing!
For this reason, I have to give the point to the Saturn!
Features
Now let’s talk about the features. Both nests offer many handy features. They both have an outworld and are based on the most trusted nest system: the test tube setup.
The main differences between the Venus and the Saturn are the outworld size, the number of test tubes that can be added to the nest, and the red cover found only in the Venus.
The outworld of the Saturn nest is much bigger, and with its larger opening, it makes it easier to access the inside and feed the ants.
The Saturn also has a lot more nesting space and can hold up to 7 test tubes for the larger model!
However, we have a feature in the Venus that we don’t find in the Saturn, which is the acrylic red cover. This particular type of lid only lets red light through, which most ants can't see, creating a darker environment for the ants.
This feature is very useful in the founding stage of a young colony, especially when the queen has just laid her first batch of eggs, reducing the chance that she will eat them due to excessive stress.
Thanks to this additional feature, the point for this category goes to the Venus!
Aesthetic
Personally, I really love the design of the Saturn! It is very different from any other nest that you can find on the ant-keeping market, and it’s also extremely functional!
I really like the fact that the test tubes are placed inside the outworld, instead of outside, as we have in many other ant nests. This clever configuration choice creates a better-looking nest, one that is much simpler from a shape perspective and cleaner from a design point of view.
So, for this category, I can safely give the point to the Saturn!
So far we have a tie! 2 points for the Venus and 2 points for the Saturn! Let’s continue with the last category!
Expandability
When it comes to expandability, both of these nests have some great and useful features.
The Venus nest has a single but large enough door. The door is located on the side of the outworld, and it’s extremely useful if you want to connect an additional outworld or if you want to expand the available nesting space.
You can easily connect a standard flexible plastic tube, and by using a 3- or 4-way connector, the options become limitless.
In the Saturn, we have a similar solution. On both sides of the nest, we find two dedicated auxiliary ports made especially for expanding the nest by connecting an outworld or a new nest.
You can even connect other Saturns, creating an endless line of cubic nests!
Given that the Saturn has one more auxiliary port than the Venus, the final point goes to the Saturn!
Comparison Table
Here’s a quick side-by-side summary of the two nests:
| Feature | Venus Nest | Saturn Nest |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £16.95 (€20.95) | £34.95 (€41.95) |
| Build quality | Excellent 3D printing | Excellent, standout test tube holders |
| Test tubes | Up to 3 | Up to 7 (larger model) |
| Outworld | Fair compromise of size | Much bigger, wider opening |
| Extra features | Red cover for founding queens | — |
| Design | Compact test tube cluster | Test tubes inside the outworld |
| Expandability | One side door | Two auxiliary ports |
| Points won | 2 (price, features) | 3 (build quality, aesthetic, expandability) |
| Best for | Founding colonies, tighter budgets | More nesting space, expansion |
Conclusions
The verdict is in! The Saturn wins this competition with just one point more than the Venus!
In the end, both are really good nests, perfect if you’re just starting out or if you already have lots of experience with keeping ants! However, I think that the Saturn offers something extra, and for this reason, it deserves the victory!
I hope you found this product comparison helpful!
If you like these types of product comparison guides, I would suggest you check out my comparison of the WaKooshi Mercury and Saturn nests! In this one, I compare the Saturn with another great nest made by WaKooshi: the Mercury nest!
FAQs
5The Saturn nest is larger and holds more test tubes, while the Venus nest is smaller and has an acrylic red cover that helps during the founding stage. Both WaKooshi nests are based on the test tube setup. The Venus holds up to 3 test tubes and the Saturn up to 7 in its larger model.
The Venus nest is cheaper: it costs £16.95 (€20.95), while the Saturn nest costs £34.95 (€41.95) on the WaKooshi online shop. The Saturn is about twice as expensive, a difference of £18, so the Venus easily won the price category in my comparison.
Yes, both the Venus and Saturn nests are built with 3D-printed plastic parts and acrylic panels. The quality of the 3D printing is extremely good in both, with no smudges or errors, and the acrylic is high-quality with precise cuts. Both nests are made with the same 3D printer.
Both the Venus and Saturn nests are great for beginners, but I'd lean toward the Venus if you have a tighter budget or are founding a colony. It costs £16.95, and its red cover creates a darker environment that reduces the queen's stress, lowering the chance she eats her first eggs.
Yes, both nests can be expanded. The Venus has a single but large side door on the outworld where you can connect a flexible plastic tube, and with a 3- or 4-way connector the options are limitless. The Saturn has more dedicated auxiliary ports, and you can even connect other Saturns together.
Author
Bruma
