WaKooshi Mercury Nest Review

Hi guys! I hope you’re doing well!

Today I’m going to make a little review of a cool ant nest made by the company WaKooshi!

Let’s see if it’s any good!

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General Info

This one is the WaKooshi Mercury Nest. It’s a really cool-looking test tube-based ant nest, very different from the other nests you can find on the market.

As you can see it also includes a little outworld and a small liquid feeder, attached to the side of the outworld. The outworld is placed on top of the test tube, creating an unusually good-looking nest structure.

The panels of the outworld are made of very clean plastic, and you can see clearly everything that happens inside it. The outworld also includes a little transparent lid. It is very easy to remove, and provides an easy access that can be useful when feeding the ants or cleaning the outworld.

The included liquid feeder is based on a test tube, and it can provide the ants with a constant source of sugar water or some other liquid food. It is attached to the outworld via a clicking mechanism, very easy to detach for cleaning and refilling.

The ants can easily travel from the test tube to the outworld by crossing this little curved 3D-printed piece. Despite being mounted in a vertical position, the ants have no problem climbing it.

That’s because the internal surface is 3D printed in a way to create the maximum grip possible, making climbing for the ants as easy as walking on a horizontal plane.

The Test Tube

Now let’s examine the main part of the nest: the test tube. The test tube used in this nest is a normal medium-sized test tube. It’s made of really good transparent plastic, which makes watching the activity inside the test tube fairly easy and enjoyable.

If you’re a beginner ant keeper and don’t quite know how to make a test tube setup, I would suggest you check out this easy tutorial! In this guide, I explain in detail everything you need to do in order to create the best possible environment for your colony!

Included in the package we also find these nest entrance reducers. They come in 3 sizes, perfect for almost every ant size. If you want, you can place one or more of these right at the entrance of the test tube.

Using these can make the colony and the queen feel more comfortable and safe, as the nest entrance is a lot smaller.

If your colony already needs more than one test tube of space, this other product could be a better option for you! This other nest is made by the same company, and it can hold up to 5 test tubes! 4 full test tubes of nesting space more than the Mercury!

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The Red Shield

The nest also includes a clever light shield system to create a comfortable dark space where the colony can live without stress. It consists of two red transparent acrylic panels, placed in a way to block the light from entering the test tube.

The shield is placed under the outworld, and it covers the living area of the test tube entirely. As you probably already know, the majority of ant species are not capable of seeing the red light spectrum.

This is a really good thing for us ant keepers, as we can take advantage of it by creating a system that enables only the red light to enter the nest.

Because humans can see the red light spectrum, by using this system we can easily watch the ants inside their nest, without them being able to see outside.

The shield also features a small opening, located at the bottom of the red panels. It can be used to fit a heat cable under the nest, in order to heat the colony and provide the perfect temperature for each of the various species of ant.

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The Assembling

When you buy the nest from the online store, it comes disassembled in a transparent plastic bag. I suppose the company opted for this strategy to reduce the shipping volume of the package, as an already assembled nest would’ve taken a lot more space.

This is not at all a negative aspect, as the building process is very easy and enjoyable. If you recently bought one of these nests or you’re planning on buying one in the near future, I would suggest you check out this video.

It’s an assembly guide for this particular version of the nest. It shows you in detail every step you have to take to successfully build the nest, without any risk of misunderstanding.

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The Feeding Dish

One curious thing I found about the nest is this 3D printed tool, used in the assembly process to hold the corner fixings when tightening the screws. It has the perfect size and shape to be used as a feeding dish!

I don’t know if WaKooshi thought about it and made it with this shape on purpose, but nonetheless, I think it’s a really cool touch!

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Rating

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I hope you have found this guide helpful!

If you’re planning to buy some other ant nests, I would suggest you check out this other review! It’s a really cool ant nest made by the same company!

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