Are Gel Ant Enclosures unethical?

   Are Gel Ant Enclosures unethical?

    By Roman Alexa (15 years old at the time of writing.)

            When choosing an ant enclosure, there are many options. However, for a starting ant keeper, nowadays go to option seems to be the "Gel Enclosure". However, while an easy start, this method of ant keeping is unethical and uncomfortable to the ants incased.

          One reason the gel ant enclosure genre is unethical, is the health hazards it can pose to not only ants, but the ant keeper themselves. It is proven that various gel enclosures contain harmful chemicals in them to animals and humans if not handled or disposed properly. The article  Wiley Online Library further supports this by adding "The use of certain chemicals in gel enclosures can lead to health hazards, raising ethical concerns about their safety and the potential risks they pose to both humans and wildlife." further This supports the statement that gel enclosures are indeed hazardous.

           Another reason gel enclosures are unethical is because it creates problematic humidity levels. Temperature plays a very important role in the success and comfort of ants. Ants can have increased stress (especially the queen) if the temperature of the enclosure is not regulated and off balance, in which gel enclosures make this even harder to do, ironically making it even harder for beginners. The website tapatalk.com taps into this by stating "This gel serves as food and thus molds very easily, which is apparently disastrous for the brood of most species." Furthermore, explaining the lack of environmental regulation in these enclosures/nests.

           Finally, gel ant enclosures present inadequate nutrition. Gel enclosures often lack the necessary nutrients for ants, leading to poor health and reduced survival rates, which could possibly detour a newcomer ant keeper from hooking on to the amazing world of ant keeping.

This is supported by the same webpage, "Tapatalk", where they state, "Worker ants of many species do not survive long in the gel farms". This adds to the point that gel farms present inadequate nutrition to ants.

           In conclusion, gel ant farms are more or less unethical. Starting ant keepers should resort to smaller, more natural enclosures such as the Vortex enclosures, or the smaller AntsCanada enclosures. Gel ant enclosures do not last long, don't provide any sort of comfort, don't support queens, and can detour future ant keepers from the hobby or commitment.

            -Roman Alexa, 15 at time of writing.