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Atlas / Library / Formicidae / Malaysian exploding ant
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C
Formicidae

Malaysian exploding ant

Camponotus saundersi

The page we cite does not state this figure. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and it gives no temperature for this species at all. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. en.wikipedia.org

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Malaysian exploding ant is nocturnal, so what it is doing changes with the light.

Arboreal · warm · humidFrom the sheet: 26–30°C, humidity 60–80%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/camponotus-saundersi

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature26–30 °C
Humidity60–80 %

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
26–30°Ambient

One ambient band, 26–30°C. This sheet states no warm side, no cool side and no night figure, so none are shown. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states26-30C

Humidity

60–80%Target RH

The sheet states60-80%

Enclosure
Test-tube founding; arboreal nest + humid outworld

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m0.6–1.4 cm
1520100400 cm
0.6–1.4 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Order / Family
Hymenoptera
Origin
IUCN / CITES
Not evaluated; CITES not yet in our data
Difficulty
Advanced
Commonality
Famous curiosity; almost never in trade
Adult size
Worker 6-14mm; queen ~15mm
Lifespan
Queen several yrs; arboreal colonies
Growth rate
Slow-moderate
Activity & niche
Arboreal, nocturnal canopy forager
Temperament
Defensive; self-sacrificing workers
Venom / defense
No sting; workers can rupture (autothysis) to spray sticky toxic glue from mandibular glands - harmless to humans

Enclosure and conditions

Temperature
26-30C
Humidity
60-80%
Min. enclosure
Test-tube founding; arboreal nest + humid outworld
Substrate
Wood/ytong nest; humid outworld
Hides / decor / water
Branches; high humidity; water reservoir

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

Food stays available

The sheet states food is always present rather than given on a cycle, so there is no interval to draw.

The sheet statesSugar/honeydew + insect protein · Sugar always; protein 2x/week

Staple food
Sugar/honeydew + insect protein
Feeding frequency
Sugar always; protein 2x/week

Behaviour and handling

HandlingNot handled
CommunalSingle colony; do not mix
Defense / stress signsWorkers rear up; may self-rupture defensively

Reproduction

Reproduction
Fully-claustral founding after nuptial flight

Common health problems

Common health issues
SignsFounding failure, dehydration
Red flags / quarantine
SignsWild-caught; delicate; never release

Good to know

  • Defenders literally explode, bursting glands to glue and poison attackers - a suicidal defence

What it needs

A thermometerbecause temp — 26-30C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 60-80%
Not stated: The size of the enclosurethis sheet describes the enclosure without a figure: « Test-tube founding; arboreal nest + humid outworld »

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.

Sources

en.wikipedia.organtwiki.org

Others in this group

Asian weaver ant (green tree ant)Oecophylla smaragdinaNicobar carpenter antCamponotus nicobarensisAsian spiny/golden weaver antPolyrhachis divesAsian marauder/power antCarebara diversaAsian jumping antHarpegnathos venatorBlack garden antLasius nigerMediterranean harvester antMessor barbarusFellah carpenter antCamponotus fellah

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.