I am a bit concerned that if the Apex predators are moved often it would give them unnecessary stress. Plus things like tarantula hair might be harmful to them as well!
To be honest AntsCanada moving the apexes would most likely stress the mess out of them for a while I would stick with one maybe next vid u could poll us and see who wants what the poll could be alternating or one or two in the enclosure so they aren’t stressed by so much moving
While in theory this rotation idea sounds very cool, I agree with many of the other commentors that it would probably be incredibly stressful for not only the apex predator being moved in or out, but also for all of the smaller creatures who would be moved about or potentially unearthed during the process. Especially if the creature you want to move out of the tank is hiding well enough that you have to do a deeper search and possibly move around or take out items in order to find them (notably the tarantula would have the hardest time with this change) I think it sounds super cool, but I have my reservations.. I wish this process the best of luck though, it's such a big decision left ultimately up to you, so I'm sure you'll choose what you think is best for the creatures within Mikey! Ant love forever
If you end up doing the planned biological events, it would be really cool if you would post a monthly calendar showing when exactly events would take place throughout the month
Yeah you could make different natural challenges the different animals would have to overcome to thrive like for example a simulated storm using misters
Maybe you could make a schedule for the biological events, rather than doing it when it's just the right time. So, the ecosystem can act naturally and adjust to the environment rather than the environment adjusting to it.
I’d recommend building your vivarium by first establishing the soil and plants, make sure the bottom of the food chain itself is stable and established and can flourish. After this, place in critters that’ll handle and begin cycling the dead matter. Then, put in a very small number of herbivores, free of carnivores, let them rebalance the system, then put in predators effectively one at a time to prevent a shock to the system.
Having to rotate the predators sounds like a ton of work just to keep things balanced and fair, and also stressful for the animals. I really think your best bet is to just have a lot of smaller predators, with maybe one Apex at most, and then leave it at that.
Definitely, the chances of them going off food especially that snake would just be too great, or sending too much of a shock through the ecosystem and even that animal specifically. I feel like bigger predator wise the chameleon alone or a group of day geckos would be better, many are plenty big enough and quite active to add a lot of interest and colour, and they'd be permeant insectivore eaters. Especially when the rotating apex predators includes 3 insectivores and.. a carnivore, bit of a weird selection and where that shock could come from, since the insects wouldn't have an apex predator for.. the 3mths he said and at least one for the rest of the year.
I think moving around the apexes might stress them out to the point that they won’t exhibit natural behaviors. I think out of all the apexes the tarantula is the most viable but I would still prefer a multi-smallish predator system.
Honestly the tarantula would probably be chill even with other small preds running around. Adult spiders eat a few times a month tops and the preds will very quickly learn to avoid the tarantula's nest. Frogs might be a lil dumb but small reptiles and other spiders will nope tf away.
I get what you’re saying but these things have evolved in the wild for millions of years. They are forced to go through stressful changes all the time. The wild is the wild, it’s not a comfortable place.
@@bengalbrown2834 That’s true but in the wild and in captivity, animals can stop eating or exhibit other harmful and unnatural behaviors if they get too stressed.
I think an important part of this project's success would be to try and use species that are endemic to the same areas as one another. An example of this would be a tank featuring all South American flora and fauna. Amazon Tree Boas (which aren't restricted to a rodent diet), mourning geckos, tree frogs, bullet ants, etc. By doing it based off of a naturally observed area, you can fill the same niches that we see being filled in nature. The blueprints to a successful ecosystem are already laid out in front of you by Mother Nature, you would just have to do some extensive research. It would make it a lot less hands on and much more natural. Doing it in this fashion is the clearest way to a large self-sustaining vivarium imo. I also think if you want to rotate apex predators they should be from the same parts of the planet, just to make it more natural.
Organize the terrariums in a way they are connected to the vivarium. Connected via a clear tube system, allowing them to visit and retreat as they please. Adding a drop door can control whether they are allowed to hunt in the vivarium. Giving you more control in supplementing their diets and balancing the ecosystem.
I'm not convinced the rotating apex predator idea is good. That vivarium will be HUGE and will have lots and lots of places to hide, even for an apex predator. searching the whole thing because; for example the tarantula, decided to settle down somewhere unknown in the vivarium while it does not have to eat for weeks and just sticks in a burrow for a long time would mean you have to deepsearch the whole thing to find it, stressing every other animal inside and disturbing the status quo of the other predators. just hoping for it to appear someday in a visible spot to catch it might take MONTH.
Yeah it doesn't seem worth it in my opinion, it seems very much like a "having your cake and eating it too" solution. Too much work and meddling and not as self sustaining. I would just go with one or a number of small predators.
I also have this worry about really stressed out apex predators. I'm not an expert here, so I'm coming from a place of ignorance, but I do know plenty of animals can become stressed when changing enclosures. So I worry about that with rotating predators.
Yeah like the chameleon and python rotating could work as they're pretty easy to catch (the python won't be hiding in the soil/floor structure unless theres something wrong with it) abd unless the tarantula made uts home somewhere convint then the points made apply too and trying to take the tokay out without destroying a bunch of the scape or having other animals escape in the process... Good luck. A possible solution would be to make one large enclosure and before putting anything (like soil etc in) divide it up with screen walls. Screen thats large enough for the inverts and small frogs/lizards etc to pass though but just narrow enough the tokay, python etc can't. Divide it into three sections. Largest section for tarantula and chameleon (the chameleon is diurnal and goes to sleep at night. Tarantulas when given the space do come out and wonder around their home but at night so the chameleon won't hunt it and realistically if using a fossorial tarantula they aren't likely to meet and even if they do as the chameleon is asleep and not moving much the tarantula realistically gonna just walk over it or past it). Then one of the smaller sections for the tokay and another for the python. Its still one enclosure for the smaller animals but the larger animals are separate. That said depending on how its done could ruin the asthetic (tbh if he was to do this instead I'd devide it into two sections larger for cham abdy T smaller for tokay or python). Rather then doing it out of glass could have it with sealed wood and have wood down the front where the mesh divider is to hide the mesh wall and have the viewing/access pannels as with two separate ones or have them just behind the wood divider so they still slide side to side as just two bits of glass for the whole cage but having the wood infront hides the mesh divider but makes it look like it's two separate viewing windows if you understand what im saying.
I personally really like the idea of planned natural events. My main worry for the rotating apex predators is just the stress of the animal. Outside of that I also don't want it to be super major event, for example I don't think weaver ants works, yes they are cool but getting them out sounds like a nightmare if they start to overrun the vivarium
Yeah, stress could be an issue i was thinking of as well. Moving tanks will stress them out temporarily. I wonder how much it will affect those animals, I don't want them to suffer from it
Is there any way you could connect preditors private enclosure to the ecosystem. Almost like an outworld you would do for the ants? Maybe then you could have it happen a bit more naturally as they retreat to there private place you could cut them off from the outworld
@@oliverorchard2315 I like this idea a lot, once they retreat from their outworld, he could plug them up again and unplug another one, letting nature take its course, the only issue would arise if another animal/species found it. (For example an insect that the python can’t fend off gets into the python’s outworld) other than that i think this is a better idea than moving them.
I love this idea! Although you may wanna make apexes' personal enclosures as close to the vivarium as possible while still providing them with their individual needs, so it's not like a huge change when you put them in and take them out, which could stress some animals.
I personally don’t like the idea of switching out the apex predators every few months. But I think the tarantula is the best option if you want other smaller predators
This really is going to be difficult thing to keep balanced. It's going to take a bunch of time to get right, things are going to die new things will be added and eventually there will probably be a smaller variety of creatures once it is balanced. Whatever happens will be neat and educational, I look forward to seeing how things go. 😄👍
Its so crazy to think I discovered this channel when my phone slipped and RU-vid just started playing one of the videos of this channel. Now here I am a few years later keeping up with all the new stuff❤
Mikey, you really care about your fans and the fact that you are willing to create such a massive project and then cycle the biological events is truly incredible for all of us. I think your plan is A LOT of work, but absolutely feasible. Honestly, if you can pull this off and find the right rhythm to maintain balance, you will likely be contributing to science once more. You probably already make notes on every enclosure, but they will be essential to this project, and I can not wait to see the data this dream churns out. Edit: well done on 5M subs 👏 ❤
I agree with this! They will not eat being put into a new environment when they are used to their own space. His best bet is to talk to exotics lair and snake and lizard pros to see what they think about this.
Would moving such predators like a tarantula be harmful to it? I have a friend with a couple of tarantulas and he disturbs them as little as possible especially as they get larger. I'd hate to see an animal injured by rotating it out. I think that the idea of changing predators is great as a forest changes over seasons, or natural events but some creatures are sensitive to being handled and risking them just to move them off display/rotation wouldn't be worth the risk.
I don’t think the vivarium is large enough for multiple pythons either. The plan is that the animals breed. If you’re rotating predators, they can’t do that. Plus if you only have one python as a predator, if something happens to it, the prey animals will grow unchecked and there’ll have to be human intervention.
Congrats on 5m!!!! The revolving circus of apex predators seems like an odd juggling act to me. They won’t know the place as their home, just a feeding box. The permanent inhabitants also won’t know how to adapt to a revolving door of predators, which I think would be half the fun.
The dynamic approach is very interesting. Surely there will be much more to learn this way. As you noted and I agreed no single plot of land or forest remains in a snap-shot static state.
Good call on not including poison dart frog into the ecosystem. As a snake owner, one thing I learned is to never put yourself at risk because these are still wild animals. Especially if you have to get in and clear things or add thing in the terrarium. Having anything venomous or poisonous in the terrarium could lead to lethal accidents. As a huge fan of your channel, I'm happy to watch how the ecosystem would thrive, with non-venomous and non-poisonous apex predators being introduced. That way, the experiments could be done in a safer environments.❤
I would suggest a phased installation for your various insects and animals First start with making sure all the plant life is self-sufficient, then start phasing in small prey and predator organisms Then you can start phasing in the bigger predators
This is exactly what I would do if I wanted to make anything resembling an ecosystem tank is phase in everything slowly over months or even years until I reach the apex predator/predators.
Sadly, that'd be the circle of life. The bigger predators would eat and kill the smaller ones. Just set up the same Situation the same chance and opportunity The smaller ones Gang up on the bigger. One would show nature at its finest. A horrible thing to think about, but so it's nature. That is why you must choose to be God and pick which animals can live in this horror environment in which can not. Wait too long something dies don't cut something soon enough something Starves That is why we must take Our time and craft this beauty not just pilot together. Or else we will watch as he's Warned us about... A mass extinction in this tank, which is the last thing i want the last thing any of us want
By no means do I want to see the bigger Predators killed or hurt by no means Do I want? to see any of the creatures killed and hurt That's why we must play a balancing act.
I would be concerned about insects attacking your python. They can seriously injure or blind a snake because the snake has no defense other than scales.
That python has already had 9 years living in his own space with no hazards, and a regular feeding cycle. He is not adapted to anything remotely like a wider ecosystem with random events. I think any apex type predator should be young going in, so it grows up with that kind of habitat.🖤🇨🇦
Yes I totally agree with this comment. My other concern would be moving animals from vivarium to vivarium periodically. Would stress them out, especially a chameleon. How would they cope when the world is completely being changed animals take a long time to settle in. Tarantulas can sometimes take months before they settle in properly to a new vivarium. Even if you’ve just cleaned a tarantula out, it’s like settling into a new vivarium and that’s just clean it out.
@@voodoochile7581The tarantula was my main concern with that they die so easily sometimes. My niece who is always so careful and sweet going above an beyond got one an did everything right just to have one pass away. Chameleons get stressed easily too ? I wasn't aware of that I figured the other predators would be ok. Now I'm seeing all this im just thinking how do they do it in the wild. Like a snake deal with bugs potentially harming it's eyes. Etc.
That cycling apex is phenomenal. And highly accurate to the constant change and flow in nature. It may be a little sped up. But that’s better for us impatient humans
I watched a documentary years ago about a zoo that rotated the animals in their enclosures. This was great stimulation for the animals. New smells and new locations was great for the animals psychological health
@jennyojenny196 sorry, I don't. It was so long ago. It was a feature on several different zoos and their attempts to make natural and enriching environments.
Hmm. I feel like this is going to be very high-maintinance and risky. A Weaver ant colony might escape every time you move them in or out. And it's a shame this couldn't be an autonomous ecosystem.
I haven't seen anyone on YT do exactly this in terms of moving animals in & out of a vivarium at different times. But youre right, it would show time moving along in the same area of land. It's definitely a unique idea. I'm all for seeing what might happen.
A connected vivarium. Multiple tunnels and different enclosures with various environments. That way things could come and go in a circle around the room.
I'm so excited to see this! I've loved watching you grow your collection of creatures and habitats! This is such a great idea, to rotate them around, provided they all do well with transfers. I'm excited to report my worms are off to a great start! I've loved watching them reduce my home waste, and thrive. Now that they're getting established and their care is part of my routine, I'm looking at ant colonies! Ant love forever! Edit: WERE THOSE BABY FROGS?!?!?!
Reptiles can get stressed if moved into a new environment... it's a cool idea in theory, but the animals would have to be comfortable enough being cycled between setups like that.
I like the idea of rotating the apex variety. I would think leaving the tarantula in a continuous habitation due to the stress of multiple disruptions to her nests. It's not like she is gonna ravage the area if left unchecked, and since her last egg laying was over year ago, I don't foresee unexpected babies happening again. I just think she'd be better off put in and left alone for her remaining time.
Afterthought Skinks are natural burrowers into loose soil. And only burrow 3 - 4 inches beneath. I've had many different tanks. From 5 gallon to 55 gallon long. As a kid I used to watch ant trails. Pretty cool to watch.
I think it's a cool idea so long as the animals you're moving in and out don't experience too much stress. I will say though that it's probably best to go about this gradually and patiently. Adding in plants and soil creatures first, adding bigger and bigger creatures until somewhere way in the future you can add the apex predators. Let the ecosystem stabilize in stages first instead of putting everything in all at once😅
Hey Mickey the idea is great, it would definitely work but, I don't think it would be great specially for the Tokay or the Chameleon. I think they would suffer greatly with being moved, tokay and specially male chameleons (which are the pretty ones) are EXTREMELY territorial and would suffer from being placed in new unknown territory something that wouldn't happen in nature unless they were defeated in a turf war, a very traumatic event, and even more if they feel the scent of a competitor or even a predator such as the python in the terrarium. And we'll green tree pythons and Tarantulas are very sedentary, the tarantula really would be pissed if it was taken from its burrow periodically. If you want to house all the animals then I would suggest dividing the terrarium with custom acrilic panels with holes big enough for the small critters to pass through but the apex predators not being able to. You could even make them modular by fixing them to the glass with suckers, adding ot taking divisions to accommodate animals. There still would be some form of stress but the animals would get used to it with enough time, and if they were to be divided correctly. For that combination for example, dividing the terrarium in 4 and going: Chameleon, Tokay, Tarantula, Python. The gecko and the chameleon wouldn't really cause each other much stress given that one is nocturnal and the other is diurnal, and the tarantula doesn't really mind any neighbours, but absolutely the python has to be as far away from the chameleon as possible, chameleons are very prone to stress.
Yeah, this experiment has a feel of unethical cruelty and arrogance about it. He's marketing it as if its something cool to do. I just felt uneasy watching this whole video.
I agree with this, honestly my biggest worry would be the stress involved in taking them out constantly. Considering the time period he gave for the Tokay Gecko of possibly only 1-2 days, it could be stressful moving them around constantly. I'd say if you were going to put them in there, leave them in there. It would make less work for the handler, and lower the chances of getting bitten or hurt while trying to take them out, especially from the Python. Otherwise, the biological events like dropping fruit or planting seeds sound great.
I just want to say, congratulations. I remember being impressed by your ant colonies since years ago, but this is taking things to a whole nother level. That Python is so beautiful
This idea is brilliant! As you say it will take more work but that is an amazing amount of video content opportunities as well! Which is what we're here for! Thank you Ants Canada!
I think cycling the apex predator is a great idea! Provided that moving said predators between tanks so often does not stress them out. Other than that having lots of smaller predators and the planned biological events sounds like the perfect way to maintain the balance of the ecosystem. Can't wait to see you actually start building this and start adding all the animals!
When he first said planned biological events i thought he meant something completely different, he basically just said "ill feed them and restock the plants" with a fancy word.
This is the highlight of my morning, I’ve been watching your channel for a while and have started keeping ants myself! I currently have a healthy black carpenter ant colony, some acrobat ants, and an unidentified colony that I’m starting to think might be fire ants. But the scary thing about the last colony is that they’re small enough to fit through the ac ant plug micro holes😅
21:35 I think one event that I would go so far as to say would be necessary is to occasionally toss in a handful of mushroom spawn. This would help break down any bits of decomposing plant matter to big or hard for the soil creatures to eat, and would let you add the occasional addition of small sticks and woody structure to the terrarium to slowly break down.
I have never been so excited to watch this channel in the years I stumbled across it. I want this project to succeed so badly! I need to know this is possible, for no other reason than I just want it to.
The predators being switched out will be stressed each time, moving between two very different habitats at random (to them) times. Chameleons and Tokay males are territorial.🖤🇨🇦
I think u could connect some "areas"/"cages" to the vivarium for the apex predators and attach little doors and open them when it's they're turn to go into the ecosystem
Just checking i used to you all the time because i was interested in insects and many more creatures going from feeding ants a chicken head and tarantula to making a fully functioning ecosystem i am very happy to see your successes
the event system is an interesting one, but i've concerns about all the moving stress that all the rotational predators will be under valentino might not eat at all during his turn as apex predator because of pressure from the arboreal ants and general stress, the ground dwelling ants may seriously harm the spider during it's turn in the tank also aw baby frogs, guess that species goes from egg to tiny frog rather quickly
I think you should add some nepenthes pitcher plants!! They are so unique and interesting, and there is even a species of crab that lives solely in the pitchers of nepenthes and eats the prey they catch. I think they might grow quite large in this vivarium!
@@AntsCanada thank you for making great content, never knew ants could be so interesting. I have been watching 6 years and I am still mesmerised each and everytime I watch
I think a good idea would be to add a few plants that nothing in the ecosystem would be able to eat that produce large fruits so that the plants aren't overeaten.
After binge watching basically every video on your channel, I can say that you've turned my phobia of ants into a possible hobby! I was attacked by fire ants under my grandparents' front porch as a child. One of my Barbie shoes fell through, so I went under to retrieve it. I tripped and landed right on top of a fire ant nest/ hill and they absolutely COVERED ME. I HAD HUNDREDS OF BITES AND STINGS ALL OVER MY BODY. Horrific and traumatizing. I realize that I was trespassing and they were just scared; it still messed up my head about ants 😅 I've hated them since then until I found your videos. Now I'm just intrigued! They're amazing! ❤
I absolutely love, love this channel and this series! It's been interesting to follow and see the ideas flow forth. My feedback on the apex rotation though is the potential stress for both you and the animals. Many animals don't like being shifted after having found a "space" to thrive in, and it may confuse them to be taken between spaces after so many months. Not to mention, this is HEAVY maintenance for you as well, on top of managing the ecosystem and the ant room! Secondly, we have to think about the nature of these creatures you are moving. A python and chameleon are easy enough, a Tokay can be potentially testy, however the Tarantula can be a big problem! Depending on if it is an Old World/New World Tarantula or if it is a burrower or arboreal species, these guys can and WILL bolt if they feel threatened, and it's a disaster waiting to happen if it bolts under a dresser or worse! Personally, I feel like managing just one big apex or smaller apex predators is the way to go. There's much less to worry about and it's an easier foodchain to follow.
This idea is so amazing and intuitive. It would really be a good representation of a natural space, with creatures moving through regularly. Congrats on 5M and keep up the incredible work!
Loving your videos man. Funny story, my step cousins were wanting me to turn on fire ant videos for them, and so I did. After a few videos, we came across one of your fire ants videos. Ever since then, I’ve been watching your channel. So thanks to my step cousins Brian and Madalyn for making me discover this amazing channel
I love the rotating predators idea because yeah in nature most predators hunt in a large area but I think tarantulas would work better as a permanent predator for the systems as they don't eat that much and removing one could mean digging up parts of the enclosure putting unnecessary stress on it and the tarantulas
I think the switching predators idea is pretty good for the gecko, chameleon and snake but idk if the case for the tarantula. I dont really know anything about them but if they usually stay in one spot and then are forced out of that spot, put in a different tank and a couple of month back in the ecosystem it might be stressful for them. maybe that'd be the case for the other 3 too but since they move around more in the wild too it probably wouldnt be the case. Please correct me if I'm wrong tho cause idk anything about these animals
Chameleons, particularly males, are very territorial in the wild, and only leave their territory if driven out by a stronger male, which is highly stressful.🖤🇨🇦
I hope this turns out well your doing kinda what dark den is doing he doing a huge eco system as well . Praying everything goes well for the animals involved in the eco system plus i love to see this working out beautifully
I was worried the python would eat all the other apex predators. When I heard you say they'll be placed in rotation, I felt relieved. You always have a better idea and always want to satisfy the AC Family. I think maintaining a biological ecosystem is a full time job.
The Vivarium is really happening!!! I really love your idea about planned biological events and here's my suggestion to that. How about you start first having a stable ecosystem first? A vivarium full of plants, clean up crews, prey insects and give them some time to stabilize their numbers in the vivarium. Once they are already stable, add at least 2 mini predators like small geckos and spiders and even a pair of mice that can compete with one another so that there is still a balance even within the predators. And when their numbers are getting larger, get a bigger predator and so on so that we can see the progress of the ecosystem. Like in the wild, it starts with a small group of prey then a bigger predator comes by since their numbers are getting bigger then a bigger predator predates the last one just to balance everything out. I don't hate the idea of having an apex predator in the vivarium but at least give the smaller creatures and even the smaller predators some time to gain their numbers so that when you put in the apex predator (like for example the python), you don't have to put in food every other week or month since you already have a population of mini predators that can be eaten by them. Most of us, if not all, agree that we think about the predators being stressed going in and out of the vivarium. So I would definitely recommend my suggestion so that the predators like the python and tarantula can stay a little bit longer and without you, putting some food for them since it is already available. Also, I would recommend frogs that are common here in the Philippines instead of the dart frogs. Aside from they are cheap or you can just get them outside, they can be eaten by others without problem. Good luck on this journey, Mikey! I'll definitely hope for the success of this Vivarium.
Congrats on 5M! Happy to say I joined the AC family just in time to celebrate this achievement. Can’t wait to see your progress on the vivarium!! Much love.
My first suggestion is to be careful which ant species you use. In the snake keeping community it's often seen that snakes can feel bothered by animals as ants or even isopods. The green tree Python you have is a species that is quite sensitive to stress. But it's an arboreal species. So if you select ant species that are almost exclusively terrestrial, it can work. Certainly don't use species that climb a lot if you plan on placing the green tree Python inside. At least that's my recommendation. Another thing that I think might work pretty well is to implement an idea you used some time back. To make a roach or termite farm and connect it in a way that they can fall in if they run to the end of tube, but the ants can't get in there. This so there can be a steady but controllable food supply. You can shut off one or more farms temporarily if the ant colonies grow too quickly, or connect more farms when there are more predators of a species inside the vivarium. I do like the idea and would love to see it once finished. If ever you want to try something different, I think it would be very nice to see whether it's big enough to cater a small ant colony in a completely self sustainable eco vivarium by using an ant species that only gets to about 100-500 ants in size. I'm not sure, but if you choose the plants and animals wisely with the ant colony being the apex predator, I think it can work. And I think it would be amazing.
i really love the idea of "biological events", you can do so much - and even themed things, like something sweat for christmas or chicken turkey for thanksgiving, for example or what so ever, but yeah, really cool idea :D
Since there is a cycled predator event, a cycled weather event would be nice You can include a flood plains that cover partial of the forest floor. You can even time them with your own local weather events such as monsoons and dry periods. You could get a lot of different behaviours with a weather cycle Could also time it with your predator cycle. A python might come in the wet seasons and a tarantula might come in a dry season. Monsoons are for tokay geckos and chameleons do well in a fair weather
Congratulations on 5 Million subscribers, I have been here since 2020 and your videos have lit up my Saturday every week. Thank you for all this amazing content over the past few years
I think your system idea is brilliant!!! I must admit I was one of the party worried about the apex predators, but this active approach could really work! I'm excited to see where this goes. Thank you for making these videos and sharing your ideas with us
Congrats on hitting 5m Mister Mikey, I hope you collaborate with other content creators on building the Ecosystem Vivarium specially those ones that are also doing vivariums/terrariums and keeping exotic pets, idea here is to also give them a challenge on how they can work with other people and handing out ideas that can also beneficial to the vivarium, etc.
i think there is a very important rule that should be followed for this project to work well. ONLY EVENTS THAT COULD HAPPEN IN NATURE WILL BE ALLOWED. so for example, you are not allowed to plant seeds, only throw them in, as if wind carried them. also i think it would be cool if you were not allowed to touch prey insects, just change the apex predators or add seeds/fruit to control their population.