Compared to some of the other reviewers, we had a dream experience.  Santa delivered the gift, but I waited to order the ant until May (we live in MN).  We received our tube and all but one ant was alive.  I followed the instructions, and helped the ants move in.  They were dopey for a while, but started to dig along the wall.  I wondered at that but after a day or two they started going horizontal and diagonally, connected all the tunnels and creating their own.  My boys loved watching them an we were amazed at how fast they dug tunnels.  We also had no problem seeing the different tunnels, and didn't mind the green color.

Call this insect cruelty, but I would periodically blow air into the holes.  I know I was giving them CO2 and not O2, but man it got them moving like crazy.  It was like a little tornado was coming through town.  I actually think this helped them live longer because even today, about 3 months later, I still have one survivor, which I didn't realize I had until just now.  I might set him/her free, I'm so proud of him/her.

My 3 year old did drop this on the hardwood floor and little green pellets flew and ants started to wander about.  But with the help of my kids, we rounded them up, reloaded them into the house, threw out the dead ones and it was fine.  Yes, it would be nice if the top wouldn't fly off, but frankly, it was far from the worst thing in the world.

The reason why I only gave this product three stars is that now, well, once this last guy dies, what do I do with it?  I guess I will just throw it out, but golly this is bad for the environment.  Even if I took out the batteries and reused them, I'm rather embarrassed that I have contributed this much plastic and mystery gell to the dump.  For that reason, I won't buy it again.  I wish they could produce this in a more biodegradable way since we only use it one time for the lifecycle of one group of ants.  That is, unless I tried to empty my little cemetary of it's bodies and bought a new batch, but I doubt I'm going to go there.

In the end, we really enjoyed this experience, but feel bad for our contribution to the environment.
Compared to some of the other reviewers, we had a dream experience. Santa delivered the gift, but I waited to order the ant until May (we live in MN). We received our tube and all but one ant was alive. I followed the instructions, and helped the ants move in. They were dopey for a while, but started to dig along the wall. I wondered at that but after a day or two they started going horizontal and diagonally, connected all the tunnels and creating their own. My boys loved watching them an we were amazed at how fast they dug tunnels. We also had no problem seeing the different tunnels, and didn't mind the green color. Call this insect cruelty, but I would periodically blow air into the holes. I know I was giving them CO2 and not O2, but man it got them moving like crazy. It was like a little tornado was coming through town. I actually think this helped them live longer because even today, about 3 months later, I still have one survivor, which I didn't realize I had until just now. I might set him/her free, I'm so proud of him/her. My 3 year old did drop this on the hardwood floor and little green pellets flew and ants started to wander about. But with the help of my kids, we rounded them up, reloaded them into the house, threw out the dead ones and it was fine. Yes, it would be nice if the top wouldn't fly off, but frankly, it was far from the worst thing in the world. The reason why I only gave this product three stars is that now, well, once this last guy dies, what do I do with it? I guess I will just throw it out, but golly this is bad for the environment. Even if I took out the batteries and reused them, I'm rather embarrassed that I have contributed this much plastic and mystery gell to the dump. For that reason, I won't buy it again. I wish they could produce this in a more biodegradable way since we only use it one time for the lifecycle of one group of ants. That is, unless I tried to empty my little cemetary of it's bodies and bought a new batch, but I doubt I'm going to go there. In the end, we really enjoyed this experience, but feel bad for our contribution to the environment.