i’m looking into a clean up crew for my gecko and possibly the feeders- what’s my best bet? hoping for something not too big, are springtails or isopods better? or something else entirely?
#clean up crew
balmy fern
proven idol
i’m looking into a clean up crew for my gecko and possibly the feeders- what’s m...
I use both
sand bloom
I like powder orange/blue isopods (p. Pruinosus)! I haven’t had the best of luck with springtails but some people do
Just make sure to keep veggie scrap in there and calcium for them + hiding/moist spots. Mine are by the water bowl
sand bloom
Cuttlebone/pure calcium no d3/eggshell/oyster shell like what they use for chickens
mortal patio
ahh i see, imma use pure calcium then
balmy fern
Cuttlebone/pure calcium no d3/eggshell/oyster shell like what they use for chick...
wait so does finely crushed eggshell work?
so what would be best for me to go for? i don’t want anything too big
is there a worry of her eating the veg or no?
pastel quest
My pods really like crushed eggshell personally
I've also sprinkled in the pure calcium (same I use for the gecko) and they'll eat that too
balmy fern
alright
so should i look for isopods then?
are they good enough on their own? how many should i put in one viv/for the feeders?
maiden cliff
I've also sprinkled in the pure calcium (same I use for the gecko) and they'll e...
Wait could me not offering calcium be why it looks like all my pods are gone? 😭😭 when I remoistened the soil I saw 3 and one baby.
pastel quest
Wait could me not offering calcium be why it looks like all my pods are gone? 😭...
I don't offer the ones in my tank calcium very often but to my understanding it's good for them to have so they can build their exoskeletons. 
I think they can also get it from the soil too.
maiden cliff
are they good enough on their own? how many should i put in one viv/for the feed...
I put 30 isopods in my tank, and idk how many springtails, just tossed em in. I got them for cost of shipping from someone and they kinda tossed as many deli cups as they could in there lol
pastel quest
More often than not they'll just be hiding under things in your tank. I put mine in and they vanish for a while, and then I start seeing the babies after a bit.
maiden cliff
Ok maybe they don’t like the magnolia leaves. I took everything out and disturbed the soil A LOT so I figured I’d see a few more
pastel quest
are they good enough on their own? how many should i put in one viv/for the feed...
I like to have springtails too because in my experience they're better at taking care of mold and are prolific at breeding too, but mold is less of an issue in an arid bioactive Leo tank so you could probably do just pods. I like to buy some pods (I think I started with 20-30) and made a bin for them to let them breed, and then once they were reproducing I added some from that bin to the tank itself. That's just a failsafe in case the first pods you add to the tank die so you have backup and not strictly necessary, but if you have the space and time I'd recommend that approach vs adding them right in.
maiden cliff
Bc the magnolia leaves have not been touched, and neither have the river shrimp. I should probably put some carrots in and maybe they’ll make a comeback. Sorry for hijacking the post, murph! ( I hope you’re ok with that nickname)
pastel quest
Are magnolia leaves the hard ones? They could be tough to eat. Or they could be preferentially eating any other things in the tank, like decomposing wood in the soil, gecko poop, or cork.
If you have cork bark check your cork, mine mostly hide under and inside. And under the water dish is where I see them most frequently
maiden cliff
Yeah hard ones! I literally took everything out of the tank, and put it back in, normally they hid in her cool hide, but I only found 2 in there 😭😭. I’m gonna just hope they hid really really well and get different leaves. Magnolia leaves are in fact the hard ones
sand bloom
I use live oak leaves and cork flats for them to hide in
sand bloom
is there a worry of her eating the veg or no?
I hide veg under cork flats so the critters can get it but not the gecko but honestly I’ve not had an issue but bc not all geckos are the same
I’ve trie eggshell, pure calcium, and oyster shell and honestly haven’t had issue
balmy fern
might have a look at trying some isopods then! thank you guys
pastel quest
might have a look at trying some isopods then! thank you guys
Look into powder oranges/powder blues (species: Porcellionides pruinosus)! Those are the ones people here have had the most success with and are reasonably affordable.
balmy fern
thank you!
£7.10 for 45 doesn’t seem toobad
actually a lot cheaper than other places
pastel quest
That's actually a pretty good price!
maiden cliff
Dang, Dubia charges $12 for 10 pods (depending on the color pruinosus). That’s a good deal
