# How do you introduce springtails to a terrarium?



## Ben Do (Jun 14, 2020)

I was wondering how simple (or difficult) it would be to introduce springtails/isopods to a terrarium for my tarantulas and emperor scorpions that prefer a more humid environment because I'm concerned about mold growth (although I haven't had trouble in the past).

Can I just buy the culture and throw them in with some leaf litter or is it more complex than that? I was reading a lot about people making drainage layer, charcoal layer, etc. for a bioactive setup but if some of my animals are burrowing I feel like it would disrupt their natural tendencies. 

I also use exo terra nanos for some animals and would the springtails ever escape or be sustainable in such a small enclosure? Typically every six months or so I replace all the substrate in my enclosures, but would the addition of springtails prevent me from doing so?


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## Pepper (Jun 15, 2020)

I keep my springtails on charcoal in 8 oz cups, i can pour water in and they float so i can just pour them out. If you use/ get yours on dirt, you could just use a spoon, same with isopods. I dont have a leaf litter layer or anything else and they do fine as long as i keep the sub moist. I doubt springtails would escape a nice humid enclosure with sub and natural fungus spores for the presumably-less-humid inside of your house. I've heard of "springtail infestations" in houses in very humid areas but they cant do any damage. It would not prevent you from changing the substrate, you can just add a little of the old, springtail-filled sub to the new to "seed" a new colony.

Reactions: Like 1


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## BepopCola (Jun 15, 2020)

Drainage layers could really be reserved for species that require intermittent heavy watering, like dart frogs.
Most inverts that need humid/moist soil do fine without it.

You can just dump in springtails and they'll settle in on their own.
I had the hardest time keeping my exo-terra nano humid, but springtails will stay where the moisture is.


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## Konstantin Konstantinov (Jun 15, 2020)

Hi
I keep my springtails on wet spaghnum moss.
When need them just take few strands out and put them in the enclosure.Easy.
Regards Konstantin


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## Dorifto (Jun 15, 2020)

Don't use any drainage system for Ts, I made one and it was useless, a good substrate will work much better. If it's a dendro or something similar then yes. 

Use a good substrate that keeps the humidity homogeneously, imho topsoil work the best, also with the bioactive critters too, since it keeps very well the humidity across all the substrate, and doesn't dry as fast as coco fiber or other kind of substrates. Regarding the escaping issue, yes they will scape, but in very low quantities, they will thrive faster than they scape. Also springtails thrive very well on this substrate.

Imho they work the best along with tropical dwarf isopods (Trichorhina Tormentosa). They keep the enclosure clean of mold, fungus... etc. Put them and forget, they won't need any special cares.

I have both in my vivariums, and they get rid of Ts wastes very well.


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## moricollins (Jun 15, 2020)

Ben Do said:


> I was wondering how simple (or difficult) it would be to introduce springtails/isopods to a terrarium for my tarantulas and emperor scorpions that prefer a more humid environment because I'm concerned about mold growth (although I haven't had trouble in the past).
> 
> Can I just buy the culture and throw them in with some leaf litter or is it more complex than that? I was reading a lot about people making drainage layer, charcoal layer, etc. for a bioactive setup but if some of my animals are burrowing I feel like it would disrupt their natural tendencies.
> 
> I also use exo terra nanos for some animals and would the springtails ever escape or be sustainable in such a small enclosure? Typically every six months or so I replace all the substrate in my enclosures, but would the addition of springtails prevent me from doing so?


A few questions from me:
Why are you replacing the substrate every six months? I've never heard of anyone replacing the substrate that often
What tarantula species are you keeping this moist/humid? 

For my dart frogs I always culture my springtails outside the tanks so that I have extras to add in later.

Reactions: Like 1


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## testdasi (Jun 15, 2020)

Ben Do said:


> Can I just buy the culture and throw them in with some leaf litter or is it more complex than that? I was reading a lot about people making drainage layer, charcoal layer, etc. for a bioactive setup but if some of my animals are burrowing I feel like it would disrupt their natural tendencies.
> 
> I also use exo terra nanos for some animals and would the springtails ever escape or be sustainable in such a small enclosure? Typically every six months or so I replace all the substrate in my enclosures, but would the addition of springtails prevent me from doing so?


Different people have different ways to introduce springtails e.g.

Mix in substrate from colony into enclosure
If springtails are kept on charcoal, pick up the piece of charcoal and blow gently into the enclosure
Throw a piece of something (e.g. moss / charcoal) from the colony into the enclosure
Pour water into the colony and then pour the water (with springtails floating on top) into the enclosure
etc.
So it's super easy but there isn't quite an accepted method.
The drainage layer / charcoal etc. are for real wet terrarium / vivarium and is not really a springtails specific thing.

Springtails, if you give them food and water, will survive in something as small as a sauce container so will certainly survive in those Exo Terra Nano. In fact, they are a lot more resilient than you think e.g. I just sprayed my bone-dry LP tank liberally and after 24 hours, I could see a few springtails jumping around.

In terms of escape, they will but they won't be viable outside so I would not be too concerned about that. Most escapes I would say are accidental (e.g. they jump through the air vents and land outside). Without external stimulant, they prefer to stay on the substrate and don't like to climb out of their comfort zone.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ben Do (Jun 16, 2020)

moricollins said:


> A few questions from me:
> Why are you replacing the substrate every six months? I've never heard of anyone replacing the substrate that often
> What tarantula species are you keeping this moist/humid?
> 
> ...


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## Ben Do (Jun 16, 2020)

moricollins said:


> A few questions from me:
> Why are you replacing the substrate every six months? I've never heard of anyone replacing the substrate that often
> What tarantula species are you keeping this moist/humid?
> 
> For my dart frogs I always culture my springtails outside the tanks so that I have extras to add in later.


When I first learned to take care of T's I read a lot about people saying to replace or "clean" the enclosure about once or twice a year. I now realize a lot of keepers (especially those with huge collections) don't do it at all, but for me personally, I like to rearrange and redecorate the enclosures for my aesthetic purposes since I want to display my animals. Also in terms of humidity after about six months the substrate gets bone dry (for the T's that don't require a humid environment I leave dry minus an overflowed water dish) and it compresses so I like to replace it to give it height for burrowing/minimizing height for climbers.

Most of my T's don't require too much moisture, but my A. Seemani (according to my previous research and knowledge) like moist substrate. There's a large debate about Avicularia keeping them dry or moist, I keep mine on the dryer side but it's one of the enclosures I want to add springtails to because I have live plants in there in case things get too wet from watering them. My emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) also requires a higher amount of humidity as well as my Blue Fang (Ephebopus cyanognathus) and Pink Birdeater (Lasiodora Parahybana), but those are slings at the moment so I'm not too concerned with them.

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## KenD (Jun 18, 2020)

Ben Do said:


> Typically every six months or so I replace all the substrate in my enclosures, but would the addition of springtails prevent me from doing so?


There's really no need to change the substrate that often. In fact, it's better for the t if you don't. It's a great disturbance for the tarantula to have its whole world transformed like that. Baring any major problems, you should be able to keep the same substrate for years and years.


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