# Springtails and my tarantula...



## Slappys_g1rl06 (May 27, 2010)

So... just did the routine flashlighting inspection last night and, much to my dismay, found some white, oblong, crawlies swimming somewhat quickly on top of my singablue's water dish.  I couldn't see any on the glass, decorations, or substrate but based on my observations and research from AB and other websites it sounds like springtails.  Most folks agree that they are harmless and may prove beneficial... but to me, this is a sign of poor husbandry and if my enclosure can support springtails... it can support mites, right?  I was just wondering if anybody could explain how and why springtails are beneficial and whether or not thier existance in my t's cage warrants a thorough cleaning and rehousing or not?  Thanks in advance!

Edit:  Just trying to find out whether their presence means I should go ahead and clean the cage and change the sub?  Info on springtails is welcomed too.


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## TalonAWD (May 27, 2010)

Slappys_g1rl06 said:


> So... just did the routine flashlighting inspection last night and, much to my dismay, found some white, oblong, crawlies swimming somewhat quickly on top of my singablue's water dish.  I couldn't see any on the glass, decorations, or substrate but based on my observations and research from AB and other websites it sounds like springtails.  Most folks agree that they are harmless and may prove beneficial... but to me, this is a sign of poor husbandry and if my enclosure can support springtails... it can support mites, right?  I was just wondering if anybody could explain how and why springtails are beneficial and whether or not thier existance in my t's cage warrants a thorough cleaning and rehousing or not?  Thanks in advance!
> 
> Edit:  Just trying to find out whether their presence means I should go ahead and clean the cage and change the sub?  Info on springtails is welcomed too.


They eat mold and can keep your tank clean. Mites are everywhere and you cannot be rid of them completely from your life. Just make sure the environment of the enclosure is not in favorable conditions for mites to survive. They love moisture and that is wht they seek more than food.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Slappys_g1rl06 (May 27, 2010)

Thanks Steve!

Yeah, I've read that mites are pretty much omnipresent and am ok with that, I suppose I should've worded my original post better... Ha!  I'm more worried about parasitic mites.  There's so much conflicting info out there; it's so hard to tell what's true and what's not when you're not an expert and just starting out!  It seems like the issue of mites has been sensationalized BIG TIME!!!

Would springtails eat any parasitic mites off of a t?  And btw, I went ahead and rehoused my girl... She's in a little cricket keeper (complete with water dish and cork bark) for the time being while I soak her other enclosure and do some mainenance on it.  She should only be in there for a few days to a week TOPS as she didn't have any mites on her.

I still take all of this as a sign that I was using poor husbandry and keeping her cage too damp.  The sub never completely dried from when I prepared it and I overflowed her dish (probably TOO MUCH overflowed) once a week.  I plan on working on that... I know I'll never have completely "clean" cages (even my G. pulchripes had springtails in his cage but not as many as in my Singablue's cage!).

I mean, if there's a bloom of springtails like that, shouldn't one be concerned about one's care practices?


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## TalonAWD (May 27, 2010)

What I do is wet the substrate from underneath the surface.

:?I know Thats what you are probably thinking....

Take a syringe and pierce the surface and squeeze water slowly. the substrate will be moist underground therefore providing humidity and the mites cannot get to the water physically. Than as the water evaporates you can repeat. I found that water on top of the substrate attracts more mites (regular ones) than dry substrate and water below it.

And you are right. Sometimes they oversensitize the mite thing. They are only a problem when you have an explosion of mites. 

Heres what I use. the large one for deep substrate and the small one for touch ups or area where the big one cannot fit in too well.







Spring tails will not attack the mites. Springtails are considered a good thing and for Dart frogs, its a necessity to have due to the constant high humidity.


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## Slappys_g1rl06 (May 28, 2010)

A very clever idea!  But I have a few questions for you...

How far beneath the surface is adequate to ensure the mites and springtails can't burrow to the water source?

Also, my singablue LOVES to burrow... she had a nice tunnel from the back of her upright 5.5gal enclosure all the way to the front... 4" deep!  How might this affect your approach?  Wouldn't this open up new surface area down where the moisture would be?

And lastly, where would I find syringes like those?

You've been a major help!

Reactions: Clarification Please 1


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## TalonAWD (May 28, 2010)

Slappys_g1rl06 said:


> A very clever idea!  But I have a few questions for you...
> 
> How far beneath the surface is adequate to ensure the mites and springtails can't burrow to the water source?
> 
> ...


I pierce the substrate and fill beneath the surface, the length of the needle. Once its moist down there, everytime you go to fill with water, the Capillary action will permit the water to spread across the substrate a wide area. Gravity will bring the water downward as well. If you have vermiculite mixed in with the substrate that will help with keeping it moist longer.

I use this technique with my GBB. As you know the GBB likes it bone dry. But my girl is gravid and she needs the moisture. So putting it beneath the surface brings up the humidity slightly and the substrate is still bone dry from the top.

I bought the large one at Wal-Mart. Its used for turkeys and other roasting foods. the small one I got from a dentist.


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## Jaymz Bedell (Jul 3, 2010)

Hello there.
         I know this post is a month after the last, but, I'd like to give some praise to springtails. springtails feed on organic matter...dead leaves, grass clippings, molds and fungi, decomposing animal matter, just about anything organic you can think of. thats why they are considered an integral part of a vivariums clean up crew, along with things like isopods and several other kinds of detritus eating inverts. this is not just in the dart frog community, a lot of people into terrarium and vivarium keeping use springtails to eat not only molds and other fungus that appear in vivariums but also dead leaves that fall off of plants, and in the case of vivariums also left over parts of food items like legs, wings, heads...the less meaty parts. they really are powerhouses when it comes to disposing of waste in a vivarium. their presence doesnt automatically mean your maintenance is not up to par, it really just means theyve found a good source of food. they feed on almost anything of an organic nature, including organic substrates. so to wrap up my overly wordy reply...Springtails are GOOD, they help keep things clean, much like the more common ispods people keep in their cages as a clean up crew. i totally understand that looking into a cage and seeing a bunch of springtails can seem a bit unnerving, but unless your cage is truly filthy, their presence is actually of benefit to you and your spider by keeping things like mold and feeder pieces in check that can attract much worse things like parasitic mites. for more information on the benefits of springtails you should check out any of the forums devoted to the keeping of dart frogs.

Jaymz


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## TalonAWD (Jul 3, 2010)

Jaymz Bedell said:


> Hello there.
> I know this post is a month after the last, but, I'd like to give some praise to springtails. springtails feed on organic matter...dead leaves, grass clippings, molds and fungi, decomposing animal matter, just about anything organic you can think of. thats why they are considered an integral part of a vivariums clean up crew, along with things like isopods and several other kinds of detritus eating inverts. this is not just in the dart frog community, a lot of people into terrarium and vivarium keeping use springtails to eat not only molds and other fungus that appear in vivariums but also dead leaves that fall off of plants, and in the case of vivariums also left over parts of food items like legs, wings, heads...the less meaty parts. they really are powerhouses when it comes to disposing of waste in a vivarium. their presence doesnt automatically mean your maintenance is not up to par, it really just means theyve found a good source of food. they feed on almost anything of an organic nature, including organic substrates. so to wrap up my overly wordy reply...Springtails are GOOD, they help keep things clean, much like the more common ispods people keep in their cages as a clean up crew. i totally understand that looking into a cage and seeing a bunch of springtails can seem a bit unnerving, but unless your cage is truly filthy, their presence is actually of benefit to you and your spider by keeping things like mold and feeder pieces in check that can attract much worse things like parasitic mites.
> 
> Jaymz


Very well said!


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## Jaymz Bedell (Jul 3, 2010)

thank you very much. personally im a springtail lover. when i was curator of reptiles for a small zoo i would introduce them to enclosures as part of the clean up crew, and for tiny lizards/frogs/ect. for an in cage source of food. a LOT of people into naturalistic and third wave vivarium design include a culture of springtails, and often isopods and other clean up critters, to their vivariums and allow them to establish for awhile prior to introducing the intended residents. 

  Personally i am very much into naturalistic vivarium design and construction, and in some cases third wave vivariums. even more so with more reclusive animals such as spiders. and in all honesty looking into a nice display is very calming, even if i dont always see the inhabitant. 

Jaymz


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## ekul (Oct 16, 2011)

TalonAWD said:


> Very well said!


extremly well said

Reactions: Funny 1


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## TheSanguineSaint (Nov 4, 2017)

For a syringe ask your vet for a catheter syringe...I use one and they are around the size of a loonie coin and half the length of a forearm. I use cheap fish tank air tubing attatched to the end so I just put the thin tubing down to where I want the water and finish it in the dish...super handy


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## ArachRich (Jan 22, 2018)

8 years later haha i never had any springtails when i used the artificial cork bark provided with my first terrarium. But, since getting more, which is natural cork bark, every enclosure it out it in now has springtails. Its almost impossible to keep them away. And as for the husbandry part, its not necessarily true, maybe in the case of some of the brachy species, but i have a t.violaceus, which like 80-90% hunidy. In an enclosure with those conditions, springys are inevitable


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