Can a green tree frog live with Millipedes and Isopods?

DinoFuzz

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 10, 2019
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I have a tank of giant American Millie's some that I've aquired from my yard and others I've purchased. They've been doing very well for about 5 months now and I just right now rescued a green tree frog from my hot tub and put it in my tank. Oh and I also bought some orange Isopods and springtails that have been thriving as well. Just wondering if it can live it's best life or if I'm just making everyone have a bad time...


Edit: I took the tank outside and opened the top and it hopped out and is now on it's merry way. 👍
 
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Jurdon

Arachnoknight
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Jan 30, 2018
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178
That enclosure seems extremely inadequate for a tree frog, and there seems to be no way to improve it without sacrificing the needs of the millipedes. Springtails were a good addition, but assuming the orange isopods are Porcellio scaber, they are not great tankmates for invertebrates. They tend to nibble on molting inverts, due to their dietary need for protein. Honestly, just let the tree frog soak in some SAFE water (dechlorinated, etc.) for a little bit and send it on its way, and consider dealing with the isopods before they reproduce (more).
 

DinoFuzz

Arachnopeon
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Nov 10, 2019
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Ah okay good to know, I'll start working on that and I'll be setting the frog on it's way right now. Thanks for the sage advice 👍
 

DinoFuzz

Arachnopeon
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Nov 10, 2019
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Also these Isopods are Porcellionides pruinosus, is that still a bad match?
 

Jurdon

Arachnoknight
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Jan 30, 2018
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Also these Isopods are Porcellionides pruinosus, is that still a bad match?
Yeah porcellionides are also pretty protein-hungry. I keep them and offer mine tons of protein as well as ample space, but molting pods still sometimes get cannibalized. They can be brutal
 

DinoFuzz

Arachnopeon
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Nov 10, 2019
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Oh wow, well that's definitely a cause for concern and thanks for letting me know. Guess I'll get started on a new tank for the pedes. Any advice on safely moving them from one tank to another? I don't want to disturb any potential burrowed or molting millipedes.

I do put in a fair amount of no grain cat food and a cuttlebone along with egg shells which they seem to love. I hope that can help them not attack the pedes (which have seemed fine so far although I can't speak for any potential babies or ones that have been burrowed).
 

MadMilli

Arachnoknight
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Apr 4, 2018
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190
Oh wow, well that's definitely a cause for concern and thanks for letting me know. Guess I'll get started on a new tank for the pedes. Any advice on safely moving them from one tank to another? I don't want to disturb any potential burrowed or molting millipedes.

I do put in a fair amount of no grain cat food and a cuttlebone along with egg shells which they seem to love. I hope that can help them not attack the pedes (which have seemed fine so far although I can't speak for any potential babies or ones that have been burrowed).
Definitely separate but there’s no real good way to do it, you’ll never be able to anticipate when it’s completely safe. I’m sure it’ll be fine though, good luck and I’m glad you asked some questions!
 

DinoFuzz

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 10, 2019
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Another question I have is there any other animal that can live peacefully with the Isopods? Maybe a hermit crab? Or are they just determined to eat anything that crosses their path? If not I'll just leave them to themselves but it'd be nice to have a larger animal in there to appreciate along with the Isopods.
 

MillipedeTrain

Arachnosquire
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Oct 19, 2019
Messages
78
Hey there, some important information for you...I would completely remove all the isopods if you have any intention of keeping your millipedes alive... Isopods eat not only molting millipedes, but they gang up and attack and kill perfectly healthy adult millipedes. Others have witnessed the massacre personally with their own eyes much to their horror. Isopods are voraciously hungry hounds that are never full it seems...Babies are consumed like Hors d’oeuvres and the eggs are desert. I’m not kidding. They gladly enjoy eating the eggs, the babies and whatever size millipede they can find regardless if it’s molting or not. I like isopods but I would keep them in an enclosure purely by themselves as you will gradually have less and less millipedes the longer you keep them together... I would completely get rid of that soil wash out the enclosure completely and then put the isopod dirt and isopods into an enclosure strictly for them because the babies will hatch and continue the killing. Even when there’s tons of food for isopods to eat it doesn’t matter they still attack and kill and eat millipedes of all sizes. Isopods can be used as cleaners for reptiles like lizards such as leopard geckos and the like because they eat the poop.

Your tank should be minimum half full of substrate that has plenty of maple and/or oak leaves, decayed maple and/or oak wood (I collect the wood and leaves from my forest and wash and bake them. Make sure to remove any native species from the wood before you bake it so you don’t bake the poor things! oh and NEVER use anything from pine trees or coniferous trees! ) add tons of sphagnum moss, grate a whole cuttlefish bone and even some Asian forest moss, as the main substrate I use organic black earth soil and then evenly mix in all the ingredients I listed above and then I have a good hearty layer of leaves covering the top of the soil along with some mosses and more wood so that they have food everywhere and the leaf layer keeps the humidity in the soil better! In all honesty I fill up my enclosures about a quarter from the top that way if they climb they don’t hurt themselves when they fall and then they have plenty of space to dig down and because you mix all the ingredients into every inch of the soil they have food to eat when they burrow! On the top I also add big pieces of decaying wood as well as cork bark for them to climb and hide in! I even use the reptile exoterra caves as they really enjoy cuddling in them together!

Also If you can, try not to put wild species you catch outside and put them into your enclosures because they can spread nasty parasites that could harm your millipedes and wipe them out completely. It’s especially not good to mix wild species with captive bred species for that same reason...although it sounds like you’ve already mixed wild caught millipedes with captive bred you bought so there’s no point separating them now...but for future be aware that introducing something like a frog or any other new creature into your closed environment from the wild can bring deadly hitchhikers be it bacterial or even fungal or parasites it’s just not worth the risk.

Hope this helps! 😊
 
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