Clean up crews for dry species

[Aspiring Mr T]

Is there such a thing?

 

[moricollins]

Is there such a thing?

Yes, they're called tweezers lol.
Clean up crews shouldn't be needed for a mostly dry enclosure

 

[Aspiring Mr T]

Yes, they're called tweezers lol.
Clean up crews shouldn't be needed for a mostly dry enclosure

Yes of course. But I read someone’s post on facebook saying they have springtails for arid environments. Is that true?

 

[testdasi]

Yes of course. But I read someone’s post on facebook saying they have springtails for arid environments. Is that true?

You can throw springtails into the tank regardless if it's dry or wet. If it's dry, the springtails probably will stay close to around the water dish.
So if you overflow the waterdish every now and again, they won't die out completely so will sort of still do their job, just not too effectively.

 

[basin79]

Yes of course. But I read someone’s post on facebook saying they have springtails for arid environments. Is that true?

What you're best off doing with the vast majority of things you see on Facebook is ignore them. Although I'm not on myself it's just what I've read.

Dry enclosure = long tongs
Damp enclosures = long tongs and springtails

Obviously the springtails do need food but that's not an excuse to let things get too messy.

 

[KaroKoenig]

In a very dry enclosure, those springtails you have around and under the water dish will end up drowned IN the water dish in great numbers. I personally find springtail soup rather disgusting. so I wouldn't use them myself. Just not necessary.

 

[Arthroverts]

...why?

There are some springtails that can tolerate/actually require drier conditions, but for most enclosures adding them specifically as a clean-up crew is pointless. There specialty is in reducing mold, which last I checked isn't a major problem in arid enclosures...

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[cold blood]

Springtails breathe through a gill system, this requires a certain amount of moisture, making them ill suited for dry conditions. Sure they can live around the dish, but that's just a small part of the enclosure anyway, so are they really effective clean up crews in such conditions?

I will say, as much hype as springtails get, I think it leads many new keepers to believe they are a virtual necessity. In my 20+ years of t ownership, I have never used clean up crews of ANY sort...they are not really required at all. IMHO, I would just ignore clean up crews and focus on the t.

Ts aren't dirty animals, its pretty easy to keep things clean by picking out the occasional bolus or mold spot.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

This is not nature.
They live in an enclosure, inside a closet.
Correct ventilation, correct temperature, correct moisture and correct crazy attentive ape, make for something good enough to make them happy.
If you do something that works, continue.
There is no spider that enjoys being trapped with "bother" bugs.

 

[basin79]

Springtails breathe through a gill system, this requires a certain amount of moisture, making them ill suited for dry conditions. Sure they can live around the dish, but that's just a small part of the enclosure anyway, so are they really effective clean up crews in such conditions?

I will say, as much hype as springtails get, I think it leads many new keepers to believe they are a virtual necessity. In my 20+ years of t ownership, I have never used clean up crews of ANY sort...they are not really required at all. IMHO, I would just ignore clean up crews and focus on the t.

Ts aren't dirty animals, its pretty easy to keep things clean by picking out the occasional bolus or mold spot.

Absolutely CB. But for me I like to see the little buggers as it looks like a little piece of nature. A tiny eco system.

 

[octanejunkie]

What are you needing to clean up in an arid enclosure that you want a clean up crew?

 

[cold blood]

Absolutely CB. But for me I like to see the little buggers as it looks like a little piece of nature. A tiny eco system.

I'm not saying anything bad about them, i'm sure they're plenty interesting, they're just not a real "need".

 

[basin79]

I'm not saying anything bad about them, i'm sure they're plenty interesting, they're just not a real "need".

No, but I'd still rather have them and them not be needed. They're little work horses.