Invertebrate for 12x12x18?

[Snailientologist]

I recently posted in the vertebrates section asking if there was anything that can live for its whole life in a 12x12x18 exo terra and didn't need to eat crickets or roaches. Since there was really no vertebrate that fit these criteria, I thought I would check to see if there were any invertebrates that might.

 

[Coradams]

Perhaps millipedes?

 

[isopodgeek]

Wish I knew but I have the same problem lol. Have a spare 12x 12x 18 just waiting for inhabitants.

 

[isopodgeek]

Wish I knew but I have the same problem lol. Have a spare 12x 12x 18 just waiting for inhabitants.

 

[Ashlynn Rose]

I had a similar problem with a small tank I deemed too small for fish. I ended up putting a group of pretty isopods in it and really enjoy watching the little fellas. They eat rotten wood, oak leaves, fish food, and assorted vegetable scraps. I was surprised by how much I like them!

You could also get a few hissing cockroaches, maybe all males or all females so that you wouldn't get a bunch of babies. They might like the vertical setup if you throw some sturdy branches in there to climb around on.

 

[isopodgeek]

I had a similar problem with a small tank I deemed too small for fish. I ended up putting a group of pretty isopods in it and really enjoy watching the little fellas. They eat rotten wood, oak leaves, fish food, and assorted vegetable scraps. I was surprised by how much I like them!

You could also get a few hissing cockroaches, maybe all males or all females so that you wouldn't get a bunch of babies. They might like the vertical setup if you throw some sturdy branches in there to climb around on.

I was going to do this but was then told that the hissers aren’t good climber and that they might fall and hurt themselves.

I have both adults and babies. The adults are never on the sides of the container while the babies are always climbing on the sides.

My theory is the adults are to heavy to climb properly due to their bulky size. On the other hand, the babies are lighter and can climb very effectively.

 

[Ashlynn Rose]

I was going to do this but was then told that the hissers aren’t good climber and that they might fall and hurt themselves.

I have both adults and babies. The adults are never on the sides of the container while the babies are always climbing on the sides.

My theory is the adults are to heavy to climb properly due to their bulky size. On the other hand, the babies are lighter and can climb very effectively.

Ah. That makes sense. I only have one old male hisser, and he enjoys sitting on his little branch in his tank, but his tank is quite shallow in comparison to yours.

 

[Polenth]

I was going to do this but was then told that the hissers aren’t good climber and that they might fall and hurt themselves.

I have both adults and babies. The adults are never on the sides of the container while the babies are always climbing on the sides.

My theory is the adults are to heavy to climb properly due to their bulky size. On the other hand, the babies are lighter and can climb very effectively.

Adult hissers can climb if they want (often they're not too interested in the sides, but they can climb them) and fall a great distance without harm. Safety isn't really the issue. It's more that the babies will escape easily from that sort of enclosure. An all-male group would be fine though (don't do all-female, as any female who has been kept with a male will be popping out babies for years).

Now, millipedes really are fragile and need substrate depth, so this isn't a good enclosure for them. Snails might work, though it'd help to seal off some ventilation.

 

[Snailientologist]

I'm always looking for excuses to get more snails, but all the locally available species are very messy and have super tiny babies that it would be really tricky to contain. Do you know if any adult beetles could live in it?