Making a vivarium: dead leaves question

[Ic4ru577]

Hi all,
I am a new to the T world. I am trying to make good vivarium to reduce maintenance. So far i had drop some isopods and springtails into the terrarium. I added some dead leaves too.
I noticed some fungus growing on the leaves. Since the springtails and isopods are not yet populated enough, do I remove some of the leaves?
Any tips and tricks to quickly create a healthy vivarium with a nice number of springtails and isopods? No matter how many I dropped into the terrarium, I still cant see them.
Thx u beforehand.

 

[Whiplash Girlchild]

Beautiful enclosure.


Make sure you are keeping a slight humidity and water dish as isopods and springtails especially need moisture. Most of the time they will be hiding or in the substrate. Keep an eye out for them.


How many isopods and springtails did you put in there? How big is the enclosure?

 

[Frogdaddy]

What kind of leaves are you using? "Soft" leaves like maple, ash, etc. will mold and break down quickly. Not all bad since microfauna need an instant source of food. You want to use some "Hard" leaves. Such as oak, magnolia, or sea grape. They last much much longer. You can easily source these from places like Josh's Frogs or NE Herp or Black Jungle.

No need to remove the leaves. If there is sufficient food and humidity they will increase their population. It may happen slowly at first but one day you'll notice a huge population explosion.

 

[Ic4ru577]

I am in Indonesia. So I have plenty of humidity and heat. Sometimes I miss Cleveland. Cant believe I actually say that. The enclosure is 16x12x12. I used the leaves I found around the garden. I put in around 30 isopods and bunch of springtails. I am cultivating them on separate container for future use too. I spent more times gardening the terrarium. My klaasi decided to be m.i.a after 2 feeding. The enclosure is way too big since it is only 2” klaasi.

 

[moricollins]

A B. Klaasi makes a poor subject for a bioactive enclosure. It'll be too dry for the springtails and isopods to thrive.

As for leaves: you can use maple, oak, magnolia, almond, amongst others

 

[Ic4ru577]

I will try to keep one part wet another dry then. I will remove the forrest moss so it wont dieniut. Thx for the info

 

[Dorifto]

Nice enclosure, but unfortunatelly it won't work for a B klaasi. They are an arid specie, and the amount of moisture you need to keep the isopods and springtails makes it unapropiate for them.

I'd suggest you to make an arid enclosure, without being a bioactive enclosure, you can make awesome setups.

Use some topsoil and clay mix to mimic the substrate they found in their original habitat. You can use some dry grass instead of the moss to decorate the enclosure and some arid plants will work fine too.


Which kind of substrate did you use?

 

[Ic4ru577]

Nice enclosure, but unfortunatelly it won't work for a B klaasi. They are an arid specie, and the amount of moisture you need to keep the isopods and springtails makes it unapropiate for them.

I'd suggest you to make an arid enclosure, without being a bioactive enclosure, you can make awesome setups.

Use some topsoil and clay mix to mimic the substrate they found in their original habitat. You can use some dry grass instead of the moss to decorate the enclosure and some arid plants will work fine too.


Which kind of substrate did you use?

Right now I am trying to reduce the humidity by opening the top of the enclosure 24/7. The klaasi burrowed herself and I cannot replace the substrate. I aimed to do a patch of damp area in one corner and reduced the amount of forrest moss.
I mixed coco peat, coco fiber and vermiculate. I was under impression klassi required humid and wet condition. N

 

[Dorifto]

Right now I am trying to reduce the humidity by opening the top of the enclosure 24/7. The klaasi burrowed herself and I cannot replace the substrate. I aimed to do a patch of damp area in one corner and reduced the amount of forrest moss.
I mixed coco peat, coco fiber and vermiculate. I was under impression klassi required humid and wet condition. N

The vermiculite holds to much water and can cause mold issues if there isn't enough ventilation.

The B klaasi comes from a semi arid - alpine forest zone. They need a dry substrate with some moist spots. The coco fiber when is too dry it becomes in a too loose stuff, so they can't burrow very well. The topsoil will give you the best results imho. It holds the very well the shape of the burrows since don't becomes loose when it dries, and also keeps the moiture level much homogeneously.

 

[Ic4ru577]

I moved the klaasi to another enclosure. I will redo the vivarium another time. Try to dry it more. Way too damp

 

[Dandrobates]

I’m starting to think that “bioactive” trend is replacing the “keep avics super moist” trend if you get my drift.... In all fairness though, OP be advised that although your enclosure is beautiful it is not practical or suited to this species. In addition, microfauna such as springtails and isopods generally need moist substrate to survive. You do not need a “bioactive” enclosure for your tarantula to thrive and if this is your first T I would recommend that you keep things simple.

 

[Ic4ru577]

Thx u for the advises. I am keeping my klaasi in deli cup now. Beauty in simplicity

 

[Dorifto]

Do not get descouraged with your enclosure!! You only have to change few things to make it perfect for your B. klassi.

Ask without hesitation!

 

[Ic4ru577]

I will. I am just waiting the klaasi to be bigger before rehousing again. Thx u