Springtails... alive?

[EulersK]

I think that this guy is taking me on a ride.

I ordered two springtail cultures from a reputable dealer (he was actually suggested by someone on here), and his communication was amazing. The whole story doesn't really matter, but he seems like a genuinely good guy. However, I can see no sign of life in either culture, and it's been four days now.

When I got the cultures, I separated each one into two containers - I did this to give myself some buffer, as this was my first time culturing springtails. I reached out to him that night telling him that I saw no movement at all, and he replied that the cold weather combined with the shipping causes them to go into a "dormant" state. I believed him, because I've found that same information time and time again. Well, it's been more than enough time at this point, and I still see no movement in the containers. I can't even find one, nothing.

I don't want to lose out on my LAG, but at the same time, I'm an honest guy. I don't want him to refund/replace if these actually are perfectly fine. What do you all think? Should I see some kind of life at this point?

 

[Andrea82]

My springtails were a bit cold as well, but that changed within a few hours. You should definitely see a lot of activity. Did you stir them a bit, or shake their enclosure? You could try that, but if you still notice no movement, I don't think they're alive anymore. I keep mine at room temp, and I see them creeping crawling all the time.
Maybe there was a very cold part of the shipping and they didn't make it.

 

[EulersK]

My springtails were a bit cold as well, but that changed within a few hours. You should definitely see a lot of activity. Did you stir them a bit, or shake their enclosure? You could try that, but if you still notice no movement, I don't think they're alive anymore. I keep mine at room temp, and I see them creeping crawling all the time.
Maybe there was a very cold part of the shipping and they didn't make it.

Yeah, I mix everything up, turn over leaves, you name it. I haven't found a single springtail.

 

[Andrea82]

You don't even see them??
That is a bit weird. It could be a different species that you have, but I even see dead springtails in my tub. Tiny white thin specs, oval/rice shaped.
I would contact the seller, something went wrong I think. Unless it is a species that is so small they're invisible with the naked eye..

 

[EulersK]

You don't even see them??
That is a bit weird. It could be a different species that you have, but I even see dead springtails in my tub. Tiny white thin specs, oval/rice shaped.
I would contact the seller, something went wrong I think. Unless it is a species that is so small they're invisible with the naked eye..

No, they're not that tiny. They're tiny, but I did see one alive in each culture when I first got it. But literally only one. I even laid it out on a cookie sheet and thoroughly checked. They are tiny enough, though, that I could easily be missing the corpses. If it helps, I got Sinella and a "temperate" species.

 

[Andrea82]

I have Sinella sp as well, the white variant, don't know about the other species, but I can see my Sinella springtails very well.
I am by no means an expert on springtails, so I can only tell you what I see.