So, my magic potions have been struggling since i got them, they were very inactive, and some were suiciding themselves by escaping. I knew they needed good air flow, a drink source, and food, as well as proper temps.
Well, i had to prep everything for me to be gone for a week and i sort of… accidentally… flooded their bin. Honest mistake, could happen to anyone, water is difficult to control. Anyways, there was still land mass, it was just very very wet, i decided it would have to be what it is and left
I come back a week later, and my magic potions are lively, active, there are babies, and the springtails moved right on in…
Wow. I have never heard of them exploding like this as a reaction to that. I will have to ‘accidentally’ flood my magic potion culture and see what happens It might work and who cares if I lose a couple hundred dollars
Linked is a video of what i came home to. Before leaving i had about 7 adults left that were surviving, but they were not what i would call thriving.
It could be a fluke, so i wouldnt risk a whole colony, but perhaps setting up a culture and seeing how it compares between how they are doing vs how they do in a high moisture environment
I feel with isopods, the bigger your colony, the less you look at it as money. When my gestris werent breeding i was sweating bullets with fear they wouldnt do well. Now that they have had babies if i found a couple that drowned themselves, it would be a huge deal (not that id be happy about it haha) so depending on their potion colony size, it could be worth the experimentation
True, while they are bugs, it is also important to remember theyvare living. Its easy to forget the value of life when faced with the blinder of many. If one of my dogs were to die id be crushed, but if i only had 1 it would be absolutely devastating . Then think of how people use predator mites, introduce them so they eat the snake mites, then once there is no food, they cannibalize and eventually, no more predator mites either. Springtails? They exist, i bet very few pay attention to the rise and fall of their numbers unless they become a problem.
I suppose thats where my mind sees isopods. I have them to do a task for me, and in return i try to give them the best environment im able to for their service. But its hard to remember the significance of things that are alive the smaller they are and the more there are. So i definitely appreciate you bringing the morality of it back to the forefront it worked out for me, but you are right that the risk is more than just monitary, so the reward should be weighed upon the lives the experiment risks
My first thought is that there was always that amount but the flooding either brought them to the surface or made them retreat to the driest area. But of course I’m not positive it’s just a thought.
It could be that they were burrowers, but the adults have been on the surface with a couple surface dwelling babies and were all very inactive and hardly touched the food. Since the flooding they are far more active and have been much more voracious. My thinking is the temperature. They like drier environments when they are at optimal tem between mid 60s and mid 70s, but do better with higher humidity if the temps are higher. The temp is low 80s where i have them, so perhaps the water is making them fair the heat better. Im honestly surprised it hasnt evaporated over the week. It actually looks wetter than when i left. My guess is it pooled at the bottom first, but then worked its way up through capilary action with the soil.
Funny enough, when leaving them more dry with one side more humid mine didn’t do well.
A month or so ago when misting and feeding all of the isopods, I decided ‘bugger it’ and misted them all over instead of one side to see how they did, Turns out they’re happier
Sometimes you just have to do what works the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If dry isnt working, let it rain xD
I definitely agree. I suppose my words came out a bit wrong, and I apologize. I definitely value every one of my isopods. Even when you have hundreds, you still somehow find a way to recognize each one.
Once again, I am so sorry my reply projected the wrong intentions.
It might work and who cares if I lose a couple hundred dollars 
the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If dry isnt working, let it rain xD