My springtail colony crashed a while ago (for some reason, maybe over-feeding), and I’m going to set up a new one. I know I’m going to use charcoal, but I’m not sure what to get. I would either buy stuff online from a reptile source, or just buy a big bag of barbeque charcoal from a local hardware store. Is there anything special I need to look for in a large bag of barbeque charcoal (as long as it’s not the charcoal briquettes), or is it just safer to get a small amount from a reptile source? Given a choice should I try to get larger or smaller pieces?
And, what’s funny is that at the same time I also crashed my zebra isopod colony, and almost killed off my millipede colony (so now I’m going to be out $60 for zebras and springs, lol).
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I broke down and bought a springtail starter kit from Josh’s Frogs and it was worth EVERY PENNY I SPENT ON IT! The charcoal in the kit is definitely different than regular grilling charcoal. I seems a little shiny in water. I have millions of springtails in the tub (part of the kit) and all I did was add filtered water and the springtail food that came with the kit. All you have to do is pour out some springtails where you need them and add a little more water and food once in awhile. Here are pictures of the springtails and the tub:
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Hmmm…gotta look that one up.
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I didn’t think the colony would take off but it’s gone wild! Or maybe I was just lucky. But the Pac-Man frog I got from there was really healthy too and a good eater……
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I use the 100% natural lump hardwood charcoal you can pick up from just about any hardware store. You can get a huge bag for very cheap.
I like crushing up a majority of the charcoal I’m using for springtails into small pieces and breaking a few into larger manageable pieces so that when I need to place some springtails in an enclosure, I can just take a big springtail-coated piece of charcoal out of the culture and shake a bunch of springtails off to populate the new enclosure.
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I also generally use hardwood lump charcoal free of additives if any kind, including accelerants. I also only use distilled water for misting and water at the bottom, and I use less than many others (maybe 1/5 the volume of the colony container). I’ve bought a few different species of springtail in a variety of setups, but I think clay, charcoal, and ‘soil-type’ substrate are the three main types. I’ve not tried soil but the other two have worked fine for me. Main problem has been contamination by flies, though I’ve made the decision to be more mellow about that, since it seems inevitable.
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