Help for a new Pink toe owner

[James Box]

yes, that's true Phil! i've been battling Phorids for a while now...with little success. thankfully no nematode worms have been in my collection or things would be quite bad!

[Peter Lacey]

Thinking outside the box here - crickets like to eat, chuck a little lettuce in and wait a couple of days. You'll clearly see if any cricket are alive by the marks on the lettuce, unless of course your L. parahybana decides to go veggie!

[James Box]

that's a great suggestion, Peter!

[Nicola Dolby]

Hello, this may be a daft question but don't wood lice eat boluses? I know they keep tanks free of mould and stuff. Also what do phorids look like? if you mean those tiny fruit flies then a good way to get rid of them is to keep a small species of spider with the tarantula that wont harm the big spid! myself I have a population of Steatoda grossa, lovely little things, and they deal with small flies. They also deal with any microcrickets laid by escapee crickets too! try getting some, they're lovely little things.

[James Box]

woodlice are great for getting rid of boluses, etc...it was Colin Wilson who told me about that.

S grossa...do you keep them in with your T's or just around the area? they are meant to have quite a bite (thinking of the T here), but as far as i know don't stray from webs very often...

Phorids are also called humpbacked or scuttle flies, due to their hunchbacked appearance and habit of running rather than flying... they are fast and not many things can catch them.
they are scavangers mainly and lay eggs on dead things of any kind.

[Nicola Dolby]

Thats good then, I've got about half a dozen in every tank! Thanks James

[James Box]

wow! and no problems? that sounds an intriguing idea, a bit of an ecosystem going on in each set up

[Nicola Dolby]

Problem is James I've got that much of an eco-system going in some tanks, as I said in another thread, that I'm growing mushrooms next to my apophysis at the mo!! Using condensation fro humidity really works, but I always make sure the little one has a water bowl. One thing which concerns me though is the lack of light. I know Exo-terra do daytime and nighttime bulbs, but does anyone do ones you can plug into the main light socket?

[James Box]

the fungus is worrying...especially with that recent article in the BTS journal about a poisonous mushroom.
not sure how to combat that...woodlice i know eat mould (as well as the bolas...to keep this moderately on topic lol!), but no idea about mushrooms. might need human intervention to keep that in check.
not sure about the bulbs sorry Nicola!

[Nicola Dolby]

Thanks James, all the best

[Jane Mitchell]

Thinking outside the box here - crickets like to eat, chuck a little lettuce in and wait a couple of days. You'll clearly see if any cricket are alive by the marks on the lettuce, unless of course your L. parahybana decides to go veggie!

That's a top idea! We've been feeding the crickets in a separate pot anyway and they've really gone for cucumber. I'll pop a piece in and see what we get.

[Phil Rea]

the fungus is worrying...especially with that recent article in the BTS journal about a poisonous mushroom.
not sure how to combat that...woodlice i know eat mould (as well as the bolas...to keep this moderately on topic lol!), but no idea about mushrooms. might need human intervention to keep that in check.
not sure about the bulbs sorry Nicola!

I read the article, but saying that I have had the same sort of mushroom (well visually very similar anyway) growing in my C. fimbriatus tank, on a couple of occasions, and I removed them and had no further issues at the time. In fact she went on to breed, produce a sac, and ultimately slings.

[Phil Rea]

Hello, this may be a daft question but don't wood lice eat boluses? I know they keep tanks free of mould and stuff. Also what do phorids look like? if you mean those tiny fruit flies then a good way to get rid of them is to keep a small species of spider with the tarantula that wont harm the big spid! myself I have a population of Steatoda grossa, lovely little things, and they deal with small flies. They also deal with any microcrickets laid by escapee crickets too! try getting some, they're lovely little things.

Phorids look like little humpbacked flies. If you disturb them they generally run away along whatever surface they're on at the time in a zig zag pattern, rather than taking off and flying away. They are also known as scuttle flies, for exactly that reason

[James Box]

that's comforting about the mushroom Phil...though they are still vile

hope the cucumber trap works Jane!

[Jane Mitchell]

Thinking outside the box here - crickets like to eat, chuck a little lettuce in and wait a couple of days. You'll clearly see if any cricket are alive by the marks on the lettuce, unless of course your L. parahybana decides to go veggie!

The cucumber trap has worked!! I've flushed out one cricket but no sign of the other or any remains.