woodlice

[christopher furlong]

Hi everyone,
I want to start using woodlice in my "smaller" T"s tanks to keep a lid in mites but I'm not sure how big the T" should be before its safe! I'm worried that they will disturb them while molting. Can anyone help me out here?
Cheers guys
Chris

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi Chris,

I experimented with woodlice in my sling enclosures for a little while. After a couple of weeks I removed them. I just found that there wasn't much maintenance work for them to do in such a small enclosure. I was using springtails too at the time which seemed to be on top of mould/fungus issues.

As far as safety goes, I'm pretty sure they'll be OK. I'm sure someone else more experienced will correct me if I'm wrong. My slings are arboreals (A.versicolor) which meant they rarely came into contact with each other. My slings were about 2.5cm so the woodlice matched them in size.

Hope this helps,

Jamie

[christopher furlong]

Hi jamie,
Thanks for the info mate, I'm thinking of using spring tails and woodlice. I had a mite infestation recently and cleaned all the tanks, changed the substrait and a week later they are back!! I have only notest a few so but I'm still a bit miffed so i am declaring war on the mites! I will post my progress with the woodlice/spring tails. I'm still a bit worried about using the woodlice with my small terrestrials. The smallest being the size of a fifty pence piece. I might experiment with one small terrestrial first.
Cheers
Chris

[Jamie Cooper]

I hope it all works out for you. A good place to get both woodlice and springtails is www.dartfrog.co.uk. I think you can get starter cultures for £4.99 each.

I'm sure I've read somewhere that woodlice won't harm moulting T's. Like I said earlier, someone will correct me if I'm wrong about that. Good luck.

Jamie.

[Chris Barnard]

Hi Christopher. You can get tropical woodlice which are smaller than our native ones, and white. These may be better for your smaller Ts as they are less likely to be eaten. As Jamie said - dartfrog have them.
As long as there is somewhere damp for them they should be fine. They would not survive in a very dry enclosure. I have an arboreal enclosure set up with no T at present (waiting for my P rufilata to grow a bit first) and have put springtails and woodlice in ready. The woodlice were collected from the garden and have been kept for a few months now. I would ensure any woodlice collected are 'quarantined' for a few weeks before being introduced to the spider enclosure in case of any insecticide contamination etc. I just chuck in a dead cricket now and then so they have something to eat! They seem to be doing fine. Good luck!

[christopher furlong]

cheers chris i will look into getting the tropical woodlice!!
cheers mate
chris

[Dave Shinn]

I only set up my viv last week and added my H. incei slings yesterday, yet I noticed this morning there is already a bit of mould accumulating on the edges of the cork bark, I think the substrate may have been a bit too moist. I don't want to disturb the slings as they have already begun constructing their beautiful silken retreats and are settling in well. They are only about 2-3cm in length so would springtails be better than woodlice?

Thanks, Dave

[paul fleming]

On lots of "forums",they tell you it is dangerous (insecticides etc.) to use wild caught woodlice but I have been using them from my own garden for years without any problems.
They tend to like humidity and do not like it dry in my experience.
All my spiders seem to just ignore them which is good.
I use them to clean up any rotting crix and they seem to do OK at it although I do have to replace them every month or so.No hardship really though.
You have nothing to lose although springtails may be a better option.
Paul

[Colin D Wilson]

On lots of "forums",they tell you it is dangerous (insecticides etc.) to use wild caught woodlice but I have been using them from my own garden for years without any problems.

I use the common woodlouse for tanks here too, but have a breeding colony in with the cockroaches so i know theyre sterile as possible.
Using them straight away could be a problem, if you keep them quaranteened for a couple of weeks then they'll expell any toxins they've stored in their system if you feed them "clean" material. Woodlice can harbor toxins within their body without any harm to themselves, the same as crabs can and do as woodies are also crustaceans.
They dont stay in the same garden throughout their life but can travel a fair distance, this can be a problem if any nextdoor neighbours have used any chemicals on their land.

They tend to like humidity and do not like it dry in my experience.

They HAVE to live in a humid environment, they have gills at the base of their legs which need keeping moist to operate effectively.
A humid Avic or Pokie tank is ok for woodies, a dry species like Grammies/Brachys will need a moist corner of the tank or a water bowl to give enough moisture for woodies to survive.