First timer, again!

[hagis30]

Hello everyone and Thanks for this great forum!
What seems like eons ago I created my first vivarium, I considered it a success since all the plants, fish and frogs lived! After having to disassemble it and move due to an incoming little one, there was no room or time to set up shop and start creating another. Now my son is into lizards (and believe it or not vary responsible for 7) and it gives me a great excuse to get back into the arena again. This time it seems much easier, so to speak, with all the information and outlets for supplies that are available now compared to just 7 years ago.
Anyway my newest vivarium is almost complete and after a refresher course Thanks greatly to this forum and geckos unlimited it's looking great, just like I cut it out of a jungle and put it in a box! We are almost ready to house new cresties! My whole goal was to get back into vivariums, have the boy get involved and excited about this project, also it had to be pleasing to the eye for both my satisfaction and my wife's, so there wouldn't be any ummmm... "eye soars" in our temporarily small house (also a story for another time).
I do have some questions which is why I joined this forum, we don't have to many local resources as far as gatherings, meetings,or clubs in Wisconsin.
1.) I have been reading about people using worms in their substrate and I understand opinions vary, but is this a more common method for the substrate now? Is there a particular worm such as plain earthworms, red worms, etc..? How many is too many worms (understanding it depends on tank size)? Should I worry about the future cresties eating them? Are there draw backs to using worms?
2.)I have also read people using spring tails and wood lice as a helper in the vivarium, is this also a common practice? Couldn't these insects cause harm to the future tenants?
Well, that's my introduction and a few of my questions. Any input would be great and Thank you everyone for all the informative posts.

P.S. Thank you for having me!

[Epiphile]

Hi hagis30, and welcome to the forum. It really makes me happy when I see parent-child duos here- it's inspiring and gives me a shred of hope for the future.

As regards your questions, I'm sure you'll get some more definite answers than mine, but I believe that substrate microfauna is completely harmless and is often used with dart frogs as both a food source and an aid to breaking down decaying waste/plant matter, as are the worms (I'm sorry I can't help you with which variety). I think with both of them the only thing you have to make sure of is that they continue to have enough to feed on, which is ordinarily leaf litter that needs to be added to the top of the substrate periodically.

As I said, someone else should be able to better inform you of the subtleties of keeping these little guys- post a specific question elsewhere on the forum if you don't get the info you need here in your introduction.

[darc]

Welcome! : D

Kind of like Epiphile did, I want to preface this with the fact that I AM NOT an expert... I'm just a hobbyist who happens to have a gecko... and it's a leopard gecko, not a crestie (and I wouldn't even consider myself an expert on my leo, but he seems to be doing okay). Personally, I think worms can do a great bit of good in a viv, assuming they can (and are permitted, environment-wise) to do their natural thing in the soil. It's good for any planted flora (most everything I've ever read suggests that worms are good for flora, so long as they aren't parasitic) and could prove a specialized meal for certain fauna.

On your second point I can't really comment... my gut is to say "no" ... but I want to emphasize again that I am no expert. But, I would introduce certain types of earthworms before I would ever consider introducing spring tails / wood lice.

... but, remember.... I'm no expert... just speaking from what I've read and a little of what I've practiced. I have no experience with springtails and wood lice and I make no claim to know more than a novice amount about them.

Best of luck.
-darc

[froggsong]

As far as worms go, you want "red wiggler" worms. They break down leaf litter, and you only want about 5 per cubic foot (if I have to give an actual measure, lol) to start, unless you notice them being eaten. The red wigglers are fine as food, and won't hurt your tank. They'll be quite beneficial, aerating your soil and keeping it fertile.

Springtails and isopods (woodlice, roly polies, etc), are great additions to a tank. They also break down leaf litter and any other decomposing matter. Isopods will likely be a snack from time to time when they venture into the open, but that's ok. They aren't high in chitin, like alot of bugs, they are crustaceans so their shells are high in calcium. They are a good supplemental feeder for this reason, natural sources of calcium are ALWAYS preferred to artificial sources. You can throw in a handful (not literally) of springtails, and throw in a fistful (literally) of isopods, watching to see how many are eaten right away. The isopods will sometimes nibble plant roots if they don't have adequate leaf litter/decomposing stuff to eat. Make sure that they soil is moist enough, they breathe with modified gills.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[hagis30]

Great thank you for clearing that for me! I will get the worms going first for the soil then once the cresties are established start experimenting with the isopods. Any idea where I might find isopods, I will do a search in the mean time.

Thank you for everyone's input, it's very appreciated!

[froggsong]

where to find isopods? Outside, lol... Look under rocks, moss, dead wood, etc. If you can't find any that way (you probably will), entice them with a sheet or two of stacked, wet cardboard. You'll have a mess of them in a week or so.

[hagis30]

lol... I thought you might know a supplier. It's winter here so I will wait till spring, that will give me time to get the cresties settled.

[beckdg]

i'm glad you got your answer. i could not put it so well as froggsong myself honestly. welcome to the forum.

[froggsong]

I doubt you'd be able to find a supplier. I had a culture going strong but had to use the lid on it for some crickets and dried it out too much... Poor things suffocated. Hopefully I'll have a good supply in a few months and I can start selling them. They're great because of their size (small ones are definitely small enough to feed to darts and even thumbnail frogs) and their calcium content.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Double D has some.