Hi folks,

I've been working on a 29 gallon viv for my grey tree frogs. I went to the local reptile show this weekend to pick up some plants as well as springtails to help populate the tank before I put the frogs in.

When I was talking to one of the folks at Black Jungle, they told me springtails can be very dangerous in a viv where any of the animals like to bury into the substrate as the springtails will eat them to the bone in a matter of days. I'd never heard this before, but the gentleman stated that he'd had a couple lazy and sick frogs that sat on the substrate and just disappeared in a couple days, and all he could find were bones. Naturally, this has me very nervous about dumping the container of springtails I bought into the viv since my tree frogs love to nestle into the substrate to snooze on occasion, not to mention they're all currently fully buried in the substrate in their current enclosure as they're brumating.

Has anyone else heard of this, or had any experiences, positive or negative, with frogs that like to bury themselves in the substrate and springtails? I don't want to introduce them and then find the springtails are eating my frogs!

Thanks.

Jen

Viv, prior to plants...


IMG_3113 by Ketaped, on Flickr