Uh, I guess mom told you I called, huh? I just wanted to make sure that your new Cobalt didn't make the 'great' escape and turn into frog jerky. If that ever happens, and I'm sure it won't, I still have the other gal to replace her.

Suggestion, shugar - go across the street and pull a bunch of those dried up oak leaves off the trees. Soak 'em or boil them in water, let 'em cool, then lay down a thick damp layer on your substrate. It will keep your frog clean and also provide a place for micro-fauna to grow. If you get any springtails, that's where they'll hang out.

If you want to hunt down your own springtails, you can try this - get a bag of Cowboy's All Natural Lump Charcoal 8.8lbs from Lowes and soak a few pieces in some dechlorinated water. After that, if you don't buy a culture, take the charcoal to the woods and place a couple of pieces under the leaves in moist area. Yeah, I know - it's a little hard to come by due to the drought. Check it after a few days and see if there are any signs of life. Springtails are tiny white critters and I meant to bring you a culture, darn it. Next time we're out, I'll give you a call and see if we can drop one off. You can always use several cultures of springtails.

Okay, here's how I use them, and there are other methods, so you pick what's easiest for you. I use a normal fruitfly culture cup with a tiny bit of water. Then, I pick up a piece of charcoal from the culture, turn it over, and use a spray water bottle to spritz the springtails into the cup. Once I get enough, I just dump the water and springtails onto the substrate. This will give your frog something to hunt between meals. Also, I feed my springs flake fish food, and they seem to thrive on it. Keep the cultures moist with about a 1/4" of water on the bottom of the container. Cover the container, but make sure they can breathe - poke some pin holes in the top. Don't let fruitflies get in, or the culture will die. I actually throw a towel over a couple of mine and they're producing very well. Apparently, they like dark places ~

One other thing - some of the cuttings I gave you are selagenella. If you keep them misted, they'll cover your background nicely.

Looks like you're on your way to being Dart Vader - yay! Holler if you need anything, okay?

kristi