Employing Pillbugs :)

spidersrclass · Apr 7, 2008

Hi all, I rehoused my T Blondi about 3 weeks ago into a larger tank and after 3 or 4 days noticed that there was mould forming in various areas. I looked into the idea of adding a few pillbugs and discovered that there are quite a few folks who already use these guys to help along with tank maintenance..... boy, they are GREAT :worship:
I collected 5 of these lil' soldiers from the garden and housed them in a container for 2 weeks to rid them of any pesticides etc, and then introduced them to their new home. My girl takes no notice of them, they are virtually impossible to locate during the day (which I am also happy about as the tank is on display), and there is no mould

(I carefully scooped out most of the mould but left some tiny spots which were difficult to get to, which are now gone). I also modified my tanks lid yesterday to provide more ventilation and avoid stagnant air etc.

If anyone is uncertain about having a couple of these guys in their T's enclosures then I can definately put a good word in for em, it's like employing a few cleaners but not having to pay wages

A round of applause for the Rolypoly's :clap: :clap: :clap:

Dominatus · Apr 7, 2008

Hehe... never thought about them that way, but yeah, that is perfectly reasonable. One might have to find more to add (cuz the originals are dead) if they ever let the substrate get to dry or the substrate is of a kind they can't feed off of when mold is not around (what is contained in T poop:? ? rollypolly food perhaps

? ... And I doubt they would bother a molting T.

-Dominatus

Edit: I just remember once I put some in a my Striped Knee ( Aphonopelma seemani ) when she was 3" ish and she dug a couple up and ate them... awkwardly though I might add.

... I thought it was funny seeing her try to get those round things in her mouth and crushed. Doubt many T's would really bother with them though, especially one who gets crickets or other feeders regularly. I went out and bought some crickets after I saw her digging up rollypollies

spidersrclass · Apr 7, 2008

Dominatus said:
Hehe... never thought about them that way, but yeah, that is perfectly reasonable. One might have to find more to add (cuz the originals are dead) if they ever let the substrate get to dry or the substrate is of a kind they can't feed off of when mold is not around (what is contained in T poop:? ? rollypolly food perhaps ? ... And I doubt they would bother a molting T.

-Dominatus

Edit: I just remember once I put some in a my Striped Knee ( Aphonopelma seemani ) when she was 3" ish and she dug a couple up and ate them... awkwardly though I might add. ... I thought it was funny seeing her try to get those round things in her mouth and crushed. Doubt many T's would really bother with them though, especially one who gets crickets or other feeders regularly. I went out and bought some crickets after I saw her digging up rollypollies

I got the humidity above 80% at all times so I hope that'll help the lil' guys from drying out, and, I'm pretty sure I seen someone in my search mention that pillbugs do actually eat T poo

Oh, an she's a pretty good size at 7.5" just now so one of my janitors wouldnt make much of a meal

Rochelle · Apr 7, 2008

Rolly pollies are worth their weight in GOLD.

They breathe through little "gill" thingeys, though. If you overflow your waterdish regularly then they'll do just fine. They'll stay there until it's time to "go to work" and then they'll venture out to the drier areas to feed/clean up.
We keep a crew of these kids in nearly every tank!
I actually traded a Scalopendra to josh-cloud for about a gazillion of his rollies......
We ended up with a stable colony of them in a communal OBT tank; and that was kept dry as a bone! I wouldn't even consider keeping another communal without these great bugs to keep things clean.

Danahan · Apr 7, 2008

I've been thinking about utilizing these guys since we have a rock garden in the backyard with tons of them living underneath. I'm just paranoid about pesticides you know? Is there anyway to filter out their systems just in case?

Travis K · Apr 7, 2008

Danahan said:
I've been thinking about utilizing these guys since we have a rock garden in the backyard with tons of them living underneath. I'm just paranoid about pesticides you know? Is there anyway to filter out their systems just in case?

I think it is a calculated risk one would have to consider. I live out of town a bit and don't think it would be an issue for me, but to others it may very well be a great concern.

Q: Can Rollie's climb glass?

Cocoa-Jin · Apr 7, 2008

They eat T poo?

Talkenlate04 · Apr 7, 2008

Cocoa-Jin said:
They eat T poo?

They eat everything. In my communal regalis setup I had mold from the food remains on the ground and poo. I put 8 little guys in there and the next afternoon all of it was gone. It was spotless. It's amazing!

syndicate · Apr 7, 2008

i never knew they would eat mold.very nice

Travis K · Apr 7, 2008

Talkenlate04 said:
They eat everything. In my communal regalis setup I had mold from the food remains on the ground and poo. I put 8 little guys in there and the next afternoon all of it was gone. It was spotless. It's amazing!

Ryan do they climb the glass?

Talkenlate04 · Apr 7, 2008

Nope not at all. They can climb cork or any other structure that has a foot hold, but they are not escape risks by any means.

pato_chacoana · Apr 7, 2008

Be carefull about this kind of bugs. I have a friend that used to have a couple on a T. blondi cage, when the T was molting the little bastards ate her fangs

. True story. Don't know if they were the same species as yours, but I wouldn't risk a tarantula like that even if there's a slight chance that this could happen.

Pato.

Talkenlate04 · Apr 7, 2008

pato_chacoana said:
Be carefull about this kind of bugs. I have a friend that used to have a couple on a T. blondi cage, when the T was molting the little bastards ate her fangs . True story. Don't know if they were the same species as yours, but I wouldn't risk a tarantula like that even if there's a slight chance that this could happen.

Pato.

That is the downside, if they get hungry enough they will attack a molting T and kill it. Slings are at a bigger risk. I plan to remove them and add them in cycles steering clear of molting time.

Travis K · Apr 7, 2008

Talkenlate04 said:
Nope not at all. They can climb cork or any other structure that has a foot hold, but they are not escape risks by any means.

Awesome ill have to go collecting when thee warmer weather brigs them out. I wonder if there are any really cool colored tropical species I could get my hands on?

Talkenlate04 · Apr 7, 2008

Travis K said:
Awesome ill have to go collecting when thee warmer weather brigs them out. I wonder if there are any really cool colored tropical species I could get my hands on?

You don't have to wait for warm weather. I flipped a few rocks yesterday and found about 60 of them under the first rock I moved.

Travis K · Apr 7, 2008

Talkenlate04 said:
You don't have to wait for warm weather. I flipped a few rocks yesterday and found about 60 of them under the first rock I moved.

LOL, I might be able to find some, but I would have to be willing to tromp throught the snow first.

jen650s · Apr 7, 2008

Travis K said:
Awesome ill have to go collecting when thee warmer weather brigs them out. I wonder if there are any really cool colored tropical species I could get my hands on?

I don't know about cool colored, but the ones I have are orange. I bought them from Kyuzo here on the boards.

---Jen

Travis K · Apr 7, 2008

jen650s said:
I don't know about cool colored, but the ones I have are orange. I bought them from Kyuzo here on the boards.

---Jen

do you have any pics?

GoTerps · Apr 7, 2008

Hello,

pato_chacoana said:
I have a friend that used to have a couple on a T. blondi cage, when the T was molting the little bastards ate her fangs . True story.

And you are sure the T. blondi didn't just lose the fangs in the molt? Seems very strange to me.

Talkenlate04 said:
That is the downside, if they get hungry enough they will attack a molting T and kill it. Slings are at a bigger risk. I plan to remove them and add them in cycles steering clear of molting time.

Any evidence to support this?

Eric

pato_chacoana · Apr 7, 2008

Yes I am sure.

Employing Pillbugs :)

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