Hello everyone. I’m new and new to geckos. I’ve yet to get one yet but have been setting up a bioactive enclosure and trying to get it established before we get one.
with that said, I setup the enclosure. I have my drainage layer, my coir/compost layer and a layer of sphagnum moss. I have it planted with various plants including different tradescantia, pothos, philo, bromeliads, etc. On Monday I received my order of dwarf isopods and springtails that I added into my enclosure. I noticed some small white bugs when releasing but didn’t think anything of it because I thought they were different life stages of what I released. Throughout the week I’ve noticed more of them and today they were overrunning my enclosure. They don’t jump like springtails, I can see those in my substrate through the glass. They’re preferring the walls and top of the enclosure which I know isn’t in the character of what I meant to add.
Are these hitchhikers? I baked my substrate for a few hours in the oven before adding. It was a brand new enclosure that I rinsed with vinegar and warm water. My only guess is that they came with the cultures that I added!
what do I do now? Start over? I’ll lose the isopods and springtails. I suspect these things are mites! I’m so upset. Any advice is welcomed.
with that said, I setup the enclosure. I have my drainage layer, my coir/compost layer and a layer of sphagnum moss. I have it planted with various plants including different tradescantia, pothos, philo, bromeliads, etc. On Monday I received my order of dwarf isopods and springtails that I added into my enclosure. I noticed some small white bugs when releasing but didn’t think anything of it because I thought they were different life stages of what I released. Throughout the week I’ve noticed more of them and today they were overrunning my enclosure. They don’t jump like springtails, I can see those in my substrate through the glass. They’re preferring the walls and top of the enclosure which I know isn’t in the character of what I meant to add.
Are these hitchhikers? I baked my substrate for a few hours in the oven before adding. It was a brand new enclosure that I rinsed with vinegar and warm water. My only guess is that they came with the cultures that I added!
what do I do now? Start over? I’ll lose the isopods and springtails. I suspect these things are mites! I’m so upset. Any advice is welcomed.
