Be aware that woodlice die just as easily from too much water as from too little; so, spray the container often to keep things moist, but not too often, or you will end up with a defunct colony.

The container should have anything from a thin layer (mine has 1/2″) to a few inches of potting soil, depending on the species; pill bugs like to burrow more than common rough woodlice, for example.

On top of this should be a few pieces of bark, oak seems to be the best, and some leaf litter; personally, I use leftover sphagnum moss from my other terrariums, and some old bits of houseplant; I use bits of old millet plant and ‘flaming katy’ stems, they seem to be fine.

Refresh the woodlice with grated carrot or bits of fruit when it runs out (carrot is best, I use apple as I have no carrot), this should keep them healthy.

In the same way that millipedes need calcium, woodlice need copper; hence the carrot, as it is a good source of copper.

Fruit flies are a perfect feeder insect for smaller reptiles or hatchlings such as baby chameleons, frogs, Paroedura Pictus, Bearded Dragons, etc.

Fly cultures can be kept at room temperature (around 72 degrees F).You should avoid freezing temperatures and temperatures above 100 degrees F.

After the initial culture is set up new flies begin to emerge in about two weeks. A new fruit fly culture will continue to produce fruit flies for about a month. Females will lay up to two-hundred eggs in the medium mixture. The eggs will hatch after two days and the larvae will feed on the yeast for seven to twenty days. The larvae will begin to climb up the sides of the vessel to dryer areas to pupate and transform into adult flies in a couple of days. The new flies are ready to mate within two days and have a life expectancy of a little more than two weeks.

Start a new culture when the original culture is two to three weeks old and before any flies are removed for any other purposes. For a continuous supply of fruit flies, always set up a new culture before taking flies from a culture. Cultures should not be kept longer than six weeks.

Fruit flies can be raised on a variety of fermenting plant materials but using prepared medium is the easiest.  This can be ordered from most people who breed the fruit flies or from a biological supplier.

Equal amount of prepared medium and water are mixed together and a few grains of dry viable yeast are added. Six to ten grains per culture is sufficient of the dry yeast. Take care not to use more yeast than the specified amount as this can cause sterilization of the flies or even death.

You may also want to make your own medium. Use the following recipe for making your own medium:

1 cup of water
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon agar (available at health  food stores)
1 tablespoon molasses
1/8 teaspoon calcium proprionate  (available at chemical suppliers)
1 package baking yeast

Except for the yeast mix all ingredients above and boil. Pour the mixture into culture vessels. Cover the vessels and place in the refrigerator until you are ready for them.

When you are ready to use the cultures sprinkle six to ten grains of yeast into the culture. Your home prepared medium is now ready for the fruit flies.

After preparing the medium add a dozen or more fruit flies to the vessel. This should remain undisturbed for about ten days. After ten days you may start another culture with the flies from this vessel or feed them off.

Transparent vials or bottles of glass or plastic can be used as a culture vessels. Vessels should be clean but they do not need to be sterilized when the medium is properly prepared.

Plastic foam or nonabsorbent cotton can be used as plugs for the vials. You may also use pieces of fabric and rubberbands for covering the tops of the vessels.

European Springtail (Tomocerus longicornis): Large black temperate species grows to 8mm, suitable for feeding to small species such as adult Dendrobates.

Springtails are widely used in Europe as a food source for Dendrobatids, especially for froglets of small species. Springtails or Collembola are tiny arthropods that live in moist conditions, usually feeding on decaying plant matter and fungi. They can be useful in raising the smallest of froglets, but anecdotal evidence suggests that there may be problems with protozoan infections associated with the long-term use of collembola.

The more springtails you can feed with, the better the frogs are doing. If you have problems with tadpoles that turn into froglets with spindly legs syndrome (SLS) it will often solve the problem or at least decrease the number of frogs that get SLS if you start to feed with more springtails.
Another situation where springtails can help out alot is when you have a frog group that you want to start up for breeding. Increased springtail feedings will often help with starting them up. For feeding small froglets and some tiny species like R. reticulata springtails is the only alternative. Newly raised O. pumilio is best raised into adults with alot of springtails.  Even if this is a good food source it’s important that you don’t overfeed with this since to much springtails at one time will stress the frogs.

Culturing Springtails:

1: First you will need a number of small plastic pots with tight fitting lids such as margarine tubs, Tupperware or unventilated cricket tubs.

2: Fill the tubs to about 1/3 with a substrate of peat moss, and / or soil. This must be kept permanently moist, as if allowed to dry up the culture will die off.

3: On top of the substrate lay a sheet of damp paper towel this will act as a barrier between the food and the substrate making it easier to both remove the food and collect the Springtails.

4: Place a small amount of potato peelings, white bread or cereal in small clumps on top of the paper towel. Commercial Collembola food is available from some mail order specialists but can prove expensive. The foodstuff over time will begin to grow moulds and fungi this is what the Springtails feed on so do not remove the food just top up as necessary.

5: Seed the container with Springtails from your starter culture and close the lid firmly.

6: Store the culture in a dark area at a temperature of 68F-77F (20 - 25°C). If exposed to temperatures under 60F (15°C) the culture will become dormant and no Springtails will be produced and if exposed to temperatures above 85F (30°C) they will die off.

7: It is a good idea to have a number of cultures running at anyone time, and rotate their use as to avoid exhausting your cultures.

Bearded Dragons

Most dragons are not picky eaters and will eat any moving insect. So i removed the acceptance section.

Gecko

ReptileHub Directory

ThePats

Super Main Street

Species: Panchlora nivea(Green Banana Roach)

General Information

Where Found: Caribbean and deep south in America.

Size: Adults up to 1 1/2”

Babies around 1/8”

Sexing: Unknown

Life Span: After adulthood they can live up to 12 months.

Smell: Unknown.

Climbers: Babies do not climb, but adults can climb very well and petroleum jelly does not contain them.

Burrow: Babies and nymphs burrow, adults not so much.

Fly: Very strong flyer.

Speed: Very fast.

Active Period: Nocturnal

Reproduction: They are live bearing species.

Housing

Enclosure: A large dark tub (60q+) works well with a screened in top for ventilation.

Substrate: Babies and nymphs need a substrate to burrow into.

Hiding: I use vertical egg flats to allow the feces to fall to the bottom of the enclosure.

Heat: The hotter they are the faster they breed, anywhere between 75F to 98F works well.

Humidity: I like to keep humidity about 60% to help with molting.

Food & Water

Food: A high protein diet is recommended for all roaches.

Water: I use water crystals, I have found they work the best.

Housing: Large tub (60qt+) with egg crates stacked to add more surface area.

Substrate: N/A

Feeding & Watering: You can feed just about anything. I mixed together, dog food, cat food, hamster food in a blender. Also roaches love fruits, and vegetable. I feed carrots daily. Roaches can get moisture from fruits and veges but i still offer water crystals. But remove fruit and veges after a day, MOLD KILLS.

Temperature: They can live and breed at room temperature, 72degrees, but grow and breed faster when kept at a higher temperature.

Breeding: Keep warm and fed, they will do the work.

//Chris

General Information

Where Found: Madagascar.

Size: Adults up to 3”

Babies around 5/16”

Sexing: Females have 2 small white dots with a small white line on each pointing to the center of the abdomen. Males however do not have these dots and lines.

Life Span: After adulthood they can live up to 36 months.

Smell: No odor.

Climbers: Babies and adults can climb very well and petroleum jelly contains them.

Burrow: No.

Fly: They are wingless.

Speed: Very fast.

Active Period: Nocturnal

Reproduction: They are live bearing species.

Housing

Enclosure: A large dark tub (60q+) works well with a screened in top for ventilation.

Substrate: I suggest not using any type of substrate to minimize maintenance. This will make cleaning much easier and greatly decrease any smell.

Hiding: I use vertical egg flats to allow the feces to fall to the bottom of the enclosure.

Heat: The hotter they are the faster they breed, anywhere between 75F to 98F works well.

Humidity: I like to keep humidity about 60% to help with molting.

Food & Water

Food: A high protein diet is recommended for all roaches.

Water: I use water crystals, I have found they work the best.