Culturing orange springtails (Bilobella braunerae?)

[@salmonburden]

I love these springtails. The effort you put into making their lil home is so thoughtful. Thank you for your video and I hope to make one as good as yours!!

[@glassyGREEN_]

Thank you :)

[@Whateverhasbeenmynameforyears]

I love that you give a moisture gradient to them. Most videos I have seen the keepers do not bother to provide that for springtails. And the drainage layer.

[@glassyGREEN_]

Thank you :) I really don’t like the standard charcoal cultures. Mine is nowhere near to the natural habitat but I think it is a little bit better.

[@lottakoiravili]

theyre so cute!! thank you for this content, youre so thoughtful in making their little home

[@glassyGREEN_]

Thank you for your nice comment :)

[@Whateverhasbeenmynameforyears]

OMG that intro song is the same as Leon the lobster. It made me nostalgic immediately.

[@glassyGREEN_]

Oh really? I never noticed that even though I watched so many videos about Leon

[@Whateverhasbeenmynameforyears]

@@glassyGREEN_ Maybe why it appealed to you too. :)

[@Oney_BMX]

Keep posting dont stop 💯

[@glassyGREEN_]

Thank you :) I'll definitely do that, it's a lot of fun.

[@shadowynne]

An excellent video. Thank you very much. Liked, commented, and subscribed.

[@glassyGREEN_]

Thank you so much, that means a lot to me 😊

[@amysticpraise]

Thank you! Great video.

[@glassyGREEN_]

Thank you 😊

[@imranaboo433]

wow that was awesome.

[@glassyGREEN_]

Thank you so much :)

[@rambles5671]

Im surprised to hear they breed slower, i bought two small cultures to live in a bioactive tarrerium i own. And within a few weeks the jar is full of mostly baby/adolescent speingtails. They're so cute to feed lol, im glad ive managed to create the right enviroment for them.

[@glassyGREEN_]

That is very interesting. Maybe you hit their sweet spot :) My colonies never exploded as fast as the tropical white springtail cultures

[@rambles5671]

@glassyGREEN_ I think I may have done it on accident. I researched what springtails and isopods liked to eat, and what their environment should be. So I added some soft wood that would decay overtime, a charcoal layer under the soil I used and then plants/moss for added decaying matter. I think it might be the decaying wood + charcoal they like to lay eggs in and then the humidity that might be working? I had no idea they were a burrowing specie of springtail, so I completely stumbled into the right formula 💀 But yours look so happy and healthy! Its always a delight to see them thrive :]

[@glassyGREEN_]

That sounds great. :) Rotting wood always works for detrivors

[@Prasence]

You are really underrated! And these springtails are amazing! Keep up the good work!

[@glassyGREEN_]

Thank you so so much. That means a lot to me

[@JS-hk4hc]

So cute ❤️

[@glassyGREEN_]

Yes, it looks so cute to see them walking around 😊

[@joestocker660]

Interesting 😎 I purchased 100 about 1.5 years ago. I raised several 1000, but the ones I kept have lost their color. They have a rich, varied diet, but little natural light.

[@glassyGREEN_]

That is interesting. Are you sure those are the same species?

[@KittySprinkles]

Those little tippy-tappy feet are adorable! Would you do a terrarium with isopods by chance?

[@glassyGREEN_]

I will definitely do that in the future. I especially like the rubber duckie isopods, they are so cute

[@delanglo2]

4:49 Thanks for Uploading

[@DC_3000]

Fish food in flake form is by far the best food for them they love it 👍 love the video

[@glassyGREEN_]

That’s a good tip, thank you 😊 So far I had really good results with mushrooms and yeast. I will try fish flakes next :)

[@CyanideOwl]

I mean rice is good. Just let it mold.

[@glassyGREEN_]

I actually haven’t tried that so far. It works great for the tropical whites, I have to test it with the orange :)

[@leighlasley4746]

Are these able to be cultured like regular springtails; in charcoal and water?

[@glassyGREEN_]

I never tried that but I think this might be possible. Maybe you can find some information about this in the springtail subreddit. They just breed much slower compared to the regular springtails.

[@Kuro_TvT]

I would love to keep there little critters, I just saw some scouring around my backyard

[@glassyGREEN_]

You got orange springtails in your backyard? That is awesome

[@CyanideOwl]

They are insects not critters.

[@wcdeich4]

Hi, I just subscribed 🙂 Are they as hardy as regular springtails? Do they clean up terrariums as well as other springtails?

[@glassyGREEN_]

Hi, thank you so much :) Yes, you can use them in terrariums as the clean up crew as long as it has high humidity. In my experience they are quite hardy but not as much as the regular tropical white springtails. They reproduce much slower and probably need higher temperatures. They will also get eaten much easier by larger animals because they are not able to jump.

[@lettaletta5178]

Very beautiful! I also have orange springtails in a jar. I gave them a lot of water at the bottom and they multiplied very much. I want to make them a beautiful home with moss and plants in the corner. Tell me where to put them when there are too many? Are there any easy-to-keep animals that eat them? I don't have that many terrariums. Help!

[@glassyGREEN_]

First of all: congratulations to your successful terrarium and culture :) The population will limit itself if there is not enough food, so you don’t really have to do anything about that. Springtails normally don’t eat any live plants so don’t worry about that :) You could also collect some and sell them. There are many animals that eat them like geckos, frogs or fish. But those need very specific care and can’t live in a jar.

[@lettaletta5178]

​@@glassyGREEN_ Thank you! Perhaps, to limit the population, I can remove the water from the bottom. Without water, it will be harder for them to reproduce. But then I can lose the culture over time. And how to feed them less? They will die of hunger! A difficult question. Perhaps I can sell them, but this is more trouble than money. I do not plan to have frogs for now. I will hope that somehow this will work out. Probably, I will remove the water from the bottom and leave it only in one colony.

[@glassyGREEN_]

You can leave everything as is. I wouldn’t remove the water. The plants probably need it :) Overpopulation isn’t really a problem for springtails in my opinion. Do you actively feed them? Otherwise they feed on decaying leafs and decaying organic matter. Over time they will only reproduce as much as there is food available.

[@siminabogdan3]

Great video! Can you please tell me how fast they achieve color(maturity)? Babies seem to be like the normal tropical ones(white). Thanks!

[@glassyGREEN_]

That is a really good question. I actually have no idea how long this takes. The bigger they are the more they color up. But unfortunately I don’t know how long this takes :(

[@MoldyBones27]

They come in other colors?!!!!! Whaaat?!

[@glassyGREEN_]

There are also yellow, purple, black and red springtails :D

[@k2a2l2]

absolutely love these, weirdly adorable

[@glassyGREEN_]

This is how it starts. In a few weeks you will have a bug addiction and want to have the weirdest creatures 😂

[@k2a2l2]

@@glassyGREEN_i actually just got some orange (neanura growae) springtails in the mail today😂im going to be putting them in with a couple ivory millipedes

[@glassyGREEN_]

That looks like a great combination, awesome 😊

[@gomosh6967]

Nice to see springtail in orange colour. Do springtail sleep? :)

[@glassyGREEN_]

That is a very good question. I have absolutely no idea. They seem to be active day and night but I can’t tell if individuums sleep during day or nighttime :)

[@gomosh6967]

@@glassyGREEN_ Alright! Thank you. :)

[@donteague614]

What other foods do they like a lot? How long until you see babies? Any issues with mites or nematodes?

[@glassyGREEN_]

I actually have some problems with nematodes right now. I will probably start a new culture soon. For me they are very slow breeding but accept most types of vegetables or fish food.

[@jatteste5107]

What is the perfect temperature for them? Thank you

[@glassyGREEN_]

I don’t know that exactly, sorry :( But according to my experience they prefer warmer temperatures.

[@blooky102]

3:30 UM is that a mite on that green moss?

[@glassyGREEN_]

Yup, looks like you are right. Luckily that was a shot from a terrarium and not from the culture 😅

[@korthosen949]

NIces video hab auch ein paar orange aber die verstecken sich immer gut in meinem Isopoden Terrarium sieht man maximal 1-3 am tag

[@glassyGREEN_]

Danke :) Die sind leider echt meistens irgendwo im Substrat unterwegs. Welche Asseln hältst du?

[@korthosen949]

@@glassyGREEN_ Armadillidium gestroi & ein paar aus dem Garten weiß ich ehrlich gesagt nichtmal welche sorte :D die halt ich aber in einem 2. Terrarium

[@glassyGREEN_]

@korthosen949 die sehen echt cool aus. Vermehren sich deine orangenen Springschwänze gut? Bei meinen ist die Temperatur leider etwas zu niedrig.

[@vertigoog2431]

best medium to keep the orange springtails on do you think charcoal or abg mix or sphagnum moss… how’d this colony doing?

[@glassyGREEN_]

That is hard to say for me. I personally would always go for a more complex substrate compared to the charcoal cultures. It just offers a wider range of parameters for the animals even though the charcoal cultures are much easier to handle. Clay cultures are also great for many springtails species but I haven’t tested them yet.

[@vertigoog2431]

@@glassyGREEN_ thanks for the late reply and that makes sense for sure we do whites on charcoal only because easier to seed terrariums with, i would do clay for selling colony’s and then maybe i’ll just do spghanm moss or soil for all other types as they will be “pets” more then custodians haha thanks for the info

[@birdswirl]

Have you got any tips on making a terrarium specifically for orange springtails? I've got some coming in the post and want to have them centre stage

[@glassyGREEN_]

They seem to like high humidity. I don’t know if this is necessary but I also provide them a „dry side“ with some stones. In my bottle terrarium they usually dig themselves into the substrate and eat dead plants. Are you planning to feed them in your terrarium or are you just keeping them as a cleanup crew? In my experience they really like leaf litter, especially the younger ones. And your container should not be too small. Many keep their springtails in very small containers, but the orange springtails are slightly larger than the tropical whites. Overall I don’t think they are too complicated. Do you have experience with the tropical whites? It’s pretty similar in my opinion, they just don’t reproduce as fast. :)

[@birdswirl]

@@glassyGREEN_ I've got some whites in container which is half the coir etc that they came in, and half charcoal, with distilled water at the bottom for moisture. Separated so the coir doesn't get too wet. I want to make a mixes colony but want them to have a nice and varied space like yours, with the ability to move them to terrariums i make. I guess i'll make a tub with a variety of areas including some leaf litter (i assume leaves i find in the garden and dry out are okay?), with some charcoal so I can move them to other terrariums. Do you think you can culture them in a terrarium with plants or would the light needed for the plants make them breed less?

[@glassyGREEN_]

Sounds great so far. You can use leave litter from outside, but it may contain unwanted critters or pests. Theoretically you can sterilize it with hot water or in the microwave or oven. But I have no experience with that, there is probably some information on the internet on how to properly sterilize stuff from the outside :) I've had great results with them in a terrarium. They seemed to be multiplying even fast than in their culture. So I wouldn't worry too much about the light. That was probably due to the plants in the terrarium. I feed my springtails mushrooms, but you can use other kitchen waste too. Just don't add too much that it molds. In theory, if you mix different springtail species, one could outperform the other by reproducing faster, so be careful with that :)

[@birdswirl]

@@glassyGREEN_ Yeah I might keep them separate for the time being then, they all seem happy enough. sterilised the leaves in the oven on low for a bit so hopefully that works..thanks for all your help and good luck with the channel

[@glassyGREEN_]

@@birdswirl That sounds great. Have fun with your new pets, they are awesome. Thanks, I hope I could be of some help :)

[@imranaboo433]

Couple of questions if I may - I have purchased some from ebay also here in the UK. once these are transferred in a normal Terranium (Tarantula enclosure) will they survive as they seem to need a very moist / wet environment? Also do you feed them fresh or dried mushrooms? thank.

[@glassyGREEN_]

Hi, that is awesome. :) I don’t know a lot about tarantulas unfortunately, how high will your humidity be? They definitely prefer humid conditions. If the humidity is to low they probably burry deeper in the substrate. You can feed them any type of vegetable or fruit. I feed mine dried mushroom but it softens very quickly due to the high humidity in my container. I once read that they have sucking mouthparts so they probably prefer softer food.

[@imranaboo433]

@@glassyGREEN_ tarantula terrariums can vary some up 60 - 80% humidity some stay dry. Thx for the detailed response.

[@glassyGREEN_]

You are welcome :)

[@philippemercado2793]

can these survive on clay cultures?

[@glassyGREEN_]

I haven’t tried that yet but I think that should work. :)

[@scisher3294]

I find it really funny to still call them “SPRING tails” when they are not able to jump 😅

[@glassyGREEN_]

That is true :D

[@TeloMeto420]

They really like fish flakes by the way.

[@glassyGREEN_]

That’s true. There are so many species you can feed with fish food that are not fish, it’s crazy :D