insect vivarums / paludariums

[caladina]

Hi, for the last year i've had a small (18 inch x 10inch x 10 inch) fish tank which i've used to keep various insects in, mainly beetles and woodlice,
its also got 4 inches of soil, plants, logs dry leaves, the usual woodland floor setting

i'm getting a 6 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot tank next so that the beetles and other insects have much more room to do their own thing in, as you know beetles are very territorial and the devils horse coach beetle i had was, errrrm, a bit aggresive lol

its been an intreasting and educational year, gone through several generations of woodlice, they are busy little things.


has anyone else had or got insect vivariums as all the usual vivarium and paludarium sites are mostly for reptiles, amphibians and fish.

Bobby

[nightshade]

I would be interested to see your Vivarium,as I have a large, small
rodent, glass tank sitting in the shed.

[caladina]

i will post some pics when i worked out the route, gotta find the Gallery etc

i also have a nursery web spider, had it about a month and a half, it loves meal worms and is now carrying an egg sac about, only got the one spider so i'm not sure if spiders can self pregnat or weither it was up the duff when it found me, yeah it found me.

[caladina]

i will post some pics when i worked out the route, gotta find the Gallery etc

i also have a nursery web spider, had it about a month and a half, it loves meal worms and is now carrying an egg sac about, only got the one spider so i'm not sure if spiders can self pregnat or weither it was up the duff when it found me, yeah it found me.

i'm currently experimenting with a second tank the same size but for water beetles , at present i've got it set up with a few inches of water and a small pump to circulate the water, rocks and a large old log with moss on it and a bowl of soil and moss, logs for a land area, think its too small an area for the body of water but i want to see what i need to keep water beetles
at the moment i'm trying to see what water filter i need, not sure any ideas

once i've got it working i can get and set up the much larger tank

anyone know what sort of water pump / filter would be suitable for an insect vivarium with plants in?

[Venger]

Spiders don't self pregnate - she would have been pregnant when she found you.
She'll carry around the egg sac, then she will deposit it on a leaf and create a nursey web for the spiderlings, which she will guard (hence the name).
So you may need some taller, leafy areas in your tank.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by caladina

i will post some pics when i worked out the route, gotta find the Gallery etc

i also have a nursery web spider, had it about a month and a half, it loves meal worms and is now carrying an egg sac about, only got the one spider so i'm not sure if spiders can self pregnat or weither it was up the duff when it found me, yeah it found me.

i'm currently experimenting with a second tank the same size but for water beetles , at present i've got it set up with a few inches of water and a small pump to circulate the water, rocks and a large old log with moss on it and a bowl of soil and moss, logs for a land area, think its too small an area for the body of water but i want to see what i need to keep water beetles
at the moment i'm trying to see what water filter i need, not sure any ideas

once i've got it working i can get and set up the much larger tank

anyone know what sort of water pump / filter would be suitable for an insect vivarium with plants in?

One of those air pump powered sponge filters should be fine - those usually whats used when raising fish fry. alternatively you could put in plenty of plants in and do a regular water change with rain/pond water.

feeding the beetle could be a problem as they are often predatory, unless you keep herbivorous species or know a good source of water fleas

[caladina]

for tall leafy i got ivy going to the top of the tank, thats where nursy spends most of her time with the egg sac and builds a nursery there

the spider and Devil's coach horse beetle enjoy the meal worms

btw what can you buy for feeding baby frogs and newts, are bloodworms suitable?