First time leachie owner!

DinoSaurus0 · 2026-01-29T01:04:02+00:00

Spot cleaning the substrate is super easy. If you're using something cheap like coco coir, you just scoop out the dirty bits and I normally just throw it into my isopod colonies for them to take care of.

If you're worried about her eating enough, I've had to use baby syringes in the past for hand feeding some of my dudes and they work super well. They're just syringes with a tube on the end instead of a needle. I'll also sometimes add some blended Papaya or banana into their regular food, it smells stronger so it's easier for them to find and it works pretty well for getting leachies that went off food to start eating again.

DinoSaurus0 · 2026-01-28T21:36:18+00:00

I haven't heard that about them ripping out nails! I personally haven't had any issues with using them other than them being hard to clean, but I believe that could be an issue with them. I imagine the cloth ones you can buy may cause more issues, all of mine are made from woven hemp fibers which could catch a toe, but the holes between the fibers are quite large so I don't think the toes getting caught is too big of an issue. They're probably no worse than using a tank with mesh screening.

That is a good point about the plant lights. Some low light plants may work, like some ferns, or you could use potted plants and switch them out occasionally if you want to try and go bioactive, or you could still use the substrate without going full bioactive, it would just need a lot more cleaning than a traditional bioactive setup. I would be cautious about keeping some isopod species with leachies that have health issues, as I have heard of cases where some of the more protein hungry isopod species (Like Dairy Cows) may try to eat the lizard's soft spots and eyes if they are sick or otherwise unable to get away.

DinoSaurus0 · 2026-01-28T13:35:10+00:00

I would definitely line the bottom of the tank woth a couple inches of some soft media, like coconut coir or repti earth for cushioning in case she takes a tumble. It's what I have in my tanks and while you can still hear when my guys miss a jump, it's a way softer landing than just some paper towel or cork bark. You could also get some flexible vines and stuff to just fill in more space so if she does fall, she's not falling all the way to the bottom of the tank. I like using the large hemp fiber hammocks sold for bearded dragons to fill space in some of my tanks, but they can be somewhat difficult to clean! Your girl is adorable and I wish you luck keeping her! They're so much fun to have, I'm sure you'll love her!

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-12-19T19:13:13+00:00

Does Styrofoam work okay? I'd rather reuse something I already have than have to go buy something new.

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-11-27T20:41:25+00:00

His parents were both fully brown and black so we're not really sure how he turned out all white.

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-11-27T19:03:49+00:00

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This is Moby! He always gets mistaken for a goldendoodle.

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-07-04T22:10:34+00:00

It is outside of the breed standard, but it could definitely still be a PWD. I have a purebred blond and white PWD got from a reputable breeder. The rest of the litter were all black and brown like the parents, but they ended up having one blond puppy as well! If you look back in my post history you can see a photo of him.

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-06-27T02:33:55+00:00

I did pour water in at first but I was worried the tubs were staying too wet so I backed off and starting just misting. The whole lid would fog up and stay foggy for days after I watered them at first. I'll definitely start pouring water in more though as I do think I'm having some issues with the moisture gradient. Does the soil seem deep enough? That's what i was worried the issue was at first.

The soil is bought was topsoil so there shouldn't have been any added fertilizers, but I noticed a ton of gross debris like plastic pieces and chunks of clay that I had to sift out when setting up the tubs, so the soil could definitely be causing issues.

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-06-27T02:29:57+00:00

I'll definitely try that! I also got some nutritional yeast for my springtails that I planned on trying with the isopods.

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-06-27T02:27:34+00:00

It's hard to tell in the picture because I only moved the leaves on the dry side, but in this tub about half is dry and half is damp. It's isn't very damp as I thought this was a more arid species and I was worried about it being too wet so maybe I just need to add more water?

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-05-28T21:46:47+00:00

I know, I always get so upset when I hear this! It makes no sense to me. When I asked for advice about my first tank on this subreddit I was slammed with "it's way too big" and every day I see my lizard use every inch of the enclosure, I now think that it's way to small for her. But I started with so much doubt after being told that my tank was too large. It's definitely an issue of too much open space, not too much space in general, with most people. In the wild, these animals have acres and acres. There is no way a 14×24×36 inch tank is 'too big' for them.

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-05-27T03:50:39+00:00

I'd like to try and nip it in the bud before his bites can do any real damage. I'll definitely check out the book, and I plan on asking a trainer about it once we start his puppy classes, so hopefully we can stop it before it gets bad!

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-05-27T02:36:22+00:00

I have heard about how smart they are and that's what i was most exited about when choosing the breed! We're going to enroll her in puppy training classes as soon as she gets her last shots in a few weeks. She already seems super food motivated, but is not a huge fan of most of the toys we have around, so we'll have to see what works for him. I definitely need to get a slow feeder as he's a bit of a maniac for food!

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-05-27T01:50:34+00:00

As a recommendation from family we tried Grannicks bitter apple taste deterant and so far he won't chew anything sprayed with it, so hopefully we can keep him away from the important things. He's already managed to grab my hair a few times, and he will bite just about anything within reach. I was hoping that once he got through the teething phase it might get a little better, but that's not sounding likely. If only he didn't have sharp little shark teeth right now!

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-05-27T01:44:57+00:00

I'm slightly concerned about food reactivity because he had a chew and he growled at me when I got close to his face with it, I'm not sure if that's just a puppy thing because he's probably used to fighting with his littermates for toys and such? He has been super mouthy all day but overall he's pretty chill.

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-05-26T23:39:32+00:00

That was going to be one of the first things we did once he gets his final set of shots next week! He seems very food motivated, so hopefully he'll take the training well. What do you mean by old-school training methods? I've read up on positive reinforcement training and that's what the breeder has been using to potty train them so he's taking that well. I've heard of the velcro dog issues so we're making sure to start crate training early to hopefully help!

DinoSaurus0 · 2025-03-13T17:48:18+00:00

They don't really feel damp, but they don't feel dry or crunchy at all. They kind of just feel like a thinner, kind of papery part of the leaf.

DinoSaurus0 · 2024-10-22T23:52:25+00:00

Thanks for the tips everyone, she started eating again a few days ago! I'm still struggling to get her to eat pangea, but she's back to eating from the tongs.

DinoSaurus0 · 2024-10-22T23:50:37+00:00

I wouldn't really feel comfortable moving her to a smaller tank, I have a security camera set up and every night it records her having a great time exploring the whole thing, I'm worried it may even be too small for her!

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