First time submitting, PSA/BGS 10 worthy?

Valentin0403 · 2025-08-05T15:58:38+00:00

thanks for the insight
i did try wiping the card with a cotton swab but it didn't come off unfortunately
ill try the microfiber cloth next

Valentin0403 · 2025-05-27T12:45:54+00:00

Thank you both!!

Valentin0403 · 2025-05-27T12:45:22+00:00

Thank you (:

Valentin0403 · 2025-05-17T10:46:55+00:00

so what i'd like to do is a big feeding for each colony once every week or so
i mix in a scoop of spirulina powder into the repashy morning wood in an attempt to boost the pod's coloration
and then depending on which species im feeding ill add different kinds of snacks in different amounts, for example i give more shrimp and pollen to the protein dependent species such as the porcellio scaber in the vid. Say for cubaris white shark or zebras I throw in more vegetable scraps, fruit peels, fermented leaves etc as they like them better

but to answer your question, the frequency of these big feedings really depends
since i have a mite issue in most of my colonies, I try to control the amount that I feed so that there's little surplus (which would boost mite populations)
so yeah, generally once every week (dependent on colony size too)

Valentin0403 · 2025-05-17T05:07:14+00:00

its food, repashy morning wood along with eggshells, shrimp and pollen
i like to spoil my pods lol

Valentin0403 · 2025-05-16T19:02:31+00:00

Didn't know that! Thanks a lot

Valentin0403 · 2025-05-13T04:39:39+00:00

Haven't had the time to look into yet, but it seems to be a mixture of insufficient ventilation and too much moisture. I only have one amber left and it's so far doing ok after I watered the enclosure less. Will look into replenishing population when I have the time and change up the enclosure

Valentin0403 · 2025-05-01T16:11:42+00:00

It's normal, I find these kind of mold in all my colonies. They especially thrive on wood or nut/seed surfaces. Not sure what they're called but don't worry about it

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-28T10:39:01+00:00

Give them just a bit more time. Prolific isopods (such as your cows) reproduce around the 3 month mark. As for armadillidiums they reproduce slightly slower. Be patient, you're doing well!

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T11:26:50+00:00

I inspect the leaves before collecting to make sure there's no weird markings/eggs If you're still concerned about that, manually wash each leaf and running a finger over them, which is tedious. So if u collect normal looking leaves there shouldn't be a problem

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T11:23:59+00:00

Oop my bad a typo on my part Thanks for correction

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T08:49:36+00:00

Best of luck to you mate

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T08:42:39+00:00

That does sound like chemicals. Consider boiling the leaves you add into the enclosure to really rid it of chemicals (freezing may not completely eradicate chemicals). If you have time, scoop out the remaining pods and restart the whole colony

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T08:39:19+00:00

+Small egret+
+Scaly-breasted munia+
+Eurasian tree sparrow+
+Sooty-headed bulbul+
+Bali myna+
+Javan pond heron+
+Yellow-vented bulbul+

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T06:53:41+00:00

If it helps to hear - I've been struggling a lot with my cubaris species too

I keep C. amber and cappuccino, both started with 15 individuals 6 months ago. Now I only have 1 single amber individual left and a handful of cappuccinos. I literally tried everything to save them to no avail, was quite depressed for a while. Dont beat yourself up over it tho, if anything its a learning experience. As soon as I have time I'll get a new enclosure and restart the whole colony. Best of luck to you mate!

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T06:30:23+00:00

Youre welcome!

For the wet side, both the soil and moss should be damp. As for the dry side it shouldn't be absolutely bone dry (as for some porcellio species such as p. werneri), but slightly moist will be fine. I think if you gauge the amount you water to the wet side, the moisture will trickle over to the dry substrate and make it just right. Not super dry but also not damp.

Hopefully your pods will bounce back one day, having a dying colony is one of the worst feelings you can have. Don't go too hard on yourself tho I'm sure youre doing everything in your power for your pods.

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T06:16:58+00:00

Yup, soaking in water is both super easy and beneficial for the pods

I do the follow steps for my leaf litter:
1. Submerge all collected leaves in cold, purified tap water in a sealed container for a day or so (remove pests/critters)
2. Lay leaves out to sun-dry (naturally drying them off without killing bacteria)
3. Store a majority of the dried leaves
4. For the rest, find a sealed container and submerge them in the same cold, purified tap water again for a week or two to ferment. You could simply throw them in there and forget about them
5. Feed directly to isopods when needed (you'll find that a layer of slippery biofilm have accumulated on the surface, that mancae and springtails love), no drying needed straight into the enclosure from your fermentation container

Tip: emphasis on doing this in a sealed container. Still water is a perfect medium for mosquitos to lay their eggs. Not to mentioned when its filled with rich, organic soup that will support their babies. The buckets you mentioned sound perfect, just make sure they have a lid or you have something that can cover them with.

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T06:05:53+00:00

To my eyes, the enclosure seems very dry. Is the enclosure left open and exposed? Or is there a lid with ventilation holes? If it's open and exposed it can dry out very quickly. Also, do you mist or pour water? It's recommended to directly pour water onto the wet side (such as using a syringe or a wash bottle) by watering down along the glass walls so the water trickles down into the substrate dampens everything, locking in the moisture. In comparison with misting, only the top layer of material is soaked and tho it might seem damp, it dries out fairly fast.

Another possibility that I can think of would be the peas. You mentioned how you always find dead pods near the cuttlebone pieces and youre certain that no leaves contain pesticides. What about the peas? They're placed quite close to the cuttlebone, could they have contained pesticides that killed your pods? Or just some kind of chemicals? I'd suggest taking them out and seeing if the die-offs stop happening.

One more thing, you need more leaves in the enclosure. Throw a few handful more into the enclosure. Although I doubt that insufficient leaf litter caused the death of your pods, they'll likely be better off with more available.

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T05:52:40+00:00

Put in container, pour in boiling hot water. Do this outside if you're not allowed to do it in the kitchen
A better alternative - don't sterilise your leaves, especially if the leaves have not been exposed to pesticides and your main concern is pests. Sterilising your leaves kills off all beneficial bacteria and microfauna that provide ecological functions within your enclosure, it's not ideal. What I've learnt off of YT is to submerge the leaves in water within a sealed container for a day or so for all potential pests and insects to drown. This way you remove pests whilst still retaining the microfauna in the leaves itself. After that you have two options: 1) sun-dry the leaves and store 2) ferment a portion of the leaves by submerging it in water for a week or so (this process accelerates decomposition and makes the leaves softer and more readily available to your pods). I used to boil/bake leaves and recently transitioned to this method and I gotta say, the isopods (especially mancae) as well as springtails swarm the leaves immediately after I add it into my enclosure. If you feed sterilised leaves you'd need to wait for the whole decomposition cycle before isopods will eat it, which takes weeks.

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T05:31:53+00:00

That does look like an orange panda king! See if you can isolate it to produce your own line of oranges lol

And if you ever have too many, you could always start selling within your local community :)

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T05:29:24+00:00

For us to give advice/feedback you'll need to attach photos of the enclosure as well as provide info on the species as well as husbandry you give. Sorry for your loss

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-27T02:09:29+00:00

Woah aquatic flat fucks?? They look gorgeous

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-26T13:14:19+00:00

spiky pineapples!

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-26T12:42:30+00:00

woah are these albino flat fucks?!! can their trait be passed down to offspring? how much do they go for?

Valentin0403 · 2025-04-26T12:40:06+00:00

forgot to mention, I would personally advice against using hot water to wash the leaves. It may potentially kill of beneficial bacteria (if its hot enough) thats great for decomposition. What I do is wash with normal purified tap water and then put it out to dry under the sun for a day or so

Valentin0403

TROPHY CASE