Vampires and Devils

[jeb102385]

That sucks... I'm sorry man

[mnemenoi]

Sorry to hear that, Hopefully your time will free up a bit

[mnemenoi]

i will post pics when i get the terrarium revitalized again, it was really HOT the day that i met matt and so several of the plants may not come back. i will work on it over lunches. its a 29 gallon with 4 males and 2 female red devils (thanks jacob!) they started eating immediately and seem to be doing well. they really like getting down into bromeliad crowns so i need to put some more in there lol.

Another place in time is a terrific store down in the Heights (11th and Shepard) has a ton of terrarium/vivarium type plants, well worth the trip. That is where we acquired a lot of ours.

[Totenkampf]

you read my mind roy, i was going to post a query about this since i hit several home depot and lowes yesterday. i found nothing interesting other than a nice variagated creeping ficus.

sorry to hear about the crabs bk

[jeb102385]

I've heard good things... Never actually made it there

[Totenkampf]

i have noticed a couple things about the RDC, they love to hide in leaf axils of bromeliads so these are a good thing to add to their terrarium. i found one reference on an english website where the owner reported seeing them living in pitcher plants. i wont be trying that but i lends credance to their need for local areas of higher humidity. they also seem to enjoy eating decomposing leaf litter and moss, i have magnolia and almond leaves soaking for mine now. i am looking to find a local supplier of pinhead crickets or else i would be going fishing for field plankton in the lot next door (hoping on the former since its waaay to hot for me to be running around outside in slacks)

[armthehomeless]

The last of my crabs died today. I need to take a step back for now. Too busy. I need to just focus on just my fish tanks before I kill anything else.

I'm sorry to hear that...but I can sympathisize.

[Totenkampf]

i put several small sized crickets in the terrarium today (thanks petsmart person for weeding out the smallest) and they are still too big for these little guys lol. they are definately predacious though, they just cant overpower the crickets before they can hop away. i havent seen much hunting, they seem to be ambush predators and they are darn quick. they are smart enough to hide in high traffic areas by the food dish, water, and pathways. it looks like i may need to start a springtail culture after all darnit.

[Jozle]

Get flightless fruitflies. They're small enough for them to hunt and you can always breed more flies as long as theres still food in the vial they came in.

[Totenkampf]

lol yeah but i have done so many FFF from the dart frog days that i think that i hate them....its sad

[Totenkampf]

update: i saw 5 of the original 6 red devils out today. i dont know if the 6th is gone or just molting. i have a feeling that the two smallest were doing this since i didnt see them for weeks. the small ones hide all the time although the larger ones tend to be out in the open more. there is no sign of the small crickets so although they seemed to be clumsy hunters they must have got them in the end. these little guys have become the office mascots, i get alot of traffic to check them out so i have to up my game. i bought a 40 breeder that i am going to slowly pimp out with a DIY expanding foam / foamboard backgraound and waterfall as well as a false bottom. i hope i still have meh vivarium making xXskillzXx. I will have a reservoir in the waterfall basin that will contain a small heater, ultrasonic fogger, and an airstone for humidity control and aeriation. i passed on a good deal for a mistking due to the size of the bucket but the fogger should be enough. i hope to find a deal on a couple hygrotherm controllers, since they only have a single setpoint for temp and humidity, unless anyone knows of a good inexpensive temp / humidity controller with dual setpoints on each circuit? I hope to be able to find a few more crabs once this is done so that I can have a total of four pairs. I will also attempt to get self sustaining populations of springtails and/or wood lice going in a leaf litter pit which i will hide in a corner. Anyone with cultures going will be my new bestest friend.

[Totenkampf]

RDC molt.jpg

one of my crabs just molted, i wondered why he had been soaking in water all day. this may be important to their survival, they may need a decent amount of water to molt in, unlike other terrestrial crabs who will hide or burrow. i thought a vampire had snuck in there at first lol.

[Totenkampf]

I couple more observations:

stocking levels: I have read on the AAG site that these crabs are very social and that you can house a half dozen in a 10 gallon. I choose to go with Jacobs recommendation of 1 pair / 10 gallons. The latter seems to be a good rule of thumb. I still have not seen any territorial behavior at all, but they do spread out in the aquarium and seldom stay in contact with one another.

feeding: while they can hunt crickets, they are hard to bring down so i started gutloading the crickets and then freezing them. they will all be gone the next morning so they seem to be eating well this way.

[Jozle]

I think mine are dead, I have not heard any updates of my colony back in the states.

[Totenkampf]

I think the challenge might be feeding them. Prepared food wont last a day in my terrarium because of the humidity. Self sustaining isopod / springtails cultures established in their habitat may be the solution if you have to leave them for a while.