Retailer page
Springtail Care & Breeding Information
Link works Retailer
New England Herpetoculture
Details
- Origin
- neherp
- Last opened
- Oct 22, 2026
How it was checked
Checked on Oct 22, 2026 by a web request. The registry returned: NEHERP - Springtail Care & Breeding Information.
Where this source is used
Cited by 28 statements
Add springtails to a terrarium or isopod tub
- NEHERP introduces springtails to a live vivarium 3 to 5 weeks before adding inhabitants. The wait lets a population establish and helps prevent booms of less effective detritivores such as fungus gnats and detritivorous mites. (at Introducing Springtails Into A Vivarium)
- Add the culture before the plants, leaf litter or moss, then cover it gently with litter, moss or other decor. (at Introducing Springtails Into A Vivarium)
- Spread the contents of the culture through the substrate layer. Do not pack the substrate down or compress it. (at Introducing Springtails Into A Vivarium)
- NEHERP says one of its cultures can seed 3 to 4 small enclosures up to 12 by 12 inches, 2 to 3 medium enclosures up to 18 by 18 inches, or a single larger one. (at Introducing Springtails Into A Vivarium)
- Once springtails are in a properly built enclosure, NEHERP expects they will not need to be added again and will sustain themselves for the life of the vivarium. (at Introducing Springtails Into A Vivarium)
Bioactive
- A planted enclosure with soil and a cleanup crew, so that waste breaks down inside it instead of being removed by hand.
Cleanup crew
- Small animals kept in an enclosure to eat mold, waste and dead plant matter. Springtails and isopods are the usual choices.
Culture
- A colony of springtails kept on purpose in a container, usually in damp substrate with regular food. On this site a culture also means a line of animals that keepers pass around under one name.
Culture springtails on charcoal
- Use lump charcoal or horticultural charcoal, which is safe for springtails. NEHERP specifies organic, rinsed, medium or fine grade charcoal. (at Ingredients For A Springtail Breeder Culture)
- Springtails US adds two inches of charcoal and one inch of water to a sealed bin. NEHERP fills a 6 quart bin about halfway with charcoal and adds a quarter to half an inch of water. (at Setting Up A Breeding Culture)
- Add springtails. From another charcoal culture you can pour the whole small culture in, or add water so the springtails float and pour them out. (at Setting Up A Breeding Culture)
- To harvest, pick up pieces of charcoal with tongs and tap the springtails off where they are needed. You can also add extra water and pour it, because springtails float and ride the water. (at Setting Up A Breeding Culture)
- Sellers disagree about mites on charcoal. NEHERP prefers charcoal because mixed media cultures are more likely to get mites. Frog and Frond reports that clay cultures are less likely to get mites than charcoal cultures. (at Setting Up A Breeding Culture)
Dart froglet
- Sellers say springtails serve as a self-renewing live food in dart frog and small gecko setups, and describe feeding springtails from a culture to a tiny dart froglet. (at Tips and Tricks)
Expand and renew springtail cultures
- Keep one master culture and expand from it. NEHERP notes its cultures can be divided into more than one enclosure. (at Introducing Springtails Into A Vivarium)
Feeder culture
- A culture kept to feed other animals, such as small frogs, instead of to live in an enclosure.
Folsomia candida
- Keeper and retailer advice for this species spans 15–22 °C59–72 °F at one UK seller, 18–27 °C64–81 °F at one US seller and 21–27 °C70–81 °F at another. They agree that sustained heat above about 27 °C81 °F slows breeding. (at temperature)
- Keepers culture it on calcium clay, charcoal, plaster, coco coir or soil. Several sellers report clay as the easiest to harvest from. (at breeder culture)
- Granulated or brewer's yeast, once or twice a week, is the standard food. The laboratory method feeds twice a week and removes uneaten yeast before adding more. (at feeding)
- The substrate should be damp all the way through, like a wrung-out sponge, and never waterlogged. A dry culture crashes and standing water drowns animals. (at moisture)
- The simulator reads damp-but-not-waterlogged as a wetness index of 0.6 to 0.9 on a 0 to 1 scale. The index is a model scale and not a measurement. The bounds follow keeper descriptions, not a laboratory test. (at moisture)
- Keepers use it as a cleanup crew in tanks, as a feeder culture for small animals, and laboratories use it as a research model. (at uses)
- Several sellers in the United States and the United Kingdom stock it as Common White or Temperate White springtails. (at introduction)
Start your first springtail culture
- Folsomia candida, sold as the temperate or common white springtail, is the species most of these sellers use for their standard cultures. (at Springtail Culture Care)
- On charcoal you lift pieces out with tongs and tap the springtails off, or add water and pour them out, because springtails float. (at Setting Up A Breeding Culture)
- Sellers disagree about mites. NEHERP says mixed media cultures are much more likely to get mites than charcoal cultures. Frog and Frond says clay cultures are less likely to get mites than charcoal cultures. (at Setting Up A Breeding Culture)
Substrate
- The material the animals live in and on, such as soil, charcoal, clay or plaster. It holds moisture and gives them somewhere to hide.
What to feed springtails and why not moldy rice
- Brewer's yeast is a common springtail food. Springtails US finds it the most preferred type of yeast in its experiments. (at Ingredients For A Springtail Breeder Culture)