I made a mistake when makeing my pygmys cage. instead of useing hydro balls im useing water cubes. i actually think this has a good chance of working and will be tracking my results. 
layer1-soil
layer2-organic plant feed
layer3-2-3inches of water cubes
hypothesis- the water cubes will replace the hydro balls and work; even when the water reaches them they will expand and retain the water untill the cage gets dryer and than they will return to their dry and small state.
week1- no problems. misted heavyily twice daily and water hasnt broken the 1st layer (soil) i have no pygmys yet- will get in 6weeks or so. no rolly pollys or springtails yet- i expect to have them soon. biggist worry is mold. need bugs.
week2-mold problems ariseing. springtaisl have been orderd and will hopefully eat the mold. (theres gardly any at all but it poses a threat) cleaner bugs are importent. should have started with them. other than that water hasent been a problems. temps and humidity are stable. a old UVB is now being used on the tank instead of a basking bulb. temps are 80 at the highest and 75 in other areas of the tank. humidity is usually 70 (misted twice daily) had droped below and stays high for an hour or two before starting to decline.
week3-springtails are in. hopefully they will breed up quick and eat up mold. no more mold than week 2. temps + humidty is consistent with the weeks before. i've spoted some pygmy chams. may order them,
week4-i now have pygmys that i got from repticon a 1.1 pair with a gravid looking female. mold has been eaten my springtails. added some fruit flys and 1/4 crikets for eating (and 3 or 4 calciworms). so far my diffrent cage style is fine. hasnt really had any positive effects though. no extra humidity.
week5- pygmy female may die she looked bad to begin with. male looks good. cage is holding even after 5+ heavy mists a day. slight musky smell has come up due to heavy mistings so often. the water cube layer has been breached. we'll see how this goes over next week.
layer1-soil
layer2-organic plant feed
layer3-2-3inches of water cubes
hypothesis- the water cubes will replace the hydro balls and work; even when the water reaches them they will expand and retain the water untill the cage gets dryer and than they will return to their dry and small state.
week1- no problems. misted heavyily twice daily and water hasnt broken the 1st layer (soil) i have no pygmys yet- will get in 6weeks or so. no rolly pollys or springtails yet- i expect to have them soon. biggist worry is mold. need bugs.
week2-mold problems ariseing. springtaisl have been orderd and will hopefully eat the mold. (theres gardly any at all but it poses a threat) cleaner bugs are importent. should have started with them. other than that water hasent been a problems. temps and humidity are stable. a old UVB is now being used on the tank instead of a basking bulb. temps are 80 at the highest and 75 in other areas of the tank. humidity is usually 70 (misted twice daily) had droped below and stays high for an hour or two before starting to decline.
week3-springtails are in. hopefully they will breed up quick and eat up mold. no more mold than week 2. temps + humidty is consistent with the weeks before. i've spoted some pygmy chams. may order them,
week4-i now have pygmys that i got from repticon
a 1.1 pair with a gravid looking female. mold has been eaten my springtails. added some fruit flys and 1/4 crikets for eating (and 3 or 4 calciworms). so far my diffrent cage style is fine. hasnt really had any positive effects though. no extra humidity. week5- pygmy female may die she looked bad to begin with. male looks good. cage is holding even after 5+ heavy mists a day. slight musky smell has come up due to heavy mistings so often. the water cube layer has been breached. we'll see how this goes over next week.
