Why I never spot clean

jamest0o0

Chameleon Enthusiast
It cheats my cleaners out of a good meal.

Giant pile of poop as large as my finger from my Male panther, will be gone by morning.

Dead roach my female panther killed and didn't eat, will also be gone.

Sorry it's dark, went in with a flashlight.
 

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They're indoor. The bulk of my CuC is giant canyon isopods. They are very prolific and handle large amounts of waste with ease once established. Makes it hard to ever find a fecal sample though. I also use springtails, millipedes, the random roaches or superworms that fall in, BSFL, and whatever else comes along. Yesterday I noticed a snail(which has probably been wrecking my plants...) and some small earth worms which I never put in there, but got in somehow. I even saw some spiders and small centipedes that I didn't purposely put in, but since we have no dangerous or large species here i let them go(as long as the webs aren't out of control). It all keeps a balance.
 
That's great. I plan on getting my set ups to be self sustaining myself. Trying to research my options now. Any problems with those little guys escaping?
 
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I second everything james0o0 said. I’ve never had anything escape. I just dumped about 500 large BSFL my friend had extra in my enclosure. Can’t wait to see my chameleon go nuts over all the flies that will pupate. I have tunnels all over the place that they use to move around underground. Fun watching all the isopods run around at night.
 
@Chameleon Mike nope, isopods don't like leaving the humid substrate, so even if they could they wouldn't. Only things that accidently got out were a few roaches(which the wife found, well the cat dropped one on her lap...) from my females cage. I left a gap where my substrate bin meets the cage. Nothing else has gotten out since.

@Goose502 I want a clear front panel for that reason. I like seeing the layers of substrate with the worms and whatever tunneling through. It's still fun going in at night and seeing all of the critters running around. Reminds me of saltwater tanks. There's a whole world you don't see during the day.
 
View attachment 209700 I second everything james0o0 said. I’ve never had anything escape. I just dumped about 500 large BSFL my friend had extra in my enclosure. Can’t wait to see my chameleon go nuts over all the flies that will pupate. I have tunnels all over the place that they use to move around underground. Fun watching all the isopods run around at night.

Looks great. What did you use as your base substrate?
 
I've used a lot of different soil mixes, trying to remember what these were. They were pretty simple though something like a mix of topsoil, sand(I use sand a lot in these cham enclosures for drainage), cocofiber, worm castings, hefty layer of leaf litter, some cork bark on top, and random pieces of wood or orchid bark. The isopods don't seem too picky. I didn't have any difficult plants so I didn't plan much of it out. I have much more diversity in my Parsons enclosure so I cheated and went with advanced sunshine mix 4.
 
They're indoor. The bulk of my CuC is giant canyon isopods. They are very prolific and handle large amounts of waste with ease once established. Makes it hard to ever find a fecal sample though. I also use springtails, millipedes, the random roaches or superworms that fall in, BSFL, and whatever else comes along. Yesterday I noticed a snail(which has probably been wrecking my plants...) and some small earth worms which I never put in there, but got in somehow. I even saw some spiders and small centipedes that I didn't purposely put in, but since we have no dangerous or large species here i let them go(as long as the webs aren't out of control). It all keeps a balance.

Interesting, which millipedes are you using? I've been trying to read up on anadenobolus monoilicornis here and there.
 
@dshuld mostly those subterranean flower pot millipedes. Also a few random species that I found in plants I ordered. Infact one of them looks just like a bumblebee millipede. Yellow bands and red legs. He's in the parson enclosure though. So many places to hide I'll probably never see him again.
 
Base is a 1-2 inch layer of lava stones, this was covered by weed cloth, then soil. I thought I would need to drain excess water, surprisingly, I haven’t yet. My plants and substrate/decor seem to hold it without ever becoming over saturated.

What kind of soil?
 
@dshuld mostly those subterranean flower pot millipedes. Also a few random species that I found in plants I ordered. Infact one of them looks just like a bumblebee millipede. Yellow bands and red legs. He's in the parson enclosure though. So many places to hide I'll probably never see him again.

Cool, I've been killing all the subterraneans I've found in plants. Think I'll let the little guys live now lol. I'm working on converting all of my cages to bio active now and in my search for more isopods found a few people selling the bumble bees with the isopods they had as a package which kicked off the trying to read about them when I have time.
 
Give the giant canyon isos a try. They are so good for removing large waste. I've heard the dwarf whites are awesome too. I'm currently working on like 9 isopod species colonies. Some for feeders, some for cleaners. I've thought about adding some larger millipedes. Most/all animals spit them out if they try to eat one. I've never had problems with my chams going for then.
 
Give the giant canyon isos a try. They are so good for removing large waste. I've heard the dwarf whites are awesome too. I'm currently working on like 9 isopod species colonies. Some for feeders, some for cleaners. I've thought about adding some larger millipedes. Most/all animals spit them out if they try to eat one. I've never had problems with my chams going for then.

I've got giant canyons in Blue's enclosure already. I've been looking around for more/ others species because I have 14 other cages I'm converting from plant pots to bio active now :eek:. After seeing your spanish isopod thread I tried looking those up but can only find ornatus in the few places I've looked.
 
Are you baiting me with this thread?;)
I agree in a bioactive I wouldn't spot clean anything that makes it to the soil level. I would clean your leaves/drinking surfaces of any residual poop, otherwise bon appetite to your cleaning crew. (y)
 
@JacksJill this thread was 100% meant to berate you and everything you stand for.... JK! I agree with that. I almost always pluck leaves with poop on them and throw it on the substrate. Luckily my chams rarely poop on the leaves.

Off subject, but while you mention drinking surfaces... I notice, my Parsons never drinks off leaves or very rarely. He just opens his mouth and let's mist hit his tongue. Ever notice this with any of your chams?
 
Mine tend to turn down hill and drink the drops that collect on their horns or body during misting. My avatar will occasionally grab a leaf like a dinner plate and lick the drops off of it. I've never seen the females drink except during misting.
They all have their own way of doing things.

Edit: I should say face not body.
 
What kind of soil?
I started with just Exo Terra plantation soil. It sucked, I mixed in moss and a few cups of nightcrawler, the eventually added more plants(with their soil), and eventually added a 6 quart bag of the biodude’s Terra firma. Also added charcoal, palm bark, crushed cuttlefish bone, one of his bio shots, and lots of leaf litter. Everything has really taken off since the biodude’s stuff got added. This has been a culmination of almost 3 years now.
 
I started with just Exo Terra plantation soil. It sucked, I mixed in moss and a few cups of nightcrawler, the eventually added more plants(with their soil), and eventually added a 6 quart bag of the biodude’s Terra firma. Also added charcoal, palm bark, crushed cuttlefish bone, one of his bio shots, and lots of leaf litter. Everything has really taken off since the biodude’s stuff got added. This has been a culmination of almost 3 years now.

That really helps. Thanks. Biodude had some great stuff on his videos. I tried finding that terrafirm but its only on his page.
 
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