Mgridgaway said:Itort said:I have done this and it worked well until the crabs out grow the shell and went looking for shell. The redfoots ate well then. Remember redfoots are opportunistic feeders and hermit crabs are natural prey in the wild.
I imagined my redfoots doing this and laughed so hard. Typical Redfoot.
I have watched my crabs change shells several times without risk. Mine, at least, changed at night when the torts were sleeping. So far, while I have lost crabs to other things, I have not lost one as a snack yet... knock on wood. (But, as I mentioned, it would not bother me a bit if they did!)
Brewster320 said:SWDK said:I think the hermit crab idea is pretty cool. I'd like to try it as well. Do you think you could also add earthworms to help mixup and clean the substrate?
I've heard of people putting critters such as pillbugs(rolly-pollies) in there living vivariums(a self-sustaining ecosystem with live plants and animals) with dart frogs and geckos. Idk how well that would work with larger animals though. I do have a worm compost with red wigglers( basically earthworms but more tolerant of warmer temps) and I usually put left over food, old hay, and my tort's waste in there and they turn it into compost.
If you can provide a soil/sand mix to support it, you can make a nice 'bioactive' substrate where worms, sow bugs (pillbugs), and micro-organisms work together to digest wastes, eat pests, and change the characteristics of the soil. https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/the-work-shop/substrates-1