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dawn
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Does anyone have an idea how you could culture slugs?
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tony
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do you culture anything else like worms already? slugs pretty much breed and grow in the same conditions. i seem to have a large population of slugs in my backyard, even during the colder months so i don't put much effort in breeding them since there so readily available. really i try to only tweezer feed caught slugs since i don't want them sliming up the tank, competing for food with the other beneficial bugs (pill/sowbugs,millipedes,sprintails,earthworms), and nibbling on live plants but will let them roam if not accepted. they will easily breed if given the chance.
in my tanks i have a few areas of leaf litter, fruit/veg waste, old moss, feces, and dead prey(mostly DOA waxworms and uneaten worm chunks) covered with rocks. i keep these areas moist like the rest of the tank and let nature run it's course. the slugs will breed, lay clear jelly circle eggs under the rocks and babies will hatch
in my tanks i have a few areas of leaf litter, fruit/veg waste, old moss, feces, and dead prey(mostly DOA waxworms and uneaten worm chunks) covered with rocks. i keep these areas moist like the rest of the tank and let nature run it's course. the slugs will breed, lay clear jelly circle eggs under the rocks and babies will hatch
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dawn
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I culture fruit flies now. So say I set up a 5 gallon tank and put a couple of slugs in it with some dirt and leaf litter, that would do it?
I'm not sure what they eat. Decaying stuff?
And anyone know how long it takes those eggs to hatch? And also I think I read somewhere that you don't have to worry about telling them apart (sexually)? (I can't remember the scientific vocabulary for that, I just got up)
Thanks
I'm not sure what they eat. Decaying stuff?
And anyone know how long it takes those eggs to hatch? And also I think I read somewhere that you don't have to worry about telling them apart (sexually)? (I can't remember the scientific vocabulary for that, I just got up)
Thanks
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dawn
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Hermaphrodites, that's what they are. Anyway, I'm being totally manipulated by a newt. First she started refusing store-bought worms for garden worms, and now she doesn't want the dark slugs, only the light ones. I know it's not a matter of her being full because I "tested" that.
So I hunted all over the yard and the woods behind my house for light slugs and only found two. I found LOTS of red-backs and lead-backs (including one with a stub-tail that looked like it was regenerating), the smallest garter snake baby I ever saw, and the largest sow-bug, and I got enough worms for a month.
So here is my "slug culture." If anyone knows any foods that might be really helpful to add for them or any suggestions please add. I put in the two light slugs in addition to eggs that I found from where the light ones usually are. If you look closely you can see the eggs.
Cameron, you hatched slugs, didn't you? Any ideas?
So I hunted all over the yard and the woods behind my house for light slugs and only found two. I found LOTS of red-backs and lead-backs (including one with a stub-tail that looked like it was regenerating), the smallest garter snake baby I ever saw, and the largest sow-bug, and I got enough worms for a month.
So here is my "slug culture." If anyone knows any foods that might be really helpful to add for them or any suggestions please add. I put in the two light slugs in addition to eggs that I found from where the light ones usually are. If you look closely you can see the eggs.
Cameron, you hatched slugs, didn't you? Any ideas?
tony
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i keep baby carrots in my tank as well. all bugs including the slugs like them and at least for me they never mold. other scraps i use are apples, potatoes, strawberry tops, banana peels, cantalope rind. carrots sill seem the best for me they just don't rot and get eaten thoroughly by everything in my tank.
along with crumbled leaves, sweetgum balls seemed to be relished by all the bugs and slugs as well. here's what a sweetgum ball looks like
http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2007-6,GGGL:en&q=sweetgum%20ball&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
my backyard is filled with these. in my tank i can pick one up and pick out pillbugs and slugs
not sure on the best breeding methods but i think providing more rocks covering a small hole in that tank will help
along with crumbled leaves, sweetgum balls seemed to be relished by all the bugs and slugs as well. here's what a sweetgum ball looks like
http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2007-6,GGGL:en&q=sweetgum%20ball&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
my backyard is filled with these. in my tank i can pick one up and pick out pillbugs and slugs
not sure on the best breeding methods but i think providing more rocks covering a small hole in that tank will help
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I took the advice of more nooks and also carrots. There are layers of rocks, carrots, and clay pot pieces. Here's the culture today, and look what I got out of it!
Elektra (Tylo) is one very happy and well-fed girl. There's even enough that she's deigned to share.
Elektra (Tylo) is one very happy and well-fed girl. There's even enough that she's deigned to share.
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Speaking of sharing, thanks for the update, Dawn! Very cool. How many slugs did you put in to start with? I would have expected that slugs might reproduce too slowly to be able to harvest more than you put in only 1 month later. Did you see a lot of baby slugs in there?
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Well, I guess I cheated a little. When I'd garden and I'd see any really tiny slugs, I'd toss them in there. I also put in eggs when I'd find them. There were a number of small ones in there that I think hatched from eggs, but the amount of huge ones in there surprised me. I guess they like the carrots. I also used some baby cereal that I got for other cultures. The slugs in the picture were probably a combination of ones that hatched and ones that had grown from the tiny ones.
tonymontanaflows
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just to add i'm the anthony mcgill in previous post
i let everything naturally cultrure in my tanks and slugs tend to take 2 months to grow to be size to be worthy prey. they love carrots and don't feed on feces as much a i can find 3 types of slugs in my backyard, an orange thick mantle type that secrets orange goo and seems to be avoided and grows really large , a greysih type that grows large but is still soft(simalr to the attached pics), and a brown type that is smaller than both and soft bodied. both my sal's and frog prefer the grey/brown type. ther eggs spawn less and i think that my large pill/sowbug/millipede culure cases this
i let everything naturally cultrure in my tanks and slugs tend to take 2 months to grow to be size to be worthy prey. they love carrots and don't feed on feces as much a i can find 3 types of slugs in my backyard, an orange thick mantle type that secrets orange goo and seems to be avoided and grows really large , a greysih type that grows large but is still soft(simalr to the attached pics), and a brown type that is smaller than both and soft bodied. both my sal's and frog prefer the grey/brown type. ther eggs spawn less and i think that my large pill/sowbug/millipede culure cases this