Springtails in my salamander's vivariam

[Andrew23]

Hello guys, i thought of placing some springtails in my juvenile fire salamander's tank for cleaning purpose, are they going to affect my salamander in any way or so? I can get springtails from my backyard, any idea how to set a trap for them?

 

[Mark]

Springtails won’t harm your salamander. There’s no easy way to collect them en-mass that I know. They will likely get out of a pit trap as they can jump quite high. Research a “pooter” which is a device that allows you to suck up small bugs and is quite easy to make using some air line tubing and a pot. You can provide hides in your garden that are attractive to invertebrates and make collection easier. Cardboard sheets, wood plank, etc. That way you’ll also get woodlice, worms and slugs.