GeneralZero Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 I'm somewhat new to the whole rearing process of Larvae and just want to know how would I go about to add moisture to the substrate properly? I have a spray bottle and have been squirting water occasionally to the soil to add moisture is this safe? And is it wise to move substrate and then squirt and repeat or is it enough to just squirt the top? All suggestions and methods welcome thank-you for your time in advance! -Zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardshell Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 dude i put some newpaper in between the lid so it can block some moisture in and keep gnats away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralZero Posted December 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 So...for Dynastes it would be advised to keep the substrate dry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 No, you never keep it dry. They like it when there is moist. It's ok to just squirt the top.. that's how i do it. If you want the moist to stay in, put some newspapers like hardshell said, and block the air holes. But remember, too much moist = death. So......just unblock the air holes every few days and keep em open for about a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralZero Posted December 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 Oh! Alright sounds easy enough ^.^ thanks for the input guys! I'll make sure to add some to the new larvae's substrate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 I usually keep some bark on top of the substrate to help stop it drying out over time, but you will need to add some water on occasion. Spraying water is fine if only the top half inch or so had dried out, but you will find that spraying alone won't penetrate the substrate very far, you tend to end up with a thin wet layer sitting on top of the dry stuff. When adding water, you need to make sure it gets deep into the substrate, I like to see some water get down at least one side of the tank and into the lower layers, though be careful not to flood the bottom, particualrly if there are pupal cells down there. If the substrate has dried to quite a depth then the best way to up the moisture level is to remove the larvae and give the substrate a good stir or mix, adding or spraying water as you go until it gets back to the right level of moisture. Dynastes will tolerate substrate at the dry end of the scale for a while but do better in "standard" moist substrates. If you keep them too dry they will shrink over time as they lose water, though they can recover from this if put back into damper conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralZero Posted December 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 Great to know Matt! Will do later on today I'll remove them and spray on different areas of the tank and mix up the substrate as I go! I thought I would ask merely because I recently baked the wood in order to kill whatever may be lurking and it just seemed rather dry to me. Thanks everyone for the feedback any other tips or tricks are welcome as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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