Compostium Experiment

[AmateurEntomologist]

I recently had the good fortune of being able to collect a small group of Sphaerodactylus elegans(1.2.1) and have had the concept of a compostium bouncing around my head for far to many years so I decided its finally time to test out this theory for myself, which I originally read about from a Ben Eichen(from Dendroboard) post that has since been deleted.

This is the only remaining post I’ve be able to find referencing this type of setup.

https://www.dendroboard.com/threads/self-sustaining-terrariums-in-depth.25846/

The basic premise is that you have a portion of the enclosure sectioned off with a material that allows insects to pass through but not the main inhabitants. One section acts a refugium where you culture a variety of insects while the other section houses the main inhabitants. The hope is that insects will travel from the refugium to the other section and get consumed.

My experiment is with a 40 gallon breeder(36x18x16) that I have divided into three sections. Two 10x18(outside) and one 13x18(Center). The 13x18 section will act as the refugium and the two 10x18 will house a pair of Sphaerodactylus elegans each. I used Matala filter pads(High density blue) as the membrane between the refugium and main enclosures. I also used Matala filter pads as the false bottom and will cover them with calcium bearing clay substate(a unfired clay that incorporates calcium into its composition with the intention of calcium passing on to the inhabitants).

Compsodes schwarzi will end up the main star for insects cultivated in the refugium. 

I’ll update the post as I make progress over the next month or so.

I always seem to have issues with image uploads here. So forgive the external links to photos.

https://ibb.co/r2YtKBy
https://ibb.co/BNv0z3D
https://ibb.co/H7NQW2g
https://ibb.co/s5P1tXS