# Springtails Eating Eggs



## Phishsaw (May 27, 2016)

My benedictas laid some eggs yesterday and today I found springtails circling some of the eggs. Do springtails eat eggs and should I remove the eggs?
Thanks.


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## aspidites73 (Oct 2, 2012)

I'm pretty certain your eggs are safe, as long as they are fertile and don't mold over. Then they would become springtail food. You could remove them and let them hatch in a petri dish or similar but that is your decision. Personally, I remove all Ranitomeya eggs I find.



Phishsaw said:


> My benedictas laid some eggs yesterday and today I found springtails circling some of the eggs. Do springtails eat eggs and should I remove the eggs?
> Thanks.


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## Phishsaw (May 27, 2016)

Thanks, aspidites73. They look ok this morning and the springtails have left them alone. Don't know if they're fertile or not. I think I'll leave them for now since I have no experience with raising tadpoles.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

not too difficult...plenty of good information through the forum on tads...good luck...


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## Phishsaw (May 27, 2016)

Judy S said:


> not too difficult...plenty of good information through the forum on tads...good luck...


T

There is a lot of good information. I might give it a try on the second or 3rd batch. I picked up the leaf with the eggs on them to take a closer look and thought to myself, ya, i'm probably going to kill them so I put the leaf back immediately. 
Baby steps. Baby steps.


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## Jjl (Feb 2, 2014)

My frogs lay almost exclusively in the leaves. They hate it when I pull tadpoles...

Be sure you have film canisters for the frogs to transport. Benedicta do not egg-feed, so keep an eye on them and remove the tadpoles when they're hatched. Repashy Soilent Green is a great food for them if they survive (the first few batches don't always go well). 

You could always try to leave tadpoles to develop in the tank, but I personally find it a bit risky as they will depend on drowned bugs, algae, and other detritus to survive.


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## Phishsaw (May 27, 2016)

Thanks, for the advice, Jjl. I read that benies don't egg-feed either. I'm glad you confirmed that. I have 3 film canisters and 3 deli cups in there right now. There are only 5 eggs in this batch. It has been four days since they were laid and I haven't seen any big changes. The springtails are no where near them so I guess that's a good sign? I was planning leave the tadpoles in the viv and feed them while they're in there.

I really haven't heard any calling so should I expect them to lay more eggs or are they done for a while?
I'm going to the Sacramental Reptile Show this weekend so I'll pickup more film canisters if the vendors have them.

Thanks, again.





Jjl said:


> My frogs lay almost exclusively in the leaves. They hate it when I pull tadpoles...
> 
> Be sure you have film canisters for the frogs to transport. Benedicta do not egg-feed, so keep an eye on them and remove the tadpoles when they're hatched. Repashy Soilent Green is a great food for them if they survive (the first few batches don't always go well).
> 
> You could always try to leave tadpoles to develop in the tank, but I personally find it a bit risky as they will depend on drowned bugs, algae, and other detritus to survive.


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## Jjl (Feb 2, 2014)

Phishsaw said:


> Thanks, for the advice, Jjl. I read that benies don't egg-feed either. I'm glad you confirmed that. I have 3 film canisters and 3 deli cups in there right now. There are only 5 eggs in this batch. It has been four days since they were laid and I haven't seen any big changes. The springtails are no where near them so I guess that's a good sign? I was planning leave the tadpoles in the viv and feed them while they're in there.
> 
> I really haven't heard any calling so should I expect them to lay more eggs or are they done for a while?
> I'm going to the Sacramental Reptile Show this weekend so I'll pickup more film canisters if the vendors have them.
> ...


I imagine that the springtails would only go near the eggs if there was death/decay, so I'm sure they're fine on that end. If they haven't been calling for a while, they're probably recuperating/taking a break--although I've found eggs during "no-call" periods. 

Your canisters and cups should work great for rearing areas.


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