Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i must have picked up a bunch of slug eggs in some live moss i collected outide.its a species of moss that grows pretty tall and almost looks like a fern.i found the species online and it was called a "hair" something moss.or at least hair was in the name.kida looks like little pine trees.anyway,im sure the slug eggs came with that as its the only thing collected outside i introduced into my vivarium.i also collected some rocks and wood but cleaned and cooked them first.about a week after planting the moss,i began to notice one or two baby slugs a day crawling on my plants.i pick them out but today i found 4.it seems to be getting worse and my tank is heavily planted so im assuming for every one i see,there must be hundreds more.any advise on how to clean them out? i left a dog flea and tick collar hanging in the cage overnight to kill any hitchikers that may have been introduced but i guess it didnt kill them,actually i noticed a few springtails as well so i dont think it killed much except maybe the plant i was telling you guys about.all the leaves fell off the day after i had the collar in there.anyway need some advise,slugs could destroy my vivarium ,correct?

found a methond online just now,it involves using dry ice inside the cage so the tank fills up with co2 and leave it slealed in there overnight.co2 should kill any insects and actually help plants grow.just curious if it will also kill micro organisims in the soil that help break down nutrients.anyone heard of this?it sounded like a great idea but im just a little reluctant to try and idea that i only heard of once with no follow up post.thanks.

The CO2 will kill any other animals of whatever sort you have in the vivarium, too. If I recall correctly, you don't have any reptile or amphibian in there yet. You could replace springtails. On the safer side, you could try baiting the slugs with a dish of beer. No need to give them anything better than some stale Bud. No special microbrew for slugs. They are lushes and will drown in it. I've found this to be more fun than ultimately useful. There always seems to be enough teetotaler slugs around to continue propagation. My frogs and I just live with occasonal slugs and I pick them out of my dart tanks whenever I see them. They do some plant damage, mostly graze on the leaves and make holes in them, but they aren't a fatal infestation if you keep picking them off. If your tank is still empty of reptiles or amphibians, you could put in a dish of poison slug bait. I'm not sure that they wouldn't crawl off to die and contaminate the soil, however. Unfortunately, I've never found anything that eats slugs for a living that would live in a vivarium. Even my big Tilapia spits them out. They are apparently not as delicious as escargot.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

so no on the co2 idea?? yea i have nothing living in there yet and say i do kill off everything,springtails and all,is this bad? do i need springtails?i figure i could kill all insect life and any microorganisims i may need will be replaced as i add new soil/plants.i see an occasional millpede or centipede(dont know the difference)its the kind with the spikes on their heads and tails,not the round headed kind.anyway,if im correct,these dont eat plants but eat other insects.id rather have nothing in the tank,co2 would do that job well.id like some more feedback.thanks