Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Tilted Jar Terrarium DIY


After a couple months from the initial setup, my first tilted 1 liter jar terrarium feels overcrowded as many baby isopods grow quickly. 


Buy Isopods Locally on Craigslist: 
Buy Isopods on Amazon (paid link): 




January 17th, 2022 
I use this 3 liter jar with a lid to set up another terrarium.

 Poke needle sized holes in the lid for air circulation.




 I like to put this jar in a horizontal or tilted position. 
It would look cool and creates more useful space for plants and critters. 

We can fix the jar in tilted position using wire as I did with 1 liter jar previously. 
Or let's just put the jar in a plastic container - like this. 


That's it, now we can set up the terrarium. 

Put a layer of gravel - for draining excess water. 


Add a layer of peat moss or some soil for water retention.


 I am making this terrarium for isopods - they like to dig.

 I spread the peat moss evenly.

 Now, let's put a layer of wilted leaves for Isopods to dig and eat.




 Here I add a small bush of some grass. 


Isopods like to dig in moss. 
So, let's add moss. 




And a bush of some weed goes in. 



Now let's add a couple pieces of bark with something green growing on it. 


I pick everything for this terrarium in a local park.

 Parks are a great source of basically everything one may need for terrariums all year around. 


Well, this shell I picked somewhere on a beach last Summer.


 Another piece of bark. 

And now moisten everything - Isopods like moisture. 

I use NYC dechlorinated tap water. 
You may notice the water is algae rich for that matter. 
I believe aquariums and terrariums benefit from algae. 

Put the lid on and let the terrarium sit for a day or more. 

Ta-dah! We have made a tilted terrarium.
 Take a closer look at the terrarium here. 



Let's move some Isopods from the old 1 liter terrarium into this new 3 litter specious terrarium.

 I simply transfer a piece of moss with a bunch of Isopods hiding in it from one tank into another.


 Who knows how many young Isopods are hiding here... 


Let's take  a closer look at  the Isopods. 

Looks like there is about a dozen or so Isopods.
 That should be enough to set up a new colony. 

Here you can see a time-lapse recording I made in the first hours after moving Isopods in the new terrarium. 

Interestingly, Isopods are not in a rush to leave this piece of moss. 
Also, I noticed a couple younger Isopods crawling around. 


So, now I have 2 tilted jar terrariums of different sizes.
 Here you can see them on February 19th. 




I will keep you updated about my terrariums in future videos.
 Have fun and happy terrariums :)

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