Dwarf Purple Isopods (Qty-25) & Springtails (8 oz Seeding Cuture) Combo Package, for Amphibian/Reptile/Invertebrate Bioactive Habitats, by Critters Direct

My moss terrarium had a mold growth so I ordered the springtail seeding culture with dwarf purple isopods. They arrived thriving - there were dozens of live critters and the substrate was in great condition, plenty moist. There was no "playing dead" when I opened the package, both cultures were clearly quite alive. I'm excited to see how much terrarium evolves with these guys to keep it clean!

I am very happy with the customer service. I received a large amount and very healthy springtails jumping around. Unfortunately due to cold temperatures my isopods came dead, the customer service was outstanding and they are sending me new isopods, would highly recommend critters for their high quality products and amazing service

The seller was kind enough to hold my order and wait until warmer temps in my state. They arrived alive and well and was packaged super well!!! Customer service was great. I am happy and would recommend and repurchase!

Neither isopods nor springtails seemed to be in good condition upon arrival. I think most of the isopods were already dead since they never moved once I moved them into substrate. I've tried setting the isopods up in a container of moist ecoearth/junglemix/reptibark substrate near one of my heaters that keeps another enclosure in the 80s. Despite my best efforts they all seem to be dead. The spring tails are now set up in a carbon culture to try to save them - hoping they'll be okay. On the plus side, the seller did work with me on delivery date unfortunately it didn't help these guys. Edit: plus 2 stars since the seller refunded my money for the isopods which I had bought elsewhere and replaced the springtails which are now doing great. To be fair, there were shipped during through the US's "polar vortex" of early 2019. I would, however, expect a seller of insects to check the weather and pack appropriately or update the customer to let them know that they're holding the animals as they are very unlikely to survive transport. As it is, I lost a lot of time on my bioactive builds with the whole mess.

I enjoyed the isopods but the springtails were less than viable to seed a terrarium as the substrate used for this culture is soil based. Adding water to this only makes mud and the springtails can't float on the water per usual because of the muck. Granted this would be fine if I were to dump the whole culture into a terrarium of mine but I don't use soil for my substrate so I didn't want to mix. Would be easier if they used lump wood Charcoal. Also would be easier for the springstails to have a water level and keep the humidity levels stable in the enclosure for their culture.

I purchased this product for my ball python enclosure and was very impressed with the packaging. Springtails and isopods were lively and abundant. I did have to use my entire culture for springtails in the enclosure, but I am putting aside the Dwarf Isopods so they can produce a bigger colony. I will order again!

At first I tried ordering spring tails from Josh's Frogs because they had more reviews. The first shipment arrived without any spring tails, which they promptly replaced. However their replacement contained spring tails, but they were all deceased. I then tried critters direct - the insects came alive and happy. Very satisfied with my order.

Once I got a packaged I noticed it felt a little light. I first I thought “they’re bugs, how heavy are they supposed to be”, but my skepticism was correct once I open the box. Inside were 2 small plastic containers. One of them was a little larger (no larger than 6 fl oz) and contained some charcoal. At first I thought maybe the isopods were mixed in, however once I opened the container it turned out to be just charcoal. The second container was smaller, no larger than those paper cups you get at fast food places that hold the ketchup for fries. That one was slightly more promising as it had some dirt and spag moss inside, but once I opened and examined the contents there were no signs of springtails or dwarf purples, dead or alive. At first I thought “maybe they died on the way shipping” or “maybe they escaped”. The problem is the disposable containers showed no signs of opening and being spilled while shipping, and the inside of the box was spotless. Even if the bugs didn’t need to escape through the containers opening, the only way they could escape would be by holes poked through the containers. However there weren’t any signs of air holes on either container. The reason why they couldn’t have all died is that dead bodies would still remain either inside the containers, or outside if they somehow did escape. After inspecting the containers, the charcoal, the dirt and moss, the box, and even the place where I pick up my mail, there were no signs of dead insects. In conclusion, what I got in the mail was a minuscule cup of dirt and a collection of charcoal. The item description said I would receive 25+ dwarf purple isopods and an 8 oz mix of springtails that would both be alive on arrival. The only thing the seller could have gotten half right is that the insects are alive, however they sent the wrong package and my order is still with the sell, not on arrival. I hope this is only an issue with my order and that this hasn’t or isn’t happening with other buyers, otherwise they would be buying a tablespoon of wet dirt and some wet charcoal for $40+