Oak Flake Soil

Description

Fermented oak flake soil is a highly nutritious product for many pet bugs including beetles, millipedes and isopods.

Free shipping on this listing!

We offer oak flake soil through this listing for $23, shipped free via FedEx 2 day. The volume you will receive ships in a full 32 ounce deli cup. If you order the product through this page, and if there is nothing else in your shopping cart, there is no shipping cost. (We also sell in smaller, cheaper cups in the related products section, below.)

Our oak flake soil consists of 100% medium to soft decay oak wood flakes. This is the premium grade product we use to raise all our rhino beetle larvae, stag beetle larvae, flower scarab beetle larvae, and Chrysina larvae in before offering them up for sale. It is also eaten by many other kinds of arthropods and is a critically helpful ingredient in many of my breeding tanks of millipedes and isopods. Brown gold! It consists of very finely ground fermented oak wood mixed. It is freeze-treated so that you don’t get any “free” bugs with your purchase. But you can order it through this listing under the free shipping substrate option at checkout.

You are welcome to drop your larvae directly into these cups upon arrival. Just spoon out (and save) a half inch or so of substrate so that your larva has room to fluff up the compacted flake soil. It is a great sized “home” for most first, second and even early third instar larvae. If you do plan to put a larva directly into the cup you will want to punch some holes into the lid, but from the inside-out. I typically use a thumb tack and of course it creates sharp and abrasive little nubs as it exits the plastic. Better that those are on the outside of the cup than on the inside where your pet might rub against them.

If your larva is turning the soil with some consistency, waste gases are less likely to build up and in combination with some ventilation and that half inch or so of air space at the top of the cup between the soil surface and the lid of the cup. The flake soil should never get dry or be so wet that water droplets could be pressed or squeezed out of it. Opening the lid from time to time to add a little bit of water and turning the soil with a spoon may be helpful in dissipating any gases.

When to change out the substrate for fresh substrate is sort of a matter of opinion, or finances. Even if all your flake soil becomes frass (frass/poop), your beetle will not starve immediately. However, if you want to grow the biggest beetles possible, it is wise to have plenty of edible flake soil in your cup at all times.

If you are buying multiples but only using one cup, you can freeze extra cups to prevent fungus gnats and other pests from taking up residence in your stored flake soil.