Ficus & Snail Terrarium

[chuckwc1]

This is a small bio active terrarium, with a tiny ficus forest. It has 5 land snails from my backyard, that have been doing well for the past 7 months. A bit unconventional, but very fun. The ficus are not very well developed, but I’m hopeful that I can slowly improve them.

 

[It's Kev]

Nice, I put one together just a few weeks ago with 2 different species of random ferns and my VFT was looking poorly so I planted that in there too

P.S. I don’t keep actual trees in mine because it’s indoors and lighting isn’t optimal, so I stick to the fern and moss. also, a tree will be messy if it needs to be repotted or if you wanna remove it at any time

 

[chlorine-queen]

Nice, I put one together just a few weeks ago with 2 different species of random ferns and my VFT was looking poorly so I planted that in there too
View attachment 466391
P.S. I don’t keep actual trees in mine because it’s indoors and lighting isn’t optimal, so I stick to the fern and moss. also, a tree will be messy if it needs to be repotted or if you wanna remove it at any time

So the thing with VFTs is that they actually require dormancy during winter, which may be the reason it’s not looking too great if it’s kept in a growing state when it’s meant to be dormant. They also need nutrient poor soil like peat moss (no fertilizer) and water that’s low in minerals.

The jar looks great with or without the VFT, but if you’re looking for a carnivorous plant that doesn’t need dormancy I highly recommend cape sundews. Pretty much all carnivores require soil and water that’s low in nutrients/minerals, but cape sundews and similar species are a lot less finicky than others

 

[It's Kev]

So the thing with VFTs is that they actually require dormancy during winter, which may be the reason it’s not looking too great if it’s kept in a growing state when it’s meant to be dormant. They also need nutrient poor soil like peat moss (no fertilizer) and water that’s low in minerals.

The jar looks great with or without the VFT, but if you’re looking for a carnivorous plant that doesn’t need dormancy I highly recommend cape sundews. Pretty much all carnivores require soil and water that’s low in nutrients/minerals, but cape sundews and similar species are a lot less finicky than others

The small VFT has improved, I’m actually surprised. As for the water though, it all collects in the bottom of the substrate so the ecosystem gets watered via reverse osmosis, and that’s actually what they need.

When spring comes I’ll put it in its own container again. The big one is still outside, but for now I expect the leaves to all die, so I’ll just keep it moist, ooooorrrr just pop it in the fridge to prevent any accidental growth if it heats up before spring

 

[Chosennugget]

Those are so cute!! These are my ants eating a piece of chocolate. The queen flew into my apartment one day and I decided to keep her for fun and surprise! There are just some sad pieces of moss and an african violet in this glass bulb.

 

[luvinthemountains]

I might try a cutting of ficus too little in my snail terrarium. I have struggled getting other things established because the snails munch on new shoots of tender tropicals.