I released mammals into my Giant Rainforest Canopy Vivarium and observed the result. Orchadia, home to an ecosystem of plants, fungi, and animals was ready for the introduction of mammals, and so I added in three microsquirrels (a.k.a African Dormice), arboreal rodents that eat insects. I was worried they might eat everything in sight and cause an ecosystem collapse. This experiment proved to reveal some unexpected results. Hope you enjoy this Season 4, Episode 13 of my Ecosystem Vivarium Series. Ant love forever!
I Added Mammals into My Giant Rainforest Tree Vivarium
This is about to be the most insane addition to my grand biological project.
This is Arcadia—my giant 10-ft long canopy ecosystem vivarium.
Stunning, isn’t it? It’s an ecosystem simulation of life up in the trees of a cloud rainforest, with tons of invertebrates, fungi, plants, tree frogs, geckos, and even huntsman spiders who all call this canopy home.
Now, I’ve been waiting patiently since last year for Arcadia’s ecosystem to develop enough to support some very key players in healthy rainforest ecosystems: mammals. And today was the big…
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…day. The prey insects and other creatures of the canopy had no idea what was coming.
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Dearest mammals, don’t be scared.
Promise—where you’re going will blow your minds.
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Welcome to…
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…Arcadia.
May its branches embrace you.
Run free, and eat all you…
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…wish.
Please subscribe to my channel and hit the bell icon. Welcome to the AC fam. Enjoy!
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I placed the holding container of the three young micro squirrels into Arcadia and removed the lid.
The poor rodents were quivering in fear.
Also known as African dormice, these kind of look like mice with bushy tails, but aren’t actually mice—and as I was soon about to learn—are very different from any rodent I’ve ever kept.
I was so curious to see how these micro squirrels would integrate into our rainforest.
Where would they sleep? Would they wreak havoc in the canopy, eating every creature and plant in sight?
Would they crawl down the vines, down the connecting glass bridge, and explore Pandora—our giant cloud rainforest floor vivarium below?
I couldn’t wait to see and observe how the introduction of mammals would affect our great rainforest ecosystem.
“Is he gone?” Dora thought to herself. Her ears listened as she gazed up into the expanse of foliage above them. She began to sniff around.
Dora was the youngest of the bunch—just 3 months old. She’s got a medium amount of white, and you’ll be able to identify her from the others by her gray fur with lack of a white ring around the base of the tail.
In that pile, there are two unrelated micro squirrels. The one on the left with a wild-type brownish coloration is the oldest of the group—a 6-month-old female I’ve named Dorothy.
And beside her, a high-white 4-month-old male I’ve named Theodore, identifiable by a ring around the base of his tail.
These were all young, captive-bred micro squirrels, and I made sure to get them young because I needed them to adapt to life in our rainforest early in their lives.
I’ve been researching this species since I first began this project, and I knew not to be fooled by the cute faces and wood shavings they were nestled in.
These were not like pet mice, gerbils, or hamsters. Mentally and instinctually, these micro squirrels were still very much wild animals.
And suddenly, Dorothy, the eldest, hopped up onto the edge and wandered out into the bushes.
Makes sense that the oldest was the boldest.
She had never before experienced such a huge space. She approached the deep chasm and looked down.
“Hm, what’s down there?”
I held my breath. Would she wander down?
Oh—nope. She turned around to explore the area some more.
The other two were reluctant to join her.
It actually helped that she had tufts of white on her tail to aid in spotting her easily through the confusion of branches and vines.
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Dora grew concerned.
Their friend hadn’t returned—disappearing into the darkness of the forest beyond their safety container.
“Do you think she’s okay?”
“I sure hope so.”
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I also couldn’t find where Dorothy had gone, but I trusted her instincts would guide her as she explored Arcadia.
There was only one creature I could think of that could possibly harm her.
Arcadia was home to giant huntsman spiders, but I doubted they would prey on a creature of her size.
And being that micro squirrels are actually insectivorous, I was concerned she might eat all the huntsmen in sight.
Only time would tell.
There were plenty of things the micro squirrels could eat in Arcadia.
There’s Candy—one of our longtime weevil beetles, whom we’ve had since last year.
A longhorn beetle, also an Arcadian OG.
Various bagworm cocoons hanging all around, and plenty of prey insects—like this cricket feasting on the top bromeliad.
Arcadia was actually the perfect habitat for micro squirrels because their home requirements in captivity are more like an arboreal reptile setup than, say, your average mouse setup.
They require a vertical, tall terrarium with climbing branches, and are from the tropics, so they require high humidity and warmth with places to hide.
And well—Arcadia was basically all that on steroids.
It was as close to a recreation of their native wild habitat as one could get.
They’re also social animals, which is why I chose three for now.
And in a recent poll, the majority of you voted for four or more individuals, but I figured let’s just get three for now—because I’m pretty sure soon we’ll have babies, and this colony of micro squirrels will grow.
Plus, I wanted to break mammals into our rainforest ecosystem gradually and monitor for signs of ecological collapse.
Dorothy still had not returned.
“That’s it—I’m going to find her.”
I watched as Theodore jumped up and crawled out of the container and began to sniff the area for her scent.
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“So… are you coming or no?”
Okay—and he was off.
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A movement up in the highest point of Arcadia caught my eye, and it was there that I spotted Dorothy.
Ha! Makes sense that she would find the uppermost area of the canopy to hang out.
Theodore was still way down at floor level trying to find her.
She loved it up here and began to clean herself.
I wondered if she could see the young huntsman…
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…nearby. I would be scared if I were her—the spider, I mean.
She left to continue exploring.
Dora still refused to explore and stayed put, as I watched her two friends go about their shenanigans—exploring Arcadia’s various wild and intriguing spaces.
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“Come out! This place is crazy!”
“Nope.”
Theodore loved exploring the lower areas.
As for Dorothy, she truly loved it up here.
She had the best vantage point and could see her two friends below from where she stood.
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I watched as Dorothy began to groom and clean herself.
Cleanliness was key to survival in the rainforest.
Out here were microscopic creatures, fungi, and dirt.
They would no longer be living in sterile wood shavings, but I could already tell their wild instincts were kicking in.
I admired the beautiful softness of her coat.
Theodore had already discovered the massive tree trunk, and it wasn’t long before the two were happily reunited.
It was such a hoot watching them play and explore Arcadia together again.
Their white tails helping me see them…
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Heat… heat…
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…heat… heat…
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And then I spotted Dorothy doing this.
She was curious again about these wooden vines that descended down into some other world below.
“Hm, I wonder what’s down there?”
I held my breath.
Would the bravest of the group dare go…
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…down?
Nope.
Her squirrely senses were telling her to stay up here for now, and she disappeared to explore some more.
It didn’t look like she was interested in eating crickets, as she passed up the opportunity to eat this huge one.
Now I wanted to quickly address something that I’ve been asked a lot by you guys—and that is:
Why create a whole separate canopy vivarium with soil at the bottom joined by a thin glass bridge, when you could have just created one huge two-story tall vivarium through the floor and just have the canopy vivarium be bottomless, with whole trees growing from Pandora up into Arcadia level?
And the answer to that is:
When I first created Pandora—the rainforest floor vivarium—I did not anticipate I’d ever be creating more vivariums, let alone connected ones.
And due to structural beams running through the top of Pandora, drilling through the floor was not possible.
So, the glass bridge through Arcadia was improvised after the fact.
By the way, as a side note—those of you following the channel know that I’ve been building a second glass bridge joining Pandora and, ultimately, Arcadia to the third giant vivarium, Hydromeda.
And I’m pleased to announce that it should be finally ready by next week, and I can’t wait for you guys to see what I have planned.
I’m stoked for this great connection event of our three vivariums.
Now, about the soil in Arcadia…
Soily areas like this actually do exist in the canopy, as leaf litter and decomposing matter collect in various areas of the treetops—like hollows and forks of branches—creating a rich compost that a lot of plant and animal life in the canopy depend on.
So, Arcadia’s soil level here would exist in the canopy in nature.
But as happily as Dorothy and Theodore were settling in, Dora was still reluctant to leave the safety of the enclosure.
Poor Dora.
As the youngest, she probably was scared and confused.
To think that she was born in captivity and just as she was starting to get into her groove—she’s thrust into a totally new home and situation.
New smells, sights, and sounds.
It must have been a lot for a young micro squirrel like her.
I decided to move in and do something I normally wouldn’t do, which was go in with my finger and let her know everything would be okay.
As a 4-month-old, she remembers most what life was like with her parents.
I stroked her, trying to emulate a loving parent grooming her—especially around the ears.
I wasn’t sure if that would help, and it probably didn’t, but after over three decades of keeping animals, I’ve learned that positive experiences with human interaction—especially while young—is key to a calmer animal when older.
Dora would remember for the rest of her life the giant hand that came in and gave her a gentle grooming while leaving her unharmed.
I also hoped she would remember this gift: a pre-crushed cricket.
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I watched to see if she would accept.
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It looks like it was a no for now.
I decided I would come back later to check up on her and see if she ate it and/or decided to join her two friends and explore her new place.
I hoped she would eat it soon—before something else in the canopy comes along to scoop it up.
Red ants.
The resident invasive, stinging species of arboreal ants grew excited over the smell of food not too far away.
These red ants have long resided in these treetops and had a taste for protein of all kinds.
As Dora crawled up to go to sleep, the red ants had followed their antennae into the holding container and soon found exactly what they were looking for.
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Dora was asleep.
And so were the other two micro squirrels, as they were crepuscular animals—meaning they’re awake at dusk and dawn.
And it was officially morning in the ant room.
While many creatures of the rainforest were just getting up after a long night’s snooze—for these micro squirrels, it was bedtime.
I came back to Arcadia hours later to check up on Dora.
And I smiled to see that the container had been vacated—and not without having chomped a few bites off our cricket gift before leaving.
The three micro squirrels were now sleeping somewhere in Arcadia’s woods, but I knew the real action would happen once they wake up for their second round of activity come nightfall.
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Night fell in Arcadia, and the mists blanketed the foliage in such an ethereal way.
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The beams of moonlight streaming through the trees created such a spiritual ambiance to welcome the rainforest’s nighttime creatures.
The insects were out.
The acrobat ants—the Crematogaster—raced along the woodwork with their gasters raised high above their heads, ready to spray formic acid at any enemy crossing their path.
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It was actually a big night for the acrobat ants, as it was their nuptial flight season—where new virgin queen ants would emerge to mate with males to start new acrobat ant colonies around the forest.
It was also the witching hour for these highly prized prey insects—roaches.
They were everywhere.
And I couldn’t wait to see if we could catch the micro squirrels feeding on this night.
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Hey look—it’s Dora!
Happy she finally warmed up to the place.
And there’s Theodore!
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Theodore decided to head down to ground level.
There’s Dorothy—and she thought she saw a roach but couldn’t quite figure out where it went.
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Now, from my understanding, hunting wasn’t something they’ve had to do in their short lifetimes, as food was delivered right to their cages in feeding bowls since birth at the breeders.
I was certain this hunting thing was new for them, but I needed to know they were actually catching food—because if not, they would not survive Arcadian life.
I watched wide-eyed as the micro squirrels wandered the forest, foraging and hunting for…
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…food.
Heat… heat…
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I couldn’t tell if the micro squirrels had caught anything, as they love being in areas of thick cover.
But there were moments where I thought they had captured some prey.
Heat… heat…
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Eventually, after several hours of watching them, they suddenly disappeared and were nowhere to be found.
The micro squirrels had finished their sunset shift and had headed back to bed.
So strange that their awake time was so short—essentially divided into two parts in a 24-hour cycle.
But so was the crepuscular life, I guess.
I was a bit bummed out that I didn’t get to see the micro squirrels eating insects, which was probably the number one thing I was expecting and hoping to see.
And again—I needed to see them eat.
It was late, so I too went to bed, not knowing that soon I’d be making a very cool discovery.
So, it’s been several days that I’ve been keeping and watching these micro squirrels in action.
And here are some of the things I’ve learned:
First—they are super shy and won’t truly come out unless it’s dark.
And though they don’t mind seeing me hovering around, they prefer to emerge when I’m further from the glass.
And most times, they refuse to show their faces when I attempt to go in with my light to capture them on film.
Also, with them being crepuscular, one has to be up either super early in the morning—like 4 or 5 a.m.—or spot them around human dinnertime at sunset.
Because of this, though micro squirrels have started to become available in the pet trade, I don’t feel these rodents make great pets for most people who long to have a cute furry companion they can hold and bond with.
Take it from me—you’re better off with a pet rat. Not kidding.
These micro squirrels are more of a hands-off, admire-through-glass type of animal.
Still quite wild, with a natural fear of people and large animals—as they should be.
I mean, they’re prey creatures, and a ton of predators in the forest are out to eat them.
So of course, they’re naturally wired to be fearful.
Second—the micro squirrels still haven’t wandered down into Pandora and generally choose to stay close to their main tree trunk.
Perhaps this is due to their slow-to-trust tendencies, which again is a survival trait.
Perhaps one day they will summon up enough courage to explore Pandora.
And my bet is—it will be our bravest, Dorothy, to be the first to wander down the glass bridge.
Third thing I’ve learned about them is that—unlike mice, who will eat anything in sight—the micro squirrels seem to be pickier with their food, leaving the larger creatures alone.
They’re also not big chewers like rats and mice are, so they don’t go around gnawing on wood and plants (thank God).
They certainly don’t bother other vertebrates like the tree frogs, whom I still see out every night doing their thing.
Kermit here doesn’t seem fazed at all by the presence of the micro squirrels around.
And hey—what’s that?
Well, well, well—it’s Dorothy!
And she was eating!
How awesome.
Upon closer inspection, I realized she had captured a young Dubia cockroach and was devouring it like a burger.
She also didn’t seem to mind me getting all up in her face with my light to film her—which I appreciated a lot.
I was happy to know the micro squirrels were successfully hunting and catching food in the canopy.
When she was done, she climbed up to her favorite spot and went to sleep for the night—in a concave hollow big enough for just her.
“Will you quit it with that light? I’m trying to sleep here,” she asserted, hoping I would go away already.
“All right, all right Dorothy—I’m going.”
You’re just too cute. Teen girls are just so feisty.
As a periodic scheduled ecosystem event, I’ll also be scattering different seeds, dried and fresh fruit and veg all around the forest to encourage natural foraging behaviors.
Food materials like these would be found throughout the canopy layer as a result of naturally occurring events anyway.
The banyan trees of Arcadia are also fruit-bearing, producing cool berries that the micro squirrels can eat.
Meanwhile, these micro squirrels would offer great value to our ecosystem—not only as insectivores but also as mass producers of fertilizer for the plants.
Being warm-blooded animals, their demand for food is greater than that of all other creatures in our forest.
And because they eat a lot, they poop a lot—which adds nutrients to the compost areas of the canopy and helps the plants that grow in them.
Overall, though it’s still early to tell for sure, for now, adding the micro squirrels seems to not have upturned the rainforest ecosystem like I thought it might.
Let’s see if that still holds true as their group of three grows into a large micro squirrel colony of many.
And as it does—I couldn’t wait to learn more about these fascinating and largely unknown rodents of the trees.
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Hang tight, Valentino.
Your time will come.
Everything is going exactly as planned.
Heat… heat…
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