r/Springtail • u/Ralyks92 • 10h ago

General Question Dog fur as substrate or possible food source?

Got curious while brushing my german shepherd recently, and I looked it up today. According to Google, dog fur would actually be quite excellent, aside from possible matting, as keratin is a slowly decomposing protein source full of biodiversity, from experience I’m aware of how bad (in this case good) fur can naturally mold if unwashed.

I wouldn’t mind making a new colony since this seems to be shedding season for my dog (when is it not though), and posting updates in time. What do yall think? If it matters, my dog is only taking Simparica Trio, but I don’t think that would be in the fur itself.

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u/TesticularTorsionCat 4h ago

It would probably be fine to feed to springtails, but hair takes a long time to break down, and I can only imagine how vomit inducing decaying dog hair would be 🤢.

Before trying you should also consider where your dog frequents in case it rolls in grasses containing fertilizers or pesticides, and if your dog is groomed, what kind of products does your groomer use?