#isopod care

[venusforfran]

cubaris sp "Cappuccino" Isopods

Utterly wonderful

[yayornaypolls]

Isopods yay or nay

Aka:

butchyboys butcher-boys pillbugs rollypolies sowbugs woodlice slaters fancy-ants dwarf-armadillos doodle-bug potato-bug cressbug rock slater

it tried to autocorrect to iPods smh🤦

Op is currently away, and will not see your messages until they are back on July 27❤❤❤

[serowebs]

hey so I am incredibly new to isopod keeping and I got my first few isopods less than a week ago

they are rubber ducky isopods wich I know are not the best starter option however I still wanted to give it a shot since their general set ups and husbandry to some extend don't vary that severely to a tarantulas for example

now uh- cam anyone maybe explain what's going on with this lad? idk if those are babies because aside from springtails [wich I wanna very strongly bet are not those little entities-] there shouldn't be any other life forms at all in the little enclosure they have so uh- help pls? :,)

[potato-cat-999]

Porcellio Scaber

[jaybug-jabbers]

Just some notes I am making for myself!!

Isopod Shopping List:

✔️ Glass aquarium/vivarium (ensure lid has fine mesh to keep out pests; a lid that's partially glass will make it easier to maintain humidity)

✔️ Humidity gauge/thermometer (50-60%, 70-85 degrees F)

✔️ Bark 'hides' and (safe) decorative pieces; cork bark is common

✔️ Squirt bottle for misting

✔️ Substrate (common ones: topsoil, coco fiber, coco chips, sand, charcoal, small pieces of bark/wood, sphagnum moss; the moss helps retain moisture and thus is handy but don't use too much; ensure the soil used has no fertilizer beads or other 'extras' in it):

✔️ Topsoil/Potting Soil

✔️ Worm castings

✔️ Fir Bark Chips

✔️ Charcoal

✔️ Sphagnum Moss

✔️ Dead leaves (primary food source; some people boil or bake them to sterilize but others don't; a variety of leaf types will work; some commonly used ones include maple, oak, birch, elm, cottonwood, etc; thinner leaves and older, more 'rotten' leaves are tastiest to them, but be sure to inspect for mold or hitchhikers; provide plenty of leaves in a layer over the whole tank)

Additional dead organic matter can include seed pods such as magnolia pods, lichen, or other goodies

✔️ Nutrient-rich foods (secondary food source; a variety of things can be used including fish flakes, dried bloodworms, dried shrimp, small pieces of produce scraps, specialized products such as Repashy Morning Wood and Repashy Bug Burger, etc) to be provided in very small amounts that can be eaten quickly and any excess removed before it molds; experiment to see how long it takes for them to consume it and what they prefer to eat

✔️ Cuttlebone (broken up) may be provided if desired for extra calcium

Springtails may be added to help control mold and pests

Isopod Care Notes:

Some keepers have a 'damp' side and a 'drier' side to allow the isopods to regulate their own preferences; sphagnum moss works good for the damp side, and situate a vent by the dry side if possible

Heat should not be needed unless your room is especially cool

Most keepers prefer deep substrate for the isopods to burrow, but some prefer shallower substrate so they can keep track of their stock better (they use a compacted substrate layer and place a looser, shallower burrowing layer on top)

Substrate does not need to be changed often but every few months is a good idea to refresh its nutrients and remove excess frass & ammonia buildup

Exact environmental preferences will depend on the species of isopod; while their needs are often very similar it's important to always double-check about your exact species

Isopods will reproduce readily (females carry the eggs in their bodies and will give 'birth' to live isopods) and the little babbies (mancae) start off very teeny so be careful when you're cleaning

Invert keepers have bred a TON of varieties of isopods, at differing 'difficulty' and price levels; make sure you are purchasing isopods that have been bred in captivity and not poached from the wild; and obviously never release pets into the wild

Some Beginner Isopods & Pretty Color Morphs:

Armadillidium nasatum (Nosy Pillbug): Peach, Orange, White Out/Pearl

Armadillidium vulgare (Roly-Poly): Orange Vigor, St. Lucia, Magic Potion

Porcellio scaber (Rough Woodlouse): Dalmation, Orange Koi, Lava

Porcellio laevis (Swift Woodlouse): Dairy Cow

Cubaris murina (Little Sea Isopod): Anemone, Glacier

Questions for Sellers:

Opinions on enclosures, especially with regards to maintaining proper moisture and airflow

Opinions on where to safely collect leaf litter (esp this time of year), boiling to sterilize (potential nutrition loss)

Species

Where do you get your isopods?

[catis15]

Got my first ever ispods today! I got 10 of the little guys!

This is their little enclosure! I have some cotton on the top to help with humidity, dust, and escapees

They are porcellio scaber orange dalmatians and will eventually be moved into a terrarium of mine once the colony is bigger.

What is inside the closure:

- toilet paper tube

- dead tree and fern leaves

- potting soil

- spangum moss

- a dried daisy stalk (please tell me if this is not ok!!)

- a feeding powder (bought it from the same place I got these little guys has some pea powder eggshells and other stuff)

- tiny bit of charcoal

- tiny bit of sand and pebbles

- hay

- guinea pig droppings

- Betta food (because I have a betta fish and it was easy to just drop some of her pellets in there, I also have shrimp food for cherry shrimp if anyone thinks that would be a good addition)

- while they have not arrived yet I also have some springtails on the way as well to help with cleanup :)

As I said this is my first time ever doing this and I'm open to any advice!!

[dandyghest]

ONE MORE QUESTION FOR YOU (aside from my reblog) how do you know if they have parasites or mites or a disease or if it’s just a new morph? i live in australia so a new morph would be VERY cool to have because we can’t import anything

It depends on the isopod breed, but the general thing to do is just observe carefully! If they start turning blue, it may be iridovirus (https://www.reddit.com/r/isopods/comments/12h651g/variation_in_how_iridovirus_appears_in_photos/), but I haven't had that happen thus far and afaik it's rather rare.

If they have mites, you will be able to see them! Soil mites and similar are annoying, but just ensure you sterilize anything from outside and don't leave veggies to rot and you should be alright!

If isopods start dying, check for tiny mites in the bin (different from springtails! springtails are helpful!) and check your humidity/moisture levels as well as where you're sourcing your food from (pesticides on leaves from outside or veggies are a pain and can wipe out your population). If it's none of those reasons, then you'll have to troubleshoot - maybe isolate the dead ones and check that there isn't anything coming out of them like nematodes or anything like that.

As long as your isopods aren't turning blue, then you should be okay and may have new morphs! You can work on selectively breeding them (keep females and males with specific visible traits together away from the rest to reproduce with each other) to get new morphs :] Good luck !!!

[bugthingsdaily]

today's bug thing is this giant isopod phone case!

[rysttle]

Everyones posting their art fight attacks so i wanna post my first 3 here xD

First attack for @beholding-moth (ellyGhost on AF) just,,, immediately attacking with a sad piece lol

Second attack for @northstarfeukren (feukren on AF) !!! Monke :D

And then one more for @og-doeiika (doeiika on AF)

More attacks to come!!!!!! :D

[crevicedwelling]

things I do for my isopods: take an entire leaf pile and soak them for several days to leach tannins out, then dry them flat and snip off the inedible stems so they store nice and settle well in isopod tubs.

all probably not majorly necessary but I find it very satisfying to offer my animals the cleanest, tastiest food possible even if it takes hours of work. it’s sort of fun too to stockpile massive amounts of “hay,” and I never have bought leaf litter once

[sky-daddy-hates-me]

This person says they're anti-israel and pro-palestine. They say they believe the human rights media when it comes to Israel's genocide yet they claim they're unreliable when the same media outlets point out the human rights abuses in West Papua by Indonesia.

If you only believe that countries that aren't your own are capable of breaching international humanitarian law, committing genocide, and colonisation, then your blind loyalty to your government will be your undoing.

[senselessalchemist]

May again.........

[spookyspoonz]

HEY GUYS I NEED HELP!

I recently came into the possession of a giant millipede, multiple small millis, and twenty or so (probably more...) isopods. About 10 of them are giant canyon isopods. PLEASE HELP ME LEARN HOW TO CARE FOR THEM!

If you have any care tips pls lmk!!! I'm very new to taking care of insects and such but I have done much of my own research on how to care for them.

Currently I have all of these guys in a 15 gal tank, a heater pad is attached to one side, the soil is at an angle, lots of leaf litter and a good amount of moss, some cork and rotting wood bark, a little cork log, and a shallow water source incase it gets too dry.

I also have a humidity and temp reader I got from Runnings. I've been giving them ground up egg shells for calcium and some potatoes peels and a cucumber slice for extra nourishment.

The layers in the tank are as follows:

- some small pebbles for drainage

- coco coir

- mixture of peat-based substrate from the store, some work casting organic fertilizer, and more coco coir

- leaf litter and moss

This is what it looks like ^^

It's placed in a generly dark area.

The millipedes name is Cranberry btw!!

(tw sh scars)

And these are the little goobers:

QUESTIONS I HAVE:

- How many insects can I put in one 15 gal tank?? How many isopods? Are there issues between them coexisting? I heard eggs might get eaten and if they aren't fed enough calcium they will try to eat eachother.

- Am I grinding up the egg shells enough? Are the peices too big? When I have the money I might just get cuttlefish bone but it can get pricy.

- How often should I clean??? I heard somewhere once a month but if it's a terrarium and not a singular creature and it's more of an ecosystem should I leave it alone other than feeding and spraying water n stuff?

- Can/should I put earthworms in the terrarium? What about snails/slugs? Would they be harmful or helpful?

UPDATE 5/11/24:

- I found a tiny spider guy in there. Is he chill??

[darks-lair]

Gouache bugs

Scanned version

[potato-cat-999]

Gray zebra isopod morph!!! Also my springtails are proliferating nicely and the zebras have babieessss!!!!! Eek!

[jaybug-jabbers]

I feel as though the most controversial thing I've read about so far in isopod keeping is whether or not to boil/bake the leaves you collect before giving them to your isopods. So many folks saying you REALLY should do that to avoid introducing hitchhikers or other undesirables, but a good chunk of folks also saying it's a terrible idea because it kills micronutrients and just makes it easier for the leaves to get excessively moldy

(A good chunk of people also are in Team Freeze Your Leaves camp)

I bought some leaves online because my yard is brand new & has no leaves, and I don't know if my local areas spray insecticides or not. The leaves were baked/heat treated, according to the packaging.

A lot of them do seem to have blotches of a fuzzy black mold, though. Or . . . something else. Not sure.

I read mixed info about mold, too; it's normal and unavoidable and indeed isopods may even gleefully munch it down, but too much mold in an enclosure might become a nuisance. So, not sure if I should be worried or if I am overthinking and should just put the @#^& leaves in my tank already.

Photo of the mold (or something) in question, behind a cut for the trypophobic: