#some small isopod colonies with cool morphs

[fyanimaldiversity]

how does it feel to be the greatest

Feels like having hypnagogic hallucinations in rapid succession so vividly you have no idea what is going on, you are just there for the ride!

Thank you! I literally just really like looking at pictures of cool animals and get a huge kick out of people’s reactions to those cool animals, it’s nothing special c: . It makes my day seeing people’s commentaries!

#mod talk #I love you #i love animals #I have three snakes with cool morphs #some small isopod colonies with cool morphs #also one man (elderly black/tan shiba inu) #and tarantulas and beetles (no morphs but are just as cool) #and my house is full of dead things #some of which have cool morphs #or are specific breeds/subspecies #my apartment is animals #I will for sure sneak in pics of my pets if given the chance #they are very cool

[lsopod]

How would one get into keeping isopods, and how would one keep them in an enclosure?

What a great question!

Let's start with acquiring a culture/colony of isopods.

You can get them most places. Under logs, stones, flower pots even. Most of these are going to be your basic Armadillidium. If you harvest from the wild, you'll want to try and replicate the environment you found them in (think: is it damp? Soil type--sandy, loamy, etc)

If you don't want to harvest from the wild there are other means. You can order cultures online or find them at reptile expos/conventions. These will provide you with morphological options and with those options you'll need to research their best care. For example desert canyons are more drought tolerant.

Choose any species or morph you'd like! I'd steer clear of expensive morphs until you feel confident in your isopod keeping experience, though.

So you've chosen your isopod, now how does one make the enclosure?

I keep mine in handy Tupperware (plastic containers). I like see through ones so I can keep an eye on soil moisture.

Something like this does just fine. Poke or drill some air holes if you don't plan on opening the lid often, so the airflow keeps mold from forming (alternatively adding a culture of springtails will help manage fungi and mold).

Here's my setup for my desert canyons:

In here I have soil with NO fertilizers (specifically topsoil. It's like 2 bucks a bag at Lowes/home depot/Ace), cocofiber (helps keep moisture up, you can find it in the reptile section of petstores), and sphagnum moss (garden center lowes/HD, $6 in my area). With some sticks for chewing on. It's a bit of a bigger container because I want to grow a big colony so I can put some in bioactive reptile enclosures. Some people will mix sand into it too but I haven't found a need for it.

I digress.

Some people go fancier and put them in lovely glass terrariums and put plants in too and that's fine. I keep them in plastic containers because it's cheaper, takes up less space, and holds moisture in better (terrariums tend to have mesh tops, but you can find glass tops too).

They won't really escape if you keep the dirt and decor away from the lid. If you poke holes in the container I'd make them close to the top. Like this (my dubia roach container).

Soil moisture??

Yes! Isopods breath through gills and require humid conditions. Some species are more tolerant to drier conditions, but they'll still need some water! Deeper substrate prevents fast evaporation, keeping the enclosure humid longer.

And speaking of water, because of their gilled anatomy they don't really need a water bowl. If you provide one, and the enclosure gets too dry, they'll get in the water dish and drown. If you happen to house them with animals (like reptiles!) that require a water bowl, I recommend putting a rock in it so they can get out safely.

Ok I've got my enclosure and I've got my isopods, so now what do I feed them?

Isopods are detritivores. Meaning they eat decaying organic material. So, yeah, they'll munch on those twigs you threw in there, but it's also good to throw in the occasional slice of vegetable.

They also like anything rich in calcium and keratin. So things like freeze dried shrimp (fish food), the occasional piece or two of dog kibble to make sure a balance of nutrients are available to them, etc. Just be careful with fish food and kibble, these have grains that could attract grain mites. (They're harmless, but still annoying) I only feed a tiny bit and very occasionally.

Some isopod owners even go out of their way to buy Repashy Bug Burger for their 'pods. It's kind of pricey though, compared to offering them food scraps and the like.

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Aaaaand I think that's it? It's a lot of information, but ultimately their care is easy and they don't take up a lot of space! Watching them crawl around is pretty cool too :)

I may do a small video version of this since it's a long infodump of a post ^^;

#isopods #resources #asks #answered