Isopod Experiment & Care

[Draketeeth]

For school my sibling is supposed to collect roly polies (pretty sure they're Armadillidium vulgare) and devise an experiment around them with a classmate. After some discussion, about care and substrate, and the experiment they're devising, We're turning to you for advise because neither of us are entirely brushed up on the preferences of these critters and would like to keep them alive.

The experiment currently in the works is to present the isopods with different foods and see which food is preferred.

Because of the nature of the experiment, what would be a good soil choice to house the isopods on? I've read that they do well on a mix of native soil/cocofiber with buried leaves (in this case we have a garden they're coming out of where we do not use pesticides and oak leaves), but would that provide them with too much of a food source that they wouldn't want to go after the experiment food, or are they primarily scavengers who would supplement their diets with the soil/leaf litter, and still go strong after any food placed in the container?

 

[Aquarimax]

In my experience, though Isopods can live and thrive on a diet of fallen hardwood leaves (oak leaves being one of the best) they will still be attracted to other foods (such as bits of fruits and vegetables) when leaves are plentiful.

 

[VolkswagenBug]

For school my sibling is supposed to collect roly polies (pretty sure they're Armadillidium vulgare) and devise an experiment around them with a classmate. After some discussion, about care and substrate, and the experiment they're devising, We're turning to you for advise because neither of us are entirely brushed up on the preferences of these critters and would like to keep them alive.

The experiment currently in the works is to present the isopods with different foods and see which food is preferred.

Because of the nature of the experiment, what would be a good soil choice to house the isopods on? I've read that they do well on a mix of native soil/cocofiber with buried leaves (in this case we have a garden they're coming out of where we do not use pesticides and oak leaves), but would that provide them with too much of a food source that they wouldn't want to go after the experiment food, or are they primarily scavengers who would supplement their diets with the soil/leaf litter, and still go strong after any food placed in the container?

Isopods are pretty easy to take care of. It's basically like caring for a millipede, if you've ever done that. Peter Clausen (Bugs in Cyberspace) makes great millipede substrate that should work for isopods, but he also sells isopod mix here. If you would rather, you can use the garden and oak leaves. Like Aquarimax said, they'll still eat whatever you're feeding them specifically for the experiment (assuming it's something edible). Keep the substrate and air very moist by misting and using a cage with lower ventilation.

 

[Draketeeth]

Like Aquarimax said, they'll still eat whatever you're feeding them specifically for the experiment (assuming it's something edible).

Yeah, it's edible. To my knowledge they're seeing if the polies have a food preference between fruits, veggies, and a processed food (probably fish food). Not sure though how they plan on giving out the foods to tell how much of each has been eaten.

They're thinking the fresh food is going to be more popular, I'm all in on the fish food being the winning choice.

Isopods are pretty easy to take care of. It's basically like caring for a millipede, if you've ever done that. Peter Clausen (Bugs in Cyberspace) makes great millipede substrate that should work for isopods, but he also sells isopod mix here.

I have a millipede! Bugs in Cyberspace is where I get my substrate for it. Love the stuff, it has done really well for my millipede.

 

[LawnShrimp]

I keep my isopods on fine sifted cocofiber, decaying wood shavings, native soil, and shredded dead oak leaves. Your setup sounds fine to me though. Cucumber and zucchini are favorite foods of both millipedes and isopods.

A common experiment with isopods is to make half of their container wet and leave half dry, place a hide on both, and see which one is favorable to the isopods. (A. vulgare can handle surprisingly dry environments, but they likely will favor the wet side.)

Depending on how long you have for an experiment, you could even try breeding a color morph. If you look carefully in places where isopods are common, you may find an orange or other differently colored isopods. Collect as many morphs as you can and isolate them. Within a month at most, they will have reproduced and with luck the babies will be orange also.