# isopod care/breeding



## alexi (Jun 17, 2009)

looking for a solid care/breeding guide for isopods.  specifically typical gestation period, not knowing what species (I don't know what kinds I have and I want some idea as to how much time per generation - if its too long I'd just buy a species with a short gestation period).  I live in virginia if that helps, and I have a couple kinds.


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## texasroach (Jun 19, 2009)

just stick them in a dark plastic tub with a large pice of rotting wood and some dirt


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## Matt K (Jun 19, 2009)

A photo of what you have would help...

...like many bugs culturing them starts off slow, and the more you have the more often youi have various ages and stages of growth.  Properly cared for they take off quickly.  "Gestation" times vary depending on husbandry conditions.


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## SeanJo (Jun 19, 2009)

if you are collecting them from outside and around your home, chances are you will scoop up at least 1 gravid female.  put them in moist substrate in a cool, dark place with rotting wood and leaf litter and they should thrive easily.  I have read that if the adult isopods do not get a well balanced diet that includes dead leaves that the babies will suffer for it because they feed on the adults' frass(poop) while young.  I just grab leaves/wood from around where I gathered the isopods and have never had any problems.


**added link**

here's a link to a thread that came up a while back where I posted a few pics of the colony i had, just for a general idea of the environment they will thrive in.  the only thing wrong with those pictures is that there should be more leaf litter in there, but i can hardly keep up with them as it is, they take those leaves down to nothing pretty fast

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=1398673


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## alexi (Jun 20, 2009)

SeanJo said:


> if you are collecting them from outside and around your home, chances are you will scoop up at least 1 gravid female.  put them in moist substrate in a cool, dark place with rotting wood and leaf litter and they should thrive easily.  I have read that if the adult isopods do not get a well balanced diet that includes dead leaves that the babies will suffer for it because they feed on the adults' frass(poop) while young.  I just grab leaves/wood from around where I gathered the isopods and have never had any problems.
> 
> 
> **added link**
> ...


how long did the babies in those pics take to mature?  I do have babies already, but they look like they'd take a long time to grow up they're so tiny.  what's the lifespan on these guys like?  years?  Also, I just put them in a tupperware with bedabeast (sp?) substrate with some oats and some forest moss.  The oats got mold on them really fast, and I think they're eating both the mold and the moss.  I was hesitant to put in regular rotting wood I  found with them because I want to limit the number of organisms in there - is that a waste of time?  Thanks for the responses keep em coming I want to find out all I can about raising these guys as tank cleaners.


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## Autumnvicky (Jun 20, 2009)

Grab a thick branch or rotten piece of wood for them to hide under, some dirt/sand for them to dig in and some dead leaves to eat. Their omnivores, their not picky about what they eat. I completely understand why you want to keep other organisms out. I found a centipede in my container once, scared the heck out of me. Their may be a way to treat the wood to kill other organisms before giving it to the pill bugs. Boiling it, baking it, I never tried those methods though.

Mist more than once daily to keep the dead leaves and branch moist. They don't need a standing body of water as long as you mist them enough. Their crustaceans, related to lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. They have gills. They really need the moisture. 

You're likely to never see them eat as they have tiny mouths and don't eat much. What you may see is them dipping their tails into water. They drink that way. They shed their skin one half at a time so you may see one half dark shell and one half shiny shell. It's how they grow.

If you look at the underside of a pill bug you may notice a bulging yellow belly on some of them, that would be a pouch full of babies. The babies start out as small as a grain of sand, _small_. They all come out of the pouch at once and there are lots of them. Don't change the substrate often.

Pill bugs have been known to live for many years, once you have adult females their not going to just die off as long as you keep their container moist. I don't know how to sex them, I just looked for pregnant females and that's how I told them apart. 

Floor space is more important than height, If they get too crowded I heard they'll eat the shells of molting pill bugs. I had no problem with mine though.

Here's a video that helped me out a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8hIZppM7cc&feature=channel_page


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## alexi (Jun 20, 2009)

Autumnvicky said:


> Grab a thick branch or rotten piece of wood for them to hide under, some dirt/sand for them to dig in and some dead leaves to eat. Their omnivores, their not picky about what they eat. I completely understand why you want to keep other organisms out. I found a centipede in my container once, scared the heck out of me. Their may be a way to treat the wood to kill other organisms before giving it to the pill bugs. Boiling it, baking it, I never tried those methods though.
> 
> Mist more than once daily to keep the dead leaves and branch moist. They don't need a standing body of water as long as you mist them enough. Their crustaceans, related to lobsters, crabs, and shrimp. They have gills. They really need the moisture.
> 
> ...


thanks that was helpful.  I live in virginia and it is HUMID here so i actually haven't had to mist very often, as far as I can tell they're doing fine, the sub is plenty moist.  I'll get them several dead leaves tomorrow.  I actually have seen them eating several times, it's pretty cool.  They seem to be doing well so far with oats.

One other really interesting thing - I just grabbed all the ones I saw when I went out for a walk, so I have several species in there.  None seem to have killed eachother, but there are two individuals who don't get along!  they actually have little mini fights!  one of them is a spaz and is constantly running around, and when he bumps into the other there's a short tussle.  I'll try to get a video of it in a couple weeks, it's pretty cool I never imagined pill bugs fighting.

if anyone knows i'd really be interested to know how long it takes for them to mature (sure it varies by species, but would it be measured in weeks, months, or years?).

also, I actually saw that video a while back, and I love it it cracks me up.


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## Autumnvicky (Jun 20, 2009)

I love the little drawings of the pill bugs he had in the movie


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## drbio (Jul 16, 2009)

*Isopod Care Guide*

We have an isopod care guide posted at the link below.

http://GiantIsopod.com/care-sheet.html


Hope this helps.


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