# Isopod breeding



## EulersK (Mar 6, 2017)

Before I get going, the species in question is P. scaber "Orange", and they all seem to be doing just fine. I've got a small colony of about 50 individuals of varying stages. My issue is that they don't seem to be breeding at all. I've had this culture for about two months now, and I can't say that I've seen a noticeable increase in numbers. They're housed along with tropical white springtails, and of course the springtails are multiplying like mad. How long is the breeding cycle on isopods? I would have thought that they'd breed much, much quicker.

I know that it's not ideal, but I've been feeding them dead leaves from a houseplant I've got. They are certainly eating it, so until I can make it up to the mountain to gather some proper leaf litter, this will have to do. Could this be the culprit?













P. scaber



__ EulersK
__ Feb 12, 2017
__ 1



						The beginning of something beautiful. Also, play "spot the springtail" in this picture!


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## SlugPod (Mar 6, 2017)

If you don't have any leaf litter in there currently, that could be the issue. 
Isopods more or less need leaf litter in order to breed. 
I, last week? Two weeks ago now? Got some P. Scaber "Dalmatian" and have already noticed babies. I have leaf litter and a piece of bark in there. 
They mostly hide under the bark. 
They need something to hide under. 
If you have any cardboard, you could cut out a piece of that and put it in there so they could at least hide in under that. It might help a bit. 
But they do need leaf litter. 
Egg cartons could work as well.


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## sdsnybny (Mar 6, 2017)

It took about 6-7 months for mine to explode, i have split the original one and distributed several starters as well.
You can get good Live Oak leaf litter really  cheap from eBay. When I started I bought 2) one gallon bags and they lasted a full year with also using them as floor deco/food in my humid species T tanks.

These are what I bought.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-GALLON-OR...525970?hash=item4d542a1592:g:moUAAOSwxcRW9BjI

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## EulersK (Mar 6, 2017)

SlugPod said:


> If you don't have any leaf litter in there currently, that could be the issue.
> Isopods more or less need leaf litter in order to breed.
> I, last week? Two weeks ago now? Got some P. Scaber "Dalmatian" and have already noticed babies. I have leaf litter and a piece of bark in there.
> They mostly hide under the bark.
> ...


Ah, well I've got cork bark. I'll put that in immediately. There is a bit of leaf litter that was given to me with the culture, and there's still quite a bit left over. They actually seem to be eating the leaves from my houseplant much, much faster than the original leaf litter.

So, as I thought, that's the problem. Well it looks like I'm going to be making myself go up to the mountain earlier than expected. It's still covered in snow which is why I haven't done it yet.


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## EulersK (Mar 6, 2017)

sdsnybny said:


> It took about 6-7 months for mine to explode, i have split the original one and distributed several starters as well.
> You can get good Live Oak leaf litter really  cheap from eBay. When I started I bought 2) one gallon bags and they lasted a full year with also using them as floor deco/food in my humid species T tanks.
> 
> These are what I bought.
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-GALLON-OR...525970?hash=item4d542a1592:g:moUAAOSwxcRW9BjI


Whoa! That's _waaaaaaaaay_ cheaper than anything I've found online. Thanks for that link, I'm just going to order these now.


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## sdsnybny (Mar 6, 2017)

Your welcome I want to see your culture take off like mine did. I'm getting ready to split the again.


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## EulersK (Mar 6, 2017)

sdsnybny said:


> Your welcome I want to see your culture take off like mine did. I'm getting ready to split the again.


Picture won't show up... but I can't believe how quickly the springtails multiplied. Good god. I even culled the heard pretty heavily recently with sales, and they bounced back within a week. They go mad for mushrooms, even moreso for boluses from the T's.


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## sdsnybny (Mar 6, 2017)



Reactions: Like 3


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## EulersK (Mar 6, 2017)

sdsnybny said:


>


I'm not sure if you know this, but I definitely have a thing for orange. Which is why I'm beyond excited to get a colony going to that extent! Thanks for the tips, appreciate it.


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## SlugPod (Mar 6, 2017)

EulersK said:


> Ah, well I've got cork bark. I'll put that in immediately. There is a bit of leaf litter that was given to me with the culture, and there's still quite a bit left over. They actually seem to be eating the leaves from my houseplant much, much faster than the original leaf litter.
> 
> So, as I thought, that's the problem. Well it looks like I'm going to be making myself go up to the mountain earlier than expected. It's still covered in snow which is why I haven't done it yet.


Yeah! 
I mean I might just be lucky with my isos, I've read other people have issues getting them going but mine just keep reproducing.
I think it's because I live in FL and it's hot and humid here naturally, so the isos just explode. 
I really hope you get yours going soon! 
The Orange P. scaber are on my list. I love that morph.

Reactions: Like 2


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## EulersK (Mar 9, 2017)

SlugPod said:


> If you don't have any leaf litter in there currently, that could be the issue.
> Isopods more or less need leaf litter in order to breed.
> I, last week? Two weeks ago now? Got some P. Scaber "Dalmatian" and have already noticed babies. I have leaf litter and a piece of bark in there.
> They mostly hide under the bark.
> ...


Well, I'm still waiting on the leaf litter to arrive, but they _love_ that cork bark. Love it. It's been in less than a week and they've already cleaned off any stray moss that was on it. Now they mostly just hang out on top of under it. Solid advice, thanks again.


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## SlugPod (Mar 10, 2017)

EulersK said:


> Well, I'm still waiting on the leaf litter to arrive, but they _love_ that cork bark. Love it. It's been in less than a week and they've already cleaned off any stray moss that was on it. Now they mostly just hang out on top of under it. Solid advice, thanks again.


That's awesome!
And you're welcome 
Maybe you'll see babies after a bit longer, who knows.


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