# Different Isopod Species and Iridovirus



## Irfin (Jan 10, 2010)

Recently I became an avid supported of the use of isopods for T cage maintenance.  I've introduced standard, tan, orange and white dwarf isopods in not just my T enclosures, but also those of my geckos and toads.  Not only do they do a great job of cleaning things up, they are fun to watch, especially those with brighter coloring.

My success led me to investigate other species of brightly colored isopods.  Specifically I had seen posts talking about blue and purple isopods.  This led me to discover something called "iridovirus" which causes standard grey isopods to turn blue and the orange species to turn purple.  

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7203967

http://www.roachforum.com/index.php?showtopic=1455&hl=purple+isopods

According to my referenced sources the orange isopods can contract the virus without developing lethal symptoms which could potentially allow for the development of a purple isopod colony.  Unfortunately, it apparently will eventually kill grey isopods which means that blue ones won't last long.

My question is whether anyone has any experience with this virus and the potential for cross specie contamination, aka, will it kill a T?  Also, what variety of isopod species have people used (standard, tan, orange, white dwarf) and if there are any other exotic species that people know about and have used (and where to get them).  Do different species have different potential issues as they relate to T's?  Are there some that should not be used because they are too aggressive?

I look forward to your responses.  Some pictures of isopod species and iridovirus infected isopods are provided for your reference.  Has anyone seen any of these before?  I have others too including green millipede pill bugs?  Any ideas about these?


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## Irfin (Jan 10, 2010)

*More pics*

See above.  Some of the blues are from Afghanistan and are apparently a natural phenotype of this species:

http://www.travelthewholeworld.com/afghanistan.html

What other exotic species do people know about or have used before with T's?


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## iluvcreepystuff (Jan 10, 2010)

those things are beautiful especially the blue and purple


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## Endagr8 (Jan 10, 2010)

Some of those shots appear to be pill millipedes, which are not isopods.


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## Irfin (Jan 11, 2010)

Endagr8 said:


> Some of those shots appear to be pill millipedes, which are not isopods.


True; I believe it was the green one.  Apparently they are very hard to keep in captivity due to specific nutritional requirements related to gut bacteria...  

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/spiders-inverts/134211-madagascan-giant-emerald-pill-bugs.html

How about the other ones?

What's the coolest terrestrial isopod anyone has heard about?  Where do we get some?


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## Irfin (Jan 11, 2010)

Check out this:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.sh/newsletters/no2/newletter-2-may03-3.html

Spiky Yellow Woodlice!

How cool would it be to get your hands on some of these guys!


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## Irfin (Jan 11, 2010)

Some more pics; I have all sources bookmarked if anyone is interested in particular pictures.  I'm obsessed; I love them!


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## Exo (Jan 11, 2010)

I've hear there is a species about the size of an orange when rolled up!


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## Ritzman (Jan 11, 2010)

Very cool stuff Irfin.


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## Avicularia Man (Jan 11, 2010)

Irfin said:


>


I like that one a lot. Very pretty metallic red.


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## OntarioNative (Jan 11, 2010)

Pics 3, 6,8 and 9 are pill millipedes I believe. They are impossible to keep. They only live for a short time and are all wild caught. I have tried to keep some of the larger species from Asia and they last for about 3-6 months. The common theory as to why they don't survive is that they eat a fungus which is entirely unavailable at the moment in the industry. I speculate that the fungus or even a bacterium native to their native region allows the milli to metabolize food. I have found that they all eat and defecate but then they slowly start to get listless and they look ill. I have on occasion dissected a few of them and found that the internal structures are very small compared to the size of their bodies at the time of death. I have not, and will not kill and dissect a live one. That's my two cents on the millies, I don't know about this virus, Ill do some research and see what I can find.


Alex


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## Matt K (Jan 12, 2010)

Iridiovirus tend to be very species-specific (like many viruses normaly are) and will not infect a tarantula.  I have have blue isopods live for quite some time (year?) before they died, and the offspring were normal grey colored.  No tarantula or roach that shared a home with the blue ones were ever affected.

There are several forms of this virus in common use in the aquarium trade that give crayfish and other shellfish 'metallic' colors.


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## Irfin (Jan 12, 2010)

Matt K said:


> Iridiovirus tend to be very species-specific (like many viruses normaly are) and will not infect a tarantula.  I have have blue isopods live for quite some time (year?) before they died, and the offspring were normal grey colored.  No tarantula or roach that shared a home with the blue ones were ever affected.
> 
> There are several forms of this virus in common use in the aquarium trade that give crayfish and other shellfish 'metallic' colors.


Awesome info Matt K!  I'm going to check that out right away.

About the blue isopods, was your whole colony blue?  Did it spread easily?

Also, did you collect the blue guys from the wild?  Where did you find them if you don't mind my asking?

My hope is that I might be able to infect some orange isopods to potentially produce the elusive purple isopods.  Any experience with these guys and the virus?

Also, I looked around and couldn't find anything about the iridovirus and crayfish.  Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks for the help.


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## Acro (Jan 15, 2010)

If you like isopods, you need to check out my buddies page here:
http://www.angelfire.com/planet/porcellio/
He has been breeding and selling them (and other critters) for years!

As for the crayfish, I have heard that the "electric blue crayfish" is blue because of an iridovirus.  Could be wrong info, but it is something to check out.  At the very least, it is a beautiful animal.  Google it or look them up on Aquabid.

And yes, some of the above pics are pill millipedes or pillapedes.  I kept some of the emerald green ones, and all they did was die.  However, I have also kept some isopods, and they are real good feeders for assassin bug nymphs.


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## elportoed (Mar 30, 2010)

Here's another site that I found some good info on the subject.

http://pages.pomona.edu/~jcw04747/oniscidea.html


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## cacoseraph (Mar 30, 2010)

son of a gun!

i smooshed an irido today on accident!  i am pretty sure, at least


really want to culture it!


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## Bigboy (Mar 30, 2010)

Iridovirus refers to a huge group of viruses.  It is not likely anyone can tell you what will happen but it is unlikely that the virus will transmit to your spiders.


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## Pro_bug_catcher (Mar 30, 2010)

I don't have the answer you're looking for, but I know it's true viruses are usually pretty specific. Since isopods are crustaceans and spiders are arachnids they're distantly related (thus reducing chances of transmission).

In any case, those are very beautiful isopods! Thanks for sharing.


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## Elytra and Antenna (Mar 31, 2010)

Here's a neat one:


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## zonbonzovi (Jun 9, 2010)

From a colony in front of my house.  About 15% of the colony has this coloration.  The rest are a typical gunmetal blue.


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## Irfin (Sep 18, 2010)

zonbonzovi said:


> From a colony in front of my house.  About 15% of the colony has this coloration.  The rest are a typical gunmetal blue.


Where do you live!?!  Can you send me some of those guys?

Iridovirus should be easy to introduce to a colony if you still have the smooshed guy on ice...

My isopod colony got wiped out as of today by tiny little white bugs.  Checked my outdoor stock and all that is left are the exoskeleton husks piled in the corners like some isopod horror movie.  Any one ever heard of anything like this? They seemed to have had plenty of food and water.  Mixed species colony; could that have been the problem?


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## zonbonzovi (Sep 20, 2010)

Checked yesterday, Irfin, but no go...we've had a very wet start to the rainy season and they may have relocated.  I'll keep an eye out.

I wonder if your outdoor situation has been upset by hungry Dysdera crocata?  The corpses in my D. crocata container match the description.


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## ZergFront (Sep 21, 2010)

I've had a few of those blue ones but I only notice them for about a week or less. I imagine they die and the colony eats them. I thought for the longest time they were only isopods ready to shed.


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## mattolsen (Sep 1, 2013)

*very interesting*

Great thread!!!

I was wondering if anyone here has any access to either a dichotomous key or a species list of springtails/isopods endemic to Illinois? 

I've been collecting/breeding several species that I can't identify yet and would very much like to. 

Those pics are beautiful, I wonder any other possibly effects of the virus on other species. Also, is the virus necessarily fatal    to some and not so to others? 

Thanks in advance. I'm going to try and post some pics of the sp. I've collected so far and if anyone has any ideas I'd love to 
hear them.


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## shebeen (Sep 2, 2013)

This thread is 3 years old.  You might want to start a new one.


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## bugmankeith (Sep 2, 2013)

Found this yesterday, (sorry from my i phone so quality isnt the best). Purple pillbug.


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 5, 2013)

bugmankeith said:


> Found this yesterday, (sorry from my i phone so quality isnt the best). Purple pillbug.


Cool!!!!!!!!!!!! I have not seen one infected yet. Thanks for sharing.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Loptylop (Sep 5, 2013)

what do they eat? they seem cool to keep.


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## bugmankeith (Sep 6, 2013)

Loptylop said:


> what do they eat? they seem cool to keep.


Decaying plant and animal matter. Decaying leaf litter and dirt, dead bugs, rotting fruit, dog or cat food too. They live under rocks and rotting logs and breathe through gills so need lots of moisture misting cage with water daily works for humidity.


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## Elytra and Antenna (Sep 7, 2013)

Here's a very handsome cultivar of nasatum and the natural form of maculatum, both pillbug species.


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 7, 2013)

Elytra and Antenna said:


> View attachment 120358
> View attachment 120359
> 
> 
> ...


You are amazing!! I will be getting a group of the peach pill bugs asap. Will the black and whites be available soon?


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## Elytra and Antenna (Sep 7, 2013)

I paid more than you'd possibly imagine to get some maculatum but they are breeding and doing extremely well. I listed them in the classifieds a week or two ago but no takers. The orange are a cultivar of nasatum. Both are much faster and easier than vulgare.


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 7, 2013)

Elytra and Antenna said:


> I paid more than you'd possibly imagine to get some maculatum but they are breeding and doing extremely well. I listed them in the classifieds a week or two ago but no takers. The orange are a cultivar of nasatum. Both are much faster and easier than vulgare.


Thanks. Do you think the Zebra maculatum will come down in price?


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## Elytra and Antenna (Sep 7, 2013)

Maybe but they're already available at a fraction of what I had to pay to get mine and anyone getting them is likely interested in breeding them to sell or trade so if that doesn't happen the answer could be no. Of course there are factors I am unaware of that could come into play.


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 7, 2013)

Elytra and Antenna said:


> Maybe but they're already available at a fraction of what I had to pay to get mine and anyone getting them is likely interested in breeding them to sell or trade so if that doesn't happen the answer could be no. Of course there are factors I am unaware of that could come into play.


Thanks, Orin. I probably need to just bite the bullet and pay the price. : ) They are AMAZING looking isopods. I am a sucker for black and white bugs.

---------- Post added 09-07-2013 at 11:15 PM ----------

Orin, Are you also selling the white sow bugs on the cover of your book:

http://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Isopods-in-Captivity-Terrarium-Clean-up-Crews-bic21.htm

These are also very cool.


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## Elytra and Antenna (Sep 8, 2013)

Those are "dalmations," they have black eyes and black spots on them. Those are Trachelipus rathkei but there is a Porcellio scaber version.


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## Smokehound714 (Sep 8, 2013)

Ligia is a really neat genus of isopod, they run super fast like roaches, and have powerful eyesight.  Very easy to keep, though they need a reservoir of saltwater, similar to many marine shore crab species.

  They're really neat in groups, easy to catch, too.


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 8, 2013)

Smokehound714 said:


> Ligia is a really neat genus of isopod, they run super fast like roaches, and have powerful eyesight.  Very easy to keep, though they need a reservoir of saltwater, similar to many marine shore crab species.
> 
> They're really neat in groups, easy to catch, too.


Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Loptylop (Sep 8, 2013)

i found this guy under a rock


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## Elytra and Antenna (Sep 8, 2013)

Smokehound714 said:


> Ligia is a really neat genus of isopod, they run super fast like roaches, and have powerful eyesight.  Very easy to keep, though they need a reservoir of saltwater, similar to many marine shore crab species.
> 
> They're really neat in groups, easy to catch, too.


 How long is the longest you've kept a specimen alive for? Have you grown up young without removing the adults which normally eat them?


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## Smokehound714 (Sep 9, 2013)

Elytra and Antenna said:


> How long is the longest you've kept a specimen alive for? Have you grown up young without removing the adults which normally eat them?


I was actually breeding them for use as live bait, They grew very fast.  Some of the older ligia occidentalis got to be 3 cm long, excluding antennae and uropods.  They made fantastic bait.

  They actually have a decent lifespan, some of mine got to be older than 2 years.  They did require maintenance though, simply mixing aquarium salt to the appropriate levels for any marine fish was sufficient, aside from that, they're very easily reared so long as you have a couple of marine cascade filters.  Easy to feed, too.. they'll eat ANYTHING.   The adults generally ignored the young, but many did get cannibalized during molts.


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