general isopod questions

[rhysie]

another post from me! i just have a lot of questions that i could really use some individual answers on! i've been working on reading and researching as much as i can but it's hard sometimes to get a clear answer. so here's some questions i have;

• is there a way to sex isopods? i've seen people who know what sex their iso's are. how do you tell, especially on really small iso's? *
• do you have to feed them? i put in veggies like kale, lettuce, cucumber, carrots, etc when i have leftover from my bearded dragons meal. is this necessary? *
• how do you identify what species your isopods are? are there any websites or resources i can read to learn about identifying the species? *
• are there some small plants that isopods enjoy? i'd like to have their tubs have more plants other than just moss, but i'm not sure what exactly i could use.
• what are some things that absolutely cannot be in an isopod enclosure? *
• how in the world do you do entire substrate changes!!!! how do you get them all out so you can change up the substrate?
• do they need to have cuttle bone specifically or are there any alternatives to provide calcium?

i think that's all for now... i hope this is okay !! i don't need everything answered but i've starred some of the questions i'd really like answered. thank y'all in advance!

 

[SamanthaMarikian]

You can sex isopods if you can flip them over. There are some visual diagrams on google images since i suck at explaining visuals lol. i kinda forgot how to anyways i just remember that it has to do with two lil white spots that are sex glands on males that help you tell on the older mature isopods. And in some the lil “tail” end will be visibly longer in males but that doesnt go for all of them.. And pregnant/gravid females you can see their underside swollen with lil babies. Called a marsupium or something

I always feed mine but if you use stuff thats harder like carrots if youre going to be away then it’ll last longer. And if you have already rotting wood and leaf litter. And make sure you feed them protein especially if theyre a porcelllio sp. because they might start eating each other. Mine absolutely LOVE dried krill that people use to feed turtles and it lasts forever and will always be a staple for me. You can feed them salad scraps too or leftover beardie food If you want, dead feeders, etc just be careful with mold but if you have a good amount of ventilation n you dont put in more food than they can eat thats not super soft/soggy then you’re fine I dont use cuttlebone in any of mine anymore but i probably should add it, but haven’t had any problems in any of my 11+ colonies so far that dont have it. Some species like A. perraccae and Alloniscus perconvexus also love charcoal.

Instagram for me is easier for me to help identifying isopods because I’m more used to navigating it and a lot of people are great at identifying seemingly anything under the sun, or just google images, searching the genus and whatever color or country/region its native to if you’re talking about local stuff you find. There’s an app too that people use i just forgot the name of it. Just taking a picture and it’d search for what people found in your area that looked like it n stuff.

I dont have any plants in my tubs either but I do have them in an enclosure with a plant and the species in there dont seem to interested in it that I’ve noticed but some of my porcellio species love climbing twigs and branches in their tubs and they’ll strip the bark off of it.
The only big ”no no” for me is stuff that isn’t sterilized and rinsed well like the leaves and bark. I always rinse mine and/or soak In hot water them put in the microwave and/or steam in a bag.

I also have never done a complete substrate change. I don’t really see the point in it and dont want to risk taking out a whole clutch worth of babies or kill a molting isopod. My oldest colony is nearing 3 years old and I’ve only ever added sphagnum moss, twigs, and a tiny bit of extra substrate and no problems yet. I only ever top off the soil in my really old colonies. Very rarely the top layer of substrate is pure lil isopod poopies in so i try to take it out and use it as fertilizer for some of my plants sometimes. This has only really happened for me in my Porcellio colonies because they eat A LOT. If i tapped the tongs i have on the area where all their food would go it would be crunchy lol.


im sure someone will have more technical specific stuff to add but i hope this kinda helps lol.

 

[rhysie]

i've tried flipping mine over and trying to tell based off the diagrams but they're so small all i'm ever able to see is two white dots on their bottom half right underneath one of their legs on each side >< i thought that might've been something that helped tell but it's on all of them and i think another post said those white dots were actually used for species identification? i can't tell the details of whether their tummies have pointed or rounded little 'scales' (are they scales? idk.) it might just be my eyes lol, i don't have the best vision so maybe i'm just not able to see no matter what unless they're larger iso's. i'll check some more tonight and see if anybody is gravid.

protein, veggies and dried krill! got it if i pop a dead mealworm in their tub, will they eat it? i'll be careful with mold for sure! is there any foods that they can't eat at all? can they eat cooked foods or only raw? i'm only feeding them raw veggies but just for the sake of knowing xP

i'll try and find some people on instagram, then! and if you ever remember that app, let me know 'cause that sounds super useful!

so, if i were to rinse off bark nd scrub it and then pop it in the microwave, would that work for sterilization? can leaves be boiled for sterilization? i'll need to clean my stuff, i didn't sterilize with my current two tubs and i really need to.

i see!! if the substrate seems clean enough then i'll likely just take out a bit from the top and replace it.. i'm scared of accidentally taking babies/molting iso's/smaller iso's out when changing the substrate, so i'll keep it small and more frequent for now. using poops as fertilizer is a good idea LOL but i doubt mine will poop quite as much as your porcellio's do. i think i've got armadillidiums (not totally sure tho) and i haven't seen any poop at all yet but i also haven't gone looking exclusively for poop in their tubs lmao so

this totally helps a ton!! thank you for the response i appreciate it so much! ​

 

[Jurdon]

Okay, so firstly, the white dots on the underside of an isopod’s telson (tail bit) are not sexual organs, nor exclusive to any one species, but are their respiratory organs. They are gills designed to breathe using moisture in the air. Some species have different gill counts, though many have just two pairs. Two similar looking species, Porcellio scaber and Trachelipus rathkii have differing gill counts, with P. scaber having only two pairs and T. rathkii having five. Most adult isopods can be reliably sexed with the naked eye based on their pleopods, which are also found under the telson. They rest right in between the gills, and males’ pleopods are longer than females’. If you look up ‘sexing isopods’ you’ll find some handy diagrams. Putting an isopod in a clear plastic container and snapping a decent pic of the underside would allow you to zoom in if you’re having trouble sexing them by a glance

Leaf litter and rotting wood are a surefire staple diet for pretty much every isopod out there, but it is often beneficial and quite fun to supplement their diet with anything from fish flakes, to dog food, or even waste from your other pets, since you mentioned having a beardie. Some species prefer more protein in their diets while others lend themselves towards plant matter, but small amounts of any supplementary food are accepted graciously by all. I often feed mine dead/mismolted mealworms!

I believe the app @SamanthaMarikian was referring to is iNaturalist. It’s a great resource that not only helps you identify organisms based on photo & location, but also allows for other, more experienced people to see your identification and either suggest alternatives or agree with your proposed ID. a quick post in this subforum would also be a good way to ID species, and if you happened to buy your isopods without knowing their sp., that seems like a job poorly done by the seller.

most plants don’t tend to do well in a properly set up isopod enclosure, save for bioactive/display setups, but they will readily eat fresh moss! it’s among the few non-rotted plant materials they’ll indulge in. I don’t sterilize most of my stuff because i know my yard is pesticide free, but i give any bark/leaves from outside a quick 24-hour freeze to kill any hitchiking wild inverts.

As for substrate changes, i have never done a complete change and it seems pointless to do so. I have though, as already mentioned, removed a lot of frass from Porcellio enclosures.

As for calcium, cuttlebone is easily the best source i’ve tried just because it lasts for ages even in my largest colonies, but eggshells and even calcium supplements intended for reptiles do the trick.

 

[rhysie]

that's what i was thinking of then, how some species have different gill counts! that's super interesting thank you so much for explaining that because i've been so confused thinking like, 'how in the world are you guys seeing these tiny little details??' once i'm home i'll try and sex some of my adults looking at those pleopods.. those are the little scale looking things on their tummies, right? the ones that can be pointed or rounded? i might try snapping a picture if i still can't tell.

i think i'll try and offer them a dead mealworm tonight :O maybe if i catch them eating it i can get a little video of it hehe

ohh that's awesome !! i'll check that app out for sure then, it sounds super useful. i collected my isopods in my backyard, so that's why i don't know their species if i were to send a picture or two of them here, would i send it as a reply in this thread or start a new one? i haven't used a forum in a hot minute so i'm still getting back into the groove of all of that.

so just keep moss! no problem, i collect tons of moss so i'm sure they're enjoying that. when i had a half log in their tub, i put a large patch of moss on top and they loved to be on and under it! every time i looked in the tub, they were crawling around in the moss! i'm currently growing some star moss for them, too! so i'm glad i've got at least that in there which they enjoy. do the bark/leaves get ice on them after a freeze? how do you thaw that? do you know how to sterilize any other way?

that seems to be the general consensus among everyone i've asked, articles i've read and videos i've watched... i suppose i'll just spot clean and top off when necessary, then! if i were to transfer my iso's to a separate enclosure, how would one go about doing that? it seems like it'd be just as hard as it'd be to have to change the substrate.

i see!! would a calcium powder meant for reptiles work? i'm probably going to get cuttlebone, but out of curiosity, i do wonder.. if i were to use a powder supplement of multiple vitamins and calcium that's meant for reptiles, do you think that would work for the iso's? do you need to crush the eggshells?​

 

[Jurdon]

once i'm home i'll try and sex some of my adults looking at those pleopods.. those are the little scale looking things on their tummies, right? the ones that can be pointed or rounded? i might try snapping a picture if i still can't tell​

yes! that’s what you’re looking for

ohh that's awesome !! i'll check that app out for sure then, it sounds super useful. i collected my isopods in my backyard, so that's why i don't know their species if i were to send a picture or two of them here, would i send it as a reply in this thread or start a new one? i haven't used a forum in a hot minute so i'm still getting back into the groove of all of that.

posting them in this thread is absolutely fine! i’d love to look at what you’ve got

do the bark/leaves get ice on them after a freeze? how do you thaw that? do you know how to sterilize any other way?

they do, just because any moisture present in/on them will obviously freeze, but i don’t immediately put them in. i’ve already got leaves/bark in my enclosures, so i’m in no rush to put more in, i just like to have a surplus. i know other people boil/bake their leaves and bark, and i think boiling would be better for removing harmful residue, but if you know your leaves are from a safe, pesticide-free area the only thing to worry about are unwanted hitchikers (like the garden snail that ended up in my Armadillidium klugii enclosure!)

if i were to transfer my iso's to a separate enclosure, how would one go about doing that? it seems like it'd be just as hard as it'd be to have to change the substrate.

What i do is transfer all the isopods i can find on the surface and all the bark pieces i have laying on the surface into a separate container, as well as any large leaves i have laying on the surface. Then, transfer the substrate and uncollected isopods into the new container. Mancae (babies) reside primarily in the substrate anyways, and as long as you don’t pack it down any adult isopods left in the substrate will make their way back out eventually. Then, i put my bark, leaves, and isopods i grabbed out into the new container.

i see!! would a calcium powder meant for reptiles work? i'm probably going to get cuttlebone, but out of curiosity, i do wonder.. if i were to use a powder supplement of multiple vitamins and calcium that's meant for reptiles, do you think that would work for the iso's? do you need to crush the eggshells?

that would work! eggshells can be crushed or mostly whole​

 

[rhysie]

awww did u keep the snail? mine is on my hand right now LOL i brought mine inside on accident 'nd now its my little pal ^_^ thats so cool that you have those iso's!! i've always thought they're so pretty :3 i will add some pictures of my iso's onto here! i actually just got done grabbing some handsome little fellas i found in my backyard..

after sterilizing your leaves, can you just.. store them with no problem? i mean, not no problem, but if you don't need to use them will you keep them in the freezer or do you put them somewhere else? if i were to boil mine and have excess, how would i go about storing those? i think i ought to boil them instead because we don't use anything harmful but we don't know what our neighbors use, so anything could be coming into our yard from theirs.

that seems easier than trying to lure the iso's out into one spot, which is admittedly what i thought you would have to do. i'm glad you don't have to that would be frustrating.

i should be getting some cuttlebone tomorrow, but if i don't, i think i will try eggshells, just to see whether mine will actually eat at it or not. but, i probably won't have to since i'll likely visit the pet store tomorrow.

here are the pictures! the first three are just photos of the biggest little area of isopods in my backyard ! i was amazed when i saw them all, and this is where i collected my first batch. the rest are all photos of isopods that i have right now! some of them might be fuzzy, sorry about that!​

 

[SamanthaMarikian]

i think some of them are A. nasatum? Idk for sure but its a decent guess

 

[SamanthaMarikian]

If you have extra leaves u can just put them in a bag for later use. If you sterilize them or clean them it shouldn’t be a problem and if they rot then its just easier for the isopods to eat

 

[Jurdon]

Yeah, i just keep mine in a plastic bin/bag, and most of those seem like Armadillidium vulgare and Armadillidium nasatum. The orange nasatum are a very nice find!

 

[Madnesssr]

You have a great mix of A. Nasatum and A. Vulgare. They are really easy to care for and multiply rapidly.

 

[rhysie]

thank you for the identifications!!! it's nice to finally know what they are i was so surprised to see the oranges!! i thought i would mostly just find browns and greys i have them separated in their own lil tub! tried sexing them but my eyes aren't good enough to see and my camera can't focus so it's a mystery but that's alright. i'll gather leaves 'nd sterilize them then store them like that! it seems like a good idea for the future anyways so i have a supply on hand.

thank you guys for the help!! i appreciate it a ton ^_^​