How to Find Isopods

[ErinM31]

Wow, such wonderful pattern and color! Totally worth the snakebite provided you lose no more than a limb!

Some of them could be Armadillidium vulgare, several with quite wonderful yellow coloration. That one on the right with the black stripe down it's back is not. It may be Armadillidium nasatum, although it's pattern reminds me of Venezillo, one of the few species of isopod native to the Americas, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[blacksheep998]

View attachment 208514

I believe most of those are Armadillidium nasatum, which is why they have the pattern.

 

[Chris52]

I noticed that some of them are significantly larger than the others (other than that, they look more or less the same). I'm not sure if this a difference in age or species. This is what they're currently housed in. Also, (assuming I have both sexes) do these need anything special to breed? Right now they're in a small container with an inch of peat moss as substrate, and some oak leaves and wood. I also added small piece of potato. Thank you!

 

[ErinM31]

The difference is age (although not all grow to be the same size -- food and population density also influence it). I have a few Armadillidium vulgare who are giant, several that are tiny, and every size in between. I am still new to keeping isopods, but I think so long as they have food and the moisture level is right, they will breed. I've watched my isopods grow larger, but no babies just yet (or their still being carried by the mother).

Peat moss is not a bad base for the substrate as it holds moisture well, but it isn't nutritive, so you'll want to add plenty of decaying hardwood leaves and wood (either boil or freeze these for a few days first to prevent introduction of pests like mites, earwigs, centipedes, etc.). I use the BugsInCyberspace isopod substrate and add leaves and wood on top. Supplementing with bits of fruits and vegetables are good, but their main food will be the decaying matter in the substrate.

Have you added moisture to the substrate? You certainly don't want mud, but isopods need moisture. I put sphagnum moss in one corner and add water there so it seeps out to create a moisture gradient, my hope being that the isopods will find where their most comfortable. What is you lid and ventilation like?

I'd recommend looking over this shore caresheet as it covers everything: http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/Isopods.html

Hopefully I haven't made things sound too complicated! Perhaps I have been fortunate, but my experience has been that isopods are hardy so long as they don't loose too much moisture. One setup I tried for my Armadillidium maculatum ended up a moldy muddy mess, but they lived and grew and seem to be doing very well in their new quarters. The other thing isopods will not survive is parasites/predation. I have been fortunate to not have had any problems with mites, but I did have a dwarf colony nearly wiped out by crickets when I reused some substrate (yes, that was stupid; I don't remember what I was thinking ). The crickets were sentenced to death by frog!

 

[Chris52]

The difference is age (although not all grow to be the same size -- food and population density also influence it). I have a few Armadillidium vulgare who are giant, several that are tiny, and every size in between. I am still new to keeping isopods, but I think so long as they have food and the moisture level is right, they will breed. I've watched my isopods grow larger, but no babies just yet (or their still being carried by the mother).

Peat moss is not a bad base for the substrate as it holds moisture well, but it isn't nutritive, so you'll want to add plenty of decaying hardwood leaves and wood (either boil or freeze these for a few days first to prevent introduction of pests like mites, earwigs, centipedes, etc.). I use the BugsInCyberspace isopod substrate and add leaves and wood on top. Supplementing with bits of fruits and vegetables are good, but their main food will be the decaying matter in the substrate.

Have you added moisture to the substrate? You certainly don't want mud, but isopods need moisture. I put sphagnum moss in one corner and add water there so it seeps out to create a moisture gradient, my hope being that the isopods will find where their most comfortable. What is you lid and ventilation like?

I'd recommend looking over this shore caresheet as it covers everything: http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/Isopods.html

Hopefully I haven't made things sound too complicated! Perhaps I have been fortunate, but my experience has been that isopods are hardy so long as they don't loose too much moisture. One setup I tried for my Armadillidium maculatum ended up a moldy muddy mess, but they lived and grew and seem to be doing very well in their new quarters. The other thing isopods will not survive is parasites/predation. I have been fortunate to not have had any problems with mites, but I did have a dwarf colony nearly wiped out by crickets when I reused some substrate (yes, that was stupid; I don't remember what I was thinking ). The crickets were sentenced to death by frog!

I also keep millipedes (from bugsincyberspace), so I have the isopods in pretty much the same setup. Lots of oak leaves and wood, and lots of moisture. The container they are in has a snap-on-but-not-quite-air-tight lid with quite a few small holes poked in it for ventilation.

 

[ErinM31]

I also keep millipedes (from bugsincyberspace), so I have the isopods in pretty much the same setup. Lots of oak leaves and wood, and lots of moisture. The container they are in has a snap-on-but-not-quite-air-tight lid with quite a few small holes poked in it for ventilation.

That sounds perfect and how I have had the most success keeping mine as well.

 

[Jacob Ma]

If you give them really decomposed soil (like almost pure compost) they will thrive and breed a lot, as for what I did for my Grand Canyon Isopods (I brought them back from 3 adults to over 20 adults). Mix in some springtails, millipedes, slugs/snails, and get some fungi and/or fungus gnats in with the bunch and you'll have an entire microclimate of invertebrates.

 

[blacksheep998]

I use compost for mine too, but mix in ground up oak leaves. They really seem to love it and breed like mad.

I did let my P. scaber 'orange' colony go a bit too long without changing the substrate though. I had a colony of 500-600, and they literally ate all the compost. Before I realized it they were living on a 100% poop substrate and a bunch of them died. Not enough to threaten the colony, and they're rebounding very quickly on fresh compost. But it was enough that I was worried for a bit.

 

[ErinM31]

If you give them really decomposed soil (like almost pure compost) they will thrive and breed a lot, as for what I did for my Grand Canyon Isopods (I brought them back from 3 adults to over 20 adults). Mix in some springtails, millipedes, slugs/snails, and get some fungi and/or fungus gnats in with the bunch and you'll have an entire microclimate of invertebrates.

Springtails are definitely the best! Millipedes will compete with the isopods for food but this is unlikely to be a problem, certainly not for the isopods, and probably not for the millipedes so long as there is enough food and their molting chamber is undisturbed. I keep my millipedes separate, however (except for springtails -- springtails for all! ). A few snails might be interesting and I cannot think of why they would be bad outside of potentially competing for the same food, but if there is plenty, again, that shouldn't be a problem. No earthworms though. They will turn compose and soil to frass fast. I saw this happen in my toad terrarium and don't recall why I thought adding a few would be a good idea. Fungi, lichens and moss are good. But fungus gnats -- what?! These won't do the isopods any harm but they don't do any good either and are annoying as hell.

 

[Harlequin]

If you're still searching, a good place to look is around plant nurseries and greenhouses, especially when the weather is still cool/cold.
Also, try breaking apart rotten wood near human settlements (such as city parks or school campuses) to find Trichoniscus pusillus, the common pigmy woodlouse. Though they're an introduced species, I've found that they're very common in developed areas in my region, but they're very tiny (<5mm) and quite secretive. They're much more common in the wood than around it, so be prepared to break open the wood and look closely. I'm not currently raising them, but in the past, I've had them form explosive populations in captivity. Good luck!

 

[Jacob Ma]

Millipedes will compete with the isopods for food but this is unlikely to be a problem, certainly not for the isopods, and probably not for the millipedes so long as there is enough food and their molting chamber is undisturbed. I keep my millipedes separate, however (except for springtails -- springtails for all! ). A few snails might be interesting and I cannot think of why they would be bad outside of potentially competing for the same food, but if there is plenty, again, that shouldn't be a problem. No earthworms though. They will turn compose and soil to frass fast. I saw this happen in my toad terrarium and don't recall why I thought adding a few would be a good idea. Fungi, lichens and moss are good. But fungus gnats -- what?! These won't do the isopods any harm but they don't do any good either and are annoying as hell.

In my area, there are very small millipedes that live everywhere and don't really compete too much with the other isopods. Earthworms are probably more of an outdoor thing, but they will do their job well and provide adequate nutrients for the isopods, and putting earthworms in a toad terrarium isn't necessarily the best idea because they pollute the water too much and get messy with toad poop. I only use snails when I have some plant-based material for the isopods, and fungus gnats actually helped quite a bit. Though a big nuisance, their larvae will keep mold growth from getting out of hand which allows more aeration for the soil, instead of being clogged up.

 

[billrogers]

In my area, there are very small millipedes that live everywhere and don't really compete too much with the other isopods. Earthworms are probably more of an outdoor thing, but they will do their job well and provide adequate nutrients for the isopods, and putting earthworms in a toad terrarium isn't necessarily the best idea because they pollute the water too much and get messy with toad poop. I only use snails when I have some plant-based material for the isopods, and fungus gnats actually helped quite a bit. Though a big nuisance, their larvae will keep mold growth from getting out of hand which allows more aeration for the soil, instead of being clogged up.

Up until this point, I thought that the only purpose fungus gnats serve in this world is to try to drive me crazy! Those things can be annoying!

 

[ErinM31]

In my area, there are very small millipedes that live everywhere and don't really compete too much with the other isopods. Earthworms are probably more of an outdoor thing, but they will do their job well and provide adequate nutrients for the isopods, and putting earthworms in a toad terrarium isn't necessarily the best idea because they pollute the water too much and get messy with toad poop. I only use snails when I have some plant-based material for the isopods, and fungus gnats actually helped quite a bit. Though a big nuisance, their larvae will keep mold growth from getting out of hand which allows more aeration for the soil, instead of being clogged up.

I just meant to list the pros and cons to the extent that I know them. I don't think any millipede -- much less a few small ones -- will provide much competition for an Armadillidium. Yes, earthworms should remain outdoors -- they provide food and aeration for plants but they have not improved the quality of the toads substrate (I don't recall whether I thought the earthworms would clean up after the toads or just aerate the substrate). Anyway, at least the toads' water bowl is on top of the soil so the earthworms don't effect it. Do you mean you include snails when there are live plants (as opposed to only detris) for the isopods? There are some cool land snails around here but I wasn't sure what exactly they ate and what it would and would not be a good isea to keep them with. Good to know about fungus gnat larva! That makes the irritation a bit more tolerable, but I still prefer springtails.

 

[Chris52]

Is mold a concern for my isopods? I am starting to find some in the container.

 

[ErinM31]

Is mold a concern for my isopods? I am starting to find some in the container.

Generally not and it may help break down their food too. That said, I try to keep levels under control because I don't know if there's a level that's bad for them and certainly for ME I don't want a ton of mold spores in my face and all over the place when I open their container.

Remove uneaten food, ideally before it sprouts mold but certainly once it does. If it is decaying leaves or wood I usually just bury it into the substrate. Springtails are your friends!!! Be sure to find some or buy some and they will help keep the mold down. Also, be sure there is ventilation.

So basically, I spot remove or cover mold when I see it (springtails and some millipedes will eat mold) just so it doesn't get out of hand and then EVERYTHING starts to mold and you need to replace or bake/boil everything (or at least I felt the need -- the isopods and millipedes that I've rehoused from such conditions were still in good health so far as I could tell -- but for MY good health, the mold needed to go!).

 

[Chris52]

I added my isopods to my millipede enclosure (as "janitors"), which wasn't my original plan, but hopefully they still breed. So far, the potato trap hasn't done anything except attract the occasional slug, but that could be because of its location.

 

[Jacob Ma]

Isopods actually eat some of the mold, so as long as there isn't an overgrowth and include some springrails in the mix they should be find. For me however, the mold that release powdery spores trigger my allergies, so I cannot risk having too much of it. No but seriously, get springrails as they literally are used in every ecosystem around the world.

Instead of potatoes, you can throw a peel of an orange, banana, and/or melon in a shady, moist spot which should attract quit a few detritivores like isopods.

 

[ErinM31]

I added my isopods to my millipede enclosure (as "janitors"), which wasn't my original plan, but hopefully they still breed. So far, the potato trap hasn't done anything except attract the occasional slug, but that could be because of its location.

Your isopods will have no problem breeding. Hopefully, your millipedes will not either. (Some have reported that isopods have eaten their millipede's eggs or even attacked their millipedes. I am skeptical of the later, unless the millipede was already dying, or if their molting chamber was disturbed.)

I agree that it's probably the location. In my experience, there are either no isopods and so any trap would catch nothing, or they are in abundance and there is no need for a trap, just scoop them up, lol.

 

[Chris52]

Your isopods will have no problem breeding. Hopefully, your millipedes will not either. (Some have reported that isopods have eaten their millipede's eggs or even attacked their millipedes. I am skeptical of the later, unless the millipede was already dying, or if their molting chamber was disturbed.)

I agree that it's probably the location. In my experience, there are either no isopods and so any trap would catch nothing, or they are in abundance and there is no need for a trap, just scoop them up, lol.

There shouldn't be any concern with the isopods eating millipede eggs, as I only have one individual of each species.

I will have to place an orange/banana peel where I found my isopods to see what happens.

Thank you!

 

[Jacob Ma]

Your isopods will have no problem breeding. Hopefully, your millipedes will not either. (Some have reported that isopods have eaten their millipede's eggs or even attacked their millipedes. I am skeptical of the later, unless the millipede was already dying, or if their molting chamber was disturbed.)

I agree that it's probably the location. In my experience, there are either no isopods and so any trap would catch nothing, or they are in abundance and there is no need for a trap, just scoop them up, lol.

What are isopods going to do to millipedes? As long as you don't have a swarm of them and feed them adequately, isopods will not do as much as nibble on dead organisms. I understand that isopods have pretty strong mouthparts and better strength in numbers, but the millipedes have a better chance at eating their own eggs/young than the terrestrial crustaceans. Chris needs the trap to lure isopods that may or may not be so plentiful in his area, not to physically catch them. In fact, traps are probably the safest and best way to capture multiple invertebrates.

Same goes with any animals, but as long as they have enough space to live with each other, than they won't have much of a problem with having the other kind around. I don't intend to come off as harsh, mean, or devaluing, but this is basic biology in that organisms will keep the other in control as long as they are provided with ample food & water and a shelter that provides for their individual requirements. So if that person lost his/her animals to others of the same kind, something has to be wrong with the enclosure itself as none of the animals are deliberate predators/parasites.