How to get rid off isopods

darlingi

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 14, 2021
Messages
89
Hey!

I recently added dwarf white isopods to my t. albopilosus‘ enclosure. Quickly after that, I found out about the possible dangers that come with the isopods and now I obviously want to get rid off them.

As she’s buried and has closed off her entrance, I can’t take her out and clean the enclosure. So I thought the easiest way to get rid off these little beasts might be to let the substrate dry out. I’ve read conflicting things about moisture regarding the substrate for t. albopilosus. I’m worried that letting the substrate dry out completely may put her in danger, especially since she may be in premolt. Dry substrate doesn’t seem to be a problem for this species, but she’s a juvenile (?). I’m actually not sure if that term applies to her yet, or if she’s still considered a sling (which require moisture). I bought her with a bodylength of 3,5 - 4cm (according to the seller). I’ll add some terrible pictures I took, that may help telling wether a completely dry substrate is okay for her.
Don’t worry about the super low substrate, I’ve added a lot more right after the pictures were taken.

Thank you :)
 

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darlingi

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Apr 14, 2021
Messages
89
Easy solution: redo your enclosure.
No, that’s not a solution since (as I said in my post) the T is buried and might very well stay there for weeks to months. I was asking wether letting the substrate dry out, as an alternative solution, would harm the T.
 

Frogdaddy

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Nov 13, 2019
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I think you'll be ok with the dwarf whites. Larger Isos like the genus Porcellio may indeed pose a danger.
 

jay444

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Apr 25, 2020
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133
Off topic but I have to tell you that your enclosure is wayyyyyyyyyy too tall for this specie. If she climb to the top and fall, I would be really surprised if she does not get hurt or even survive. You should rehome the spider in a more appropriate enclosure or at least redo the enclosure by adding substrate as high as you can, as soon as you can
 

darlingi

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Apr 14, 2021
Messages
89
Off topic but I have to tell you that your enclosure is wayyyyyyyyyy too tall for this specie. If she climb to the top and fall, I would be really surprised if she does not get hurt or even survive. You should rehome the spider in a more appropriate enclosure or at least redo the enclosure by adding substrate as high as you can, as soon as you can
Don’t worry, as stated at the bottom of my post I updated my enclosure right after these pictures were taken. There’s a lot more substrate in there now, right up to the ventilation holes.
 

BoyFromLA

Spoon feeder
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Oct 26, 2017
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T is buried and might very well stay there for weeks to months.
Thus, I suggest redo the enclosure.

In this case, it is better to act quick.

As stated, this is just my suggestion, and what would I do if I were you.

Your call.
 

darlingi

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 14, 2021
Messages
89
Thus, I suggest redo the enclosure.

In this case, it is better to act quick.

As stated, this is just my suggestion, and what would I do if I were you.

Your call.
So you would simply dig her out? Isn’t that pretty dangerous to the T as she might be molting?
 

BoyFromLA

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So you would simply dig her out? Isn’t that pretty dangerous to the T as she might be molting?
I would not dig out buried tarantula normally, but this case you added isopods into the enclosure, and also you wanted to find solutions to get rid of them since isopods may cause harm to your tarantula.

To me, it’s better to redo the enclosure.

You asked for solution / suggestion, I gave my solution / suggestion. Rest is up to you.
 

LizardStudent

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Joined
Aug 16, 2020
Messages
119
If the whole point of getting rid of the isopods is that there is a chance they may harm your T, and digging your T out means that there is a chance that you may harm your T, then to me that seems not like a solution to your problem- seems like you're back at square one of the issue, which is trying to avoid possible harm to your pet.

I would agree with Frogdaddy, dwarf whites are a species that's not as likely to harm your T than other ones you could've put in. I would also imagine if you recently added them there might not be that many, like the enclosure probably isn't loaded with then. What I would do is provide the isopods with food that has a source of protein until your T comes out - if they have a good source of protein right in front of them that they don't have to work for, they will be far less likely to try and munch on your T, which as stated this species already has a pretty low (but not zero) probability of that happening anyway
 

Arachnophobphile

Arachnoangel
Active Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2018
Messages
806
Hey!

I recently added dwarf white isopods to my t. albopilosus‘ enclosure. Quickly after that, I found out about the possible dangers that come with the isopods and now I obviously want to get rid off them.

As she’s buried and has closed off her entrance, I can’t take her out and clean the enclosure. So I thought the easiest way to get rid off these little beasts might be to let the substrate dry out. I’ve read conflicting things about moisture regarding the substrate for t. albopilosus. I’m worried that letting the substrate dry out completely may put her in danger, especially since she may be in premolt. Dry substrate doesn’t seem to be a problem for this species, but she’s a juvenile (?). I’m actually not sure if that term applies to her yet, or if she’s still considered a sling (which require moisture). I bought her with a bodylength of 3,5 - 4cm (according to the seller). I’ll add some terrible pictures I took, that may help telling wether a completely dry substrate is okay for her.
Don’t worry about the super low substrate, I’ve added a lot more right after the pictures were taken.

Thank you :)
Frogdaddy & BoyFromLA pretty much gave the best answers.

I'm guessing you are worried the isopods you added would devour your T when it is molting?

There are isopods that do pose a threat to a molting T but as Frogdaddy pointed out not the ones you have.

Contrary to belief there are times you must dig your T out of it's burrow although very rare.

If you are that worried rehouse your T. Start by gently removing the substrate from the entrance. Do not go all in shoveling everything at once. You basically just want to find an opening to spot your tarantula if it's molting or not. If not rehouse.
 

CarlixTomix

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 10, 2021
Messages
18
I have read so many good things about isopods and very few bad things.
Are they really a threat to tarantulas?
 

Frogdaddy

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Nov 13, 2019
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I was thinking. I guess you could try and bait them out. It sounds like you just put them in the enclosure. This may be worth a try.
Get some Repashy Morning Wood or Bug Burger. Mix it according to instructions and place a small bit on something like the lid of a Pringles can. Place the bait in the enclosure at night right as it gets dark. The Isos should.be attracted to and start feeding on the Repashy. Remove the lid before the Isos eat all the bait and before it gets light and dispose of Isos or better yet start a separate culture of them. You're going to want to repeat the process with the bait over the course of many nights to ensure you get out as many of the Isos as possible. No guarantee you'll get them all.
 

Jessica88

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
13
Off topic but I have to tell you that your enclosure is wayyyyyyyyyy too tall for this specie. If she climb to the top and fall, I would be really surprised if she does not get hurt or even survive. You should rehome the spider in a more appropriate enclosure or at least redo the enclosure by adding substrate as high as you can, as soon as you can
You know I was going to say the same thing.I am a beginner but I did research about 3 years begore we even attempted to get a T of course I know I'll have mistakes and will ask questions,but I did read everything that my breeder sent me about Husbandry.I learned so much maybe you should its called Tom's Spiders Husbandry I believe it helped a lot.I also came here for more in depth questions but even me being a beginner I can see your substrate is very very thin meaning you need way more its supposed to be high enough where if your T were to climb and fall no harm would come to your T.I can see if your T was to climb and fall his abdomen could possibly and most likely burst.I really hope you add more substrate.
 

CarlixTomix

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 10, 2021
Messages
18
I understand that crickets and zophoba have strong mandibles and they can be a threat to molting tarantulas.
However, there seems to be a common opinion that roaches are harmless to molting spiders, and roaches eat literally everything, same as isopods.

What's the difference between isopods and roaches that makes the formers dangerous? Their mouth parts shouldn't be bigger or stronger than roaches'.
 

Edan bandoot

Arachnoprince
Joined
Sep 5, 2019
Messages
1,602
I understand that crickets and zophoba have strong mandibles and they can be a threat to molting tarantulas.
However, there seems to be a common opinion that roaches are harmless to molting spiders, and I roaches eat literally everything, same as isopods.

What's the difference between isopods and roaches that makes the former dangerous? Their mouth parts shouldn't be bigger or stronger than roaches'.
roaches are also dangerous, but you could literally cut the head off of a roach and it would still run around like a prey item.
 
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