Isopod breeding

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
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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?

 

SlugPod

Arachnoknight
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Sep 28, 2015
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193
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.
 

sdsnybny

Arachnogeek
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Apr 29, 2015
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1,330
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
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
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Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
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.
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.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
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.
 

sdsnybny

Arachnogeek
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Apr 29, 2015
Messages
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Your welcome I want to see your culture take off like mine did. I'm getting ready to split the again. ;)




 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
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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.
 

EulersK

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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.
 

SlugPod

Arachnoknight
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Messages
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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.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
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.
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.
 

SlugPod

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 28, 2015
Messages
193
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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