Isopod tips and tricks.

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
2,453
Besides the staple diet of dead leaves supplemented with dog/cat food, fruits and veggies, no, they don't really need anything special. Potting soil or coconut fiber works fine as a substrate, and as long as they have lots of decaying hardwood leaves available, most species should breed well for you.

Of course there are exceptions, some rarer species have been entering the hobby lately that have more specific care requirements, but for the majority of the commonly kept isopods, husbandry is rather straightforward. :)
 

Arachnomaniac19

Arachnolord
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
652
Besides the staple diet of dead leaves supplemented with dog/cat food, fruits and veggies, no, they don't really need anything special. Potting soil or coconut fiber works fine as a substrate, and as long as they have lots of decaying hardwood leaves available, most species should breed well for you.

Of course there are exceptions, some rarer species have been entering the hobby lately that have more specific care requirements, but for the majority of the commonly kept isopods, husbandry is rather straightforward. :)
I'm just looking for some tips to make them healthier, breed faster, etc.
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
2,453
I'm just looking for some tips to make them healthier, breed faster, etc.
Really just make sure they have a bunch of dead leaves available, and that'll keep them breeding and healthy. Not sure there's anything else you could do to speed up their development.
 

SlugPod

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 28, 2015
Messages
193
I don't think there's anything you can do to make them breed faster + grow up faster.
Just keeping them in the proper conditions will take care of everything.

Some species have slower growth rates whereas others grow faster therefore start reproducing faster.
If you're looking for faster breeding, you'd have to get a species that grows faster. They don't necessarily produce in mass numbers but they reproduce faster.
I believe Porcellio scaber have high reproduction rates.
 

blacksheep998

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
65
Seconding P. scaber for fast reproductive rates.

My first F1 cross between the orange and dalmatian color morphs was born April 8th, 2015. I'm sure on that date because I had just the one female by herself in the container and was checking her daily to see when her eggs hatched.

I saw the first of the F2 generation on August 19th of the same year. I'm not sure the exact date they were born but it can't have been more than a couple days prior to that. So that's only 4 months for new hatchlings to produce their own offspring.
 

BobBarley

Arachnoprince
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
1,486
Really just make sure they have a bunch of dead leaves available, and that'll keep them breeding and healthy. Not sure there's anything else you could do to speed up their development.
Question: Could isopods sustain themselves off of just rotted hardwood, or do they absolutely need rotted hardwood leaves?
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
2,453
Question: Could isopods sustain themselves off of just rotted hardwood, or do they absolutely need rotted hardwood leaves?
For reproduction, they pretty much absolutely need rotten leaves. They may produce a few offspring without leaves and can certainly survive without them, but for good, consistent reproduction and decent sized litters, most isopods need rotten leaves.
 
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