My Isopod journey

[Ceymann]

So about 4 months ago I started looking into bioactive setups for my spoods and saw that isopods were a common component of the CUC, I had never really paid them any attention when I would see them at shows, it wasn't until a few weeks ago when I discovered all the different species and neat color morphs that are out there.
I did a bit of research on their husbandry and picked up 20 orange scabers and was surprised how different they were from the typical rollie pollies I would collect as a kid, they move pretty swiftly too!
After the first two weeks of having them, I discovered some babies cruising around the enclosure!




At that point I was hooked! I started scouring the interwebz for more information on different species, care tips, substrate recipes etc

I ended up picking up 30 more orange scabers so I could move them into a bigger enclosure and I also picked up 40 dairy cows, that I really enjoy watching demolish the freeze dried minnows I give them.


Then a few weeks ago I gave onto temptations and got 20 Cubaris rubber duckies.
I had researched that they have been observed in and around limestone caves and many successful keepers believe that bat droppings could be beneficial, which makes sense to me considering they are a detritivore that is found in and around caves, so I made a sub mix with aspen snake bedding, happy frog bat guano potting mix, leaf litter, moss CaCO3 powder and small chunks of old coral skeletons



I must have gotten a gravid adult because yesterday while doing some maintenance I spotted two tiny babies!
Im estatic about them!

 

[Ceymann]

Just received 30 panda kings on Thursday and yesterday while getting crickets and discoids at the LPS, I saw that they had P. hoffmannseggi and had to snatch them up!

 

[Ceymann]

My orange scabers are going nuts!
Love it!

 

[Realregallover]

So about 4 months ago I started looking into bioactive setups for my spoods and saw that isopods were a common component of the CUC, I had never really paid them any attention when I would see them at shows, it wasn't until a few weeks ago when I discovered all the different species and neat color morphs that are out there.
I did a bit of research on their husbandry and picked up 20 orange scabers and was surprised how different they were from the typical rollie pollies I would collect as a kid, they move pretty swiftly too!
After the first two weeks of having them, I discovered some babies cruising around the enclosure!

View attachment 393984


At that point I was hooked! I started scouring the interwebz for more information on different species, care tips, substrate recipes etc

I ended up picking up 30 more orange scabers so I could move them into a bigger enclosure and I also picked up 40 dairy cows, that I really enjoy watching demolish the freeze dried minnows I give them.


Then a few weeks ago I gave onto temptations and got 20 Cubaris rubber duckies.
I had researched that they have been observed in and around limestone caves and many successful keepers believe that bat droppings could be beneficial, which makes sense to me considering they are a detritivore that is found in and around caves, so I made a sub mix with aspen snake bedding, happy frog bat guano potting mix, leaf litter, moss CaCO3 powder and small chunks of old coral skeletons

View attachment 393988

I must have gotten a gravid adult because yesterday while doing some maintenance I spotted two tiny babies!
Im estatic about them!

View attachment 393994
View attachment 393993

Just got in dalmatians and ordered brown arma. 13 species so far. Trying to collect them all!!

 

[Realregallover]

So about 4 months ago I started looking into bioactive setups for my spoods and saw that isopods were a common component of the CUC, I had never really paid them any attention when I would see them at shows, it wasn't until a few weeks ago when I discovered all the different species and neat color morphs that are out there.
I did a bit of research on their husbandry and picked up 20 orange scabers and was surprised how different they were from the typical rollie pollies I would collect as a kid, they move pretty swiftly too!
After the first two weeks of having them, I discovered some babies cruising around the enclosure!

View attachment 393984


At that point I was hooked! I started scouring the interwebz for more information on different species, care tips, substrate recipes etc

I ended up picking up 30 more orange scabers so I could move them into a bigger enclosure and I also picked up 40 dairy cows, that I really enjoy watching demolish the freeze dried minnows I give them.


Then a few weeks ago I gave onto temptations and got 20 Cubaris rubber duckies.
I had researched that they have been observed in and around limestone caves and many successful keepers believe that bat droppings could be beneficial, which makes sense to me considering they are a detritivore that is found in and around caves, so I made a sub mix with aspen snake bedding, happy frog bat guano potting mix, leaf litter, moss CaCO3 powder and small chunks of old coral skeletons

View attachment 393988

I must have gotten a gravid adult because yesterday while doing some maintenance I spotted two tiny babies!
Im estatic about them!

View attachment 393994
View attachment 393993

 

[Ceymann]

My dairy cows are starting to take off as well, mancea all over the place!

 

[Nicole C G]

I love Rubber Ducky isopods they are so cute!

 

[antinous]

Is this the potting mix you used? Was thinking about incorporating it into a mix containing leaf litter, sphagnum, some more worm castings, and a bit of coco coir as a filler.

 

[Ceymann]

Is this the potting mix you used? Was thinking about incorporating it into a mix containing leaf litter, sphagnum, some more worm castings, and a bit of coco coir as a filler.
View attachment 408018

Sorry for the late reply, been off the forums for a bit, yes I specifically used the Fox Farms happy frog in my substrate blend that I used in my Cubaris enclosures as it contains bat poo as a nitrogen/ phosphate source, being that many of the Cubaris species are cave dwelling detritivores, bat poo seems like a nutrient source they would encounter in their natural habitat. I was able to make my 20 rubber duckies blow up into a 150+ colony in about a year which I had to sell before moving a few years back, actually made a nice chunk of money off that colony.
Other things I did that I believe contributed to my success was using rinsed / dried Halimedia calcareous macro Algea and skeletons of Acropora sp coral for their calcium sources and feeding freeze dried minnows.