What is the best california native spider to house with isopods as main diet?

[Gracelikesinsects]

Hi there new to this forum! I wasnt sure where to post so I hope this is correct. I have a huge colony of isopods. Started with 12 and getting close to one hundred maybe more! Ive wanted to add a spider to keep the colony from getting too large and was thinking of a wolf spider. They are my favorite and I have tons in my back yard. (Im located in Northern California). But will they survive on an isopod diet? If not whats the best spider to find for the job? Any help is appriciated!

 

[BoyFromLA]

If I understood correctly, you want to put a wolf spider into isopod colony enclosure?

A wolf spider may eat one or two, or even three, but by the time when it molts, it will probably be eaten alive by swarm of isopods. That’s my theory.

I am curious though, why not just separate your colony and sell or give away or even release to your back yard?

 

[The Snark]

Or put a chicken in with them for about 10-15 seconds.

 

[Gracelikesinsects]

If I understood correctly, you want to put a wolf spider into isopod colony enclosure?

A wolf spider may eat one or two, or even three, but by the time when it molts, it will probably be eaten alive by swarm of isopods. That’s my theory.

I am curious though, why not just separate your colony and sell or give away or even release to your back yard?

I was growing them more for fun and for cool morphs but im really interested in turning it more into an terrarium of sorts. I plan on releasing some. Guess I just really wanted to add a spider

Or put a chicken in with them for about 10-15 seconds.

My chickens would eat all of them and Id have no isopods at all anymore lol

I wanted to add, I was just looking at options for population controll. I just dont want the numbers to grow out of controll or anything. Separating them out and adding them to terrariums is totally my plan for them. Idk about selling any. I live in a small town where not too many people do bio active set ups for their reptiles or invertebrates. Another reason I started was to see if I could make any cool looking isopods. So yeah basically just for fun. Thought having a nice sized spider in there would be really cool and usefull but definitely dont want the poor guy to be devoured so wont do that. Thanks for the help!

 

[Hakuna]

Get a toad

 

[DaveM]

Idk about selling any. I live in a small town where not too many people do bio active set ups for their reptiles or invertebrates.

You could ship the isopods, sell them online, maybe not worth the effort at the scale of your operations. You could also use your isopod tank as a feeder colony for a spider in another enclosure, or for chickens in the yard.

My chickens would eat all of them and Id have no isopods at all anymore lol

That Snark knew as much -- he's very wise -- and that was his joke. It would be fine removing isopods to toss to the birds.

Really, my favorite option for you is to get one of these: Dysdera crocata -- a great looking spider that specializes in preying on isopods. D. crocata is a California native too (in modern times).

 

[Edan bandoot]

If you had a large enough vivarium you could use a web dwelling species, but instraspecies interaction would be minimal, so whats the point.

NordicAnts has a large vivarium going on and the isopods were in massive surplus until he added amphibians. No insect would suffice for population control.

 

[chibicricket]

I have a yellow spotted climbing toad that eats the isopods in his bioactive enclosure, so much so that I think he decimated the 1st colony I had in there. Toads and frogs eat everything they can fit in their pie holes.

 

[RezonantVoid]

Bothriocyrtum californicum