Care Guide
- Here's What You Should Know -
Isopods are extremely easy to care for, and extremely affordable as well!
Step 1. Choose a plastic or glass enclosure that's at least 8 inches deep. Isopods cannot climb vertical glass or plastic, so make sure the enclosure you choose leaves a bit of space above the substrate so your isopods don't fall out.
Step 2. Add around 3 inches of substrate. If you are purchasing your first colony from me, I will include the dried substrate / leaf litter mix. Soak the included substrate in water until it expands. Squeeze out the handfuls of substrate so that it is damp but not dripping and add them to the enclosure. Mix in your leaf litter, leaving a few pieces of bark to lay over the top.
Step 3. Find a safe place in the shade to set up your enclosure and add your isopods! Avoid the temptation to handle them right away, as giving them time to acclimate to their new enclosure gives you the best chance of cultivating a happy and healthy colony.
Step 4. Feed scraps of veggies and fruits a few times a month. Leftover bones are also beloved by the pods, especially if the bones are broken open and the pods can access the marrow. If the pods are breaking down the leaf litter too quickly, you can supplement more scraps. Dusting their food with calcium powder or crushed eggshells is also recommended. If the isopods do not eat something before it molds, throw it away to avoid attracting fruit flies.
Step 5. Refresh the substrate as needed. When the soil looks blackened, deflated, or dirty, add some fresh substrate. Coconut soil should be a rich brown when damp, and has a fluffy texture, enabling keepers to see the pods tunneling along the walls. If the soil looks tightly packed, dark, and flaked with white specks of poop, it's time to refresh the substrate.
Step 6. If using a lidless enclosure, be sure to add water every few days. I recommend pouring water into the same side of the enclosure when you need to add moisture. This will allow for deeper penetration than misting, and gives the isopods more freedom to self-regulate their moisture needs.
Step 1. Choose a plastic or glass enclosure that's at least 8 inches deep. Isopods cannot climb vertical glass or plastic, so make sure the enclosure you choose leaves a bit of space above the substrate so your isopods don't fall out.
Step 2. Add around 3 inches of substrate. If you are purchasing your first colony from me, I will include the dried substrate / leaf litter mix. Soak the included substrate in water until it expands. Squeeze out the handfuls of substrate so that it is damp but not dripping and add them to the enclosure. Mix in your leaf litter, leaving a few pieces of bark to lay over the top.
Step 3. Find a safe place in the shade to set up your enclosure and add your isopods! Avoid the temptation to handle them right away, as giving them time to acclimate to their new enclosure gives you the best chance of cultivating a happy and healthy colony.
Step 4. Feed scraps of veggies and fruits a few times a month. Leftover bones are also beloved by the pods, especially if the bones are broken open and the pods can access the marrow. If the pods are breaking down the leaf litter too quickly, you can supplement more scraps. Dusting their food with calcium powder or crushed eggshells is also recommended. If the isopods do not eat something before it molds, throw it away to avoid attracting fruit flies.
Step 5. Refresh the substrate as needed. When the soil looks blackened, deflated, or dirty, add some fresh substrate. Coconut soil should be a rich brown when damp, and has a fluffy texture, enabling keepers to see the pods tunneling along the walls. If the soil looks tightly packed, dark, and flaked with white specks of poop, it's time to refresh the substrate.
Step 6. If using a lidless enclosure, be sure to add water every few days. I recommend pouring water into the same side of the enclosure when you need to add moisture. This will allow for deeper penetration than misting, and gives the isopods more freedom to self-regulate their moisture needs.
Are my Pods Happy?
Just like getting a dog or a cat, it is very important to know how to tell if your pet is happy and thriving or not before you get them. Isopods cannot wag a tail or purr to show happiness, but there are signs you can learn to ensure their well-being. Isopods are too small to recognize humans as fellow animals, and their brains are much more simple, only designed for survival. They do not feel pain or emotion as we understand it. Thus, it is our job as the keepers to ensure a safe environment for your pets to thrive.
Healthy isopod colonies will reproduce on their own, especially in the springtime, and they value quantity over quality for their young. Not all babies will make it to adulthood, and that's normal. They will molt every few weeks, and always in two halves. They do not lay eggs like other crustaceans but instead give live birth. (If you see what look like egg clusters, they are almost certainly soil mites.) A. Vulgare isopods are typically lazy during the day and more active at night. They need enough space and a moisture gradient to self-regulate their breathing as necessary. If in doubt, wet the substrate. Isopods cannot drown in water, but they can easily suffocate in dry air. Periodic deaths are normal, and pods are great at disposing of their dead on their own. A healthy colony will have random deaths of various ages and morphs of pods. If many pods are dying at once, or many of the same type or age dying, or you observe pods scrambling against the walls of the enclosure / attempting escape, you should re-evaluate your husbandry. Soil mites, mold overgrowth, and an excess of waste material can usually be solved by adding more springtails to the substrate.
Healthy isopod colonies will reproduce on their own, especially in the springtime, and they value quantity over quality for their young. Not all babies will make it to adulthood, and that's normal. They will molt every few weeks, and always in two halves. They do not lay eggs like other crustaceans but instead give live birth. (If you see what look like egg clusters, they are almost certainly soil mites.) A. Vulgare isopods are typically lazy during the day and more active at night. They need enough space and a moisture gradient to self-regulate their breathing as necessary. If in doubt, wet the substrate. Isopods cannot drown in water, but they can easily suffocate in dry air. Periodic deaths are normal, and pods are great at disposing of their dead on their own. A healthy colony will have random deaths of various ages and morphs of pods. If many pods are dying at once, or many of the same type or age dying, or you observe pods scrambling against the walls of the enclosure / attempting escape, you should re-evaluate your husbandry. Soil mites, mold overgrowth, and an excess of waste material can usually be solved by adding more springtails to the substrate.
Tips!
- Keep substrate moist! Isopods are crustaceans, not insects, so they breathe through psuedo-gills and need water in their soil to survive. The substrate should be damp but not dripping when added to the isopod enclosure, with a gradient of moisture more concentrated on one side.
- Add springtails! Springtails are fellow detritivores who can clean up the minimal waste isopods make, in addition to eating mold and soil mites, keeping your pod colony balanced and healthy.
- If your isopod enclosure has a lid, make sure it is well ventilated when feeding, especially fresh greens or decayed fruits and veggies as the gasses they release can quickly build up in small enclosure spaces and suffocate your colony.
- Handle your pods gently! If you need to move or pick up your pods, a plastic spoon can safely move the isopods from one container to another.
Springtails
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Isopod giving birth + her baby pods
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Soil Mites
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Lid or No Lid?
Whether or not to keep a lid on your enclosure is ultimately your choice as the keeper, but the pros and cons are simple. Open faced enclosures offer better viewability and make prettier display pieces. However, because they are exposed to the air, they need to be watered more frequently, especially in terrariums with shallower substrate. Enclosures with lids are not as good for casual viewing, but keep the humidity and moisture levels more consistent for longer.
Please be aware that a. vulgare is an extremely prolific species. If you are keeping 10 or more, you are almost guaranteed to have a breeding pair who can produce 100-300 individuals at a time. If you end up with more babies than you want, check your local area's laws. If a. vulgare is native in your area, you can safely release them back into the wild.
Wanna Learn More?
Dune's Pet Pods is happy to partner with Exipods! Check out their site to learn more about the hobby, as well as adopting a wide variety of species!
Exipods.net
