Care Guide
- Here's What You Should Know -
Isopods are extremely easy to care for, and extremely cheap as well!
Step 1. Choose a plastic or glass enclosure that's at least 3 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. Soak your 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 mix, 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!
Step 4. Feed a few small scraps of veggies and fruits a few times a month. If they are eating the leaf litter, 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. 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 mist the top with water every few days.
Step 1. Choose a plastic or glass enclosure that's at least 3 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. Soak your 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 mix, 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!
Step 4. Feed a few small scraps of veggies and fruits a few times a month. If they are eating the leaf litter, 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. 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 mist the top with water every few days.
Tips!
- Keep substrate moist! Isopods are crustaceans, not insects, so they breathe through gills and need water in their soil to survive. The substrate should be damp but not dripping when added to the isopod enclosure.
- No citrus or citrus peel! While some isopods have eaten citrus with seemingly no effect, many colonies have reacted poorly or died after consuming citrus, so I recommend avoiding it.
- If your isopod enclosure has a lid, make sure it is well ventilated when feeding, especially greens or decayed fruits and veggies as the gasses they release can quickly build up in small enclosure spaces and suffocate your colony.
- Use a soft bristled paintbrush or a blunt edged plastic spoon to safely move the isopods from one container to another when cleaning their enclosures.
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 misted 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
