how to: isopod colony

kingfarvito · Feb 18, 2008

i figured some of you might want to know how to breed your own isopods so here you go
your going to need some isopods
a container
some leaf litter/coir mix
and some water

I got these from my front yard

this is the bedding i use its mulberry leaf litter 40% coir 20% peat 20% potting soil 5% and some rotting wood 15% keep this fairly moist

for the purpose of this thread i used this container pack the bedding down a little

and now add your isopods im not sure how long it takes for them to reproduce...ive had mine for about 3 months and the tub i keep them in is packed with babies and i have about 3 times as many adults as i did when i collected them and i have yet to feed them....they eat the bedding

Jer · Feb 18, 2008

My basement is infested with these guys. What would you recommend for bedding that I can buy from a store? Theres 10 feet of snow on the ground.

kingfarvito · Feb 18, 2008

Jer said:
My basement is infested with these guys. What would you recommend for bedding that I can buy from a store? Theres 10 feet of snow on the ground.

PM me ill sell you some leaf litter and you can mix it with coir or peat

magikscorps · Feb 19, 2008

I too have the same problem, I just got some orange ones Im a little concerned about the leaf litter.......I too have snow on the ground Is there a suppler.? Do you know is certain types of leafs are good bad ect ? Thanks Isaac

KyuZo · Feb 19, 2008

just use a little bit of dog/cat kibble and fruits/veggie and some moss and you'll be alright. if you want to add any type of leaves, then i would go with any type of hardwood leaves. It can be oak leaves (from acorn tree), maple leaves, or whatever. throw in a decaying piece of wood or twigs if you like.

Brian S · Feb 19, 2008

You all need to make sure Old Hag approves all of this. Everyone knows how serious she takes Isopods!

kingfarvito · Feb 19, 2008

something i forgot to add.. when starting a new tank for Ts or any tropical animal really i just toss in a hand full of the isopod packed substrate

OldHag · Feb 19, 2008

Brian S said:
You all need to make sure Old Hag approves all of this. Everyone knows how serious she takes Isopods!

I have no idea what your talking about....

I would, IF I had any isopods, use peatmoss and oak leaves with some rotton deciduous wood mixed in for good measure. That is only IF I had isopods, which I dont. I dont even know what they are....

kupo969 · Feb 20, 2008

So fruits/veggies are an alternative if you can't get any leaf litter?

OldHag · Feb 20, 2008

An occational cucumber is a great treat for them. They absolutly love the stuff. Dead mice and worms and stuff are appreciated by them as well... not that I would know of course....

kupo969 · Feb 20, 2008

OldHag said:
An occational cucumber is a great treat for them. They absolutly love the stuff. Dead mice and worms and stuff are appreciated by them as well... not that I would know of course....

Awesome, sounds cool. As for the leaves, just pick them up from the ground and throw them in the enclosure? No baking?

OldHag · Feb 20, 2008

You could freeze them. Or cook them in the microwave. I just go out in September and gather oak leaves in the mountains. Garbage bags FULL of the stuff. It lasts forever.
I dont personally cook or freeze anything...but if your nervous about it sure, go for it.

pinkfoot · Feb 21, 2008

Since you clearly don't know, Mz Hag - Are there many different species of Isopod, and are they all safe to use as T's tank cleaners?

We have some in our garden, but I wouldn't take the chance without advice from someone, and since you don't know....I thought I'd ask you.

OldHag · Feb 21, 2008

Well, I really dont know, but I would get some from the yard and let them have babies and use the babies after a few months to make sure they arent dying of some horrible disease. I may or may not have a colony of thousands for years and years so I know mine to be safe... assuming I had any..

They just die in T tanks anyway because the enclosures are too dry. They need constant moisture to be able to breath. They have weird little gills they breath with.
Yes there are different kinds. Around there there are the Rolly polly kind (roll up in balls) and the wood lice kind (flat, and dont roll up). They both love insect parts ie crickets n such. They all love the cucumbers and dead mice and worms and snake sheds as well. None will bother the tarantula unless the T is dead and becomes a food item for them.

Jer · Feb 21, 2008

I live in Canada so shipping leaf litter from Arizona doesn't seem worthwhile.

I am interested in not bringing leaf litter (and whatever is living in it) into my house. I already have enough of a problem with mold and spiders and fruit flies and mites, I don't need to bring something else into the picture.

What commercially available prodcuts could be used as an alternative?

kupo969 · Feb 22, 2008

OldHag said:
You could freeze them. Or cook them in the microwave. I just go out in September and gather oak leaves in the mountains. Garbage bags FULL of the stuff. It lasts forever.
I dont personally cook or freeze anything...but if your nervous about it sure, go for it.

How long would you microwave/freeze them for?

pinkfoot · Feb 22, 2008

OldHag said:
Well, I really dont know, but I would get some from the yard and let them have babies and use the babies after a few months to make sure they arent dying of some horrible disease. I may or may not have a colony of thousands for years and years so I know mine to be safe... assuming I had any..

They just die in T tanks anyway because the enclosures are too dry. They need constant moisture to be able to breath. They have weird little gills they breath with.
Yes there are different kinds. Around there there are the Rolly polly kind (roll up in balls) and the wood lice kind (flat, and dont roll up). They both love insect parts ie crickets n such. They all love the cucumbers and dead mice and worms and snake sheds as well. None will bother the tarantula unless the T is dead and becomes a food item for them.

Solid advice, Thanks!

PS You really should get some...they sound like fun!

jbrd · Feb 22, 2008

My .02

Isopods are actually really good for T enclosures, especially if you keep a high humidity enclosure.
We use to have a dry P.murinus communal tank for approximately two years that had isopods in it. I kept a large water dish in the center that i would over flow to keep the substrate moist for them, plus I would add a leaf or two under the dish periodically to add to there diet. I can honestly say I never had to pull one bolus or a dead prey item out in the two years I had the tank going.
I have also had good luck with them in a T.blondi enclosures too.

ArachnoBasement · Feb 26, 2008

This is a great thread as I've had mixed results with my isopods. I was keeping them in a sealed container with about 3 or 4 inches of cocoa bedding and a good 2 or 3 inches of leaf litter on the top. Naturally, I would always see them on the leaf litter mostly, but for some reason, it never crossed my mind to make ALL of the substrate leaf litter. I'm going to go give that a shot now as I just obtained a new start culture of orange guys. Hey Old Hag, I figured I'd just ask you for some reason.... do you have any idea where one can find a culture of the dwarf white iso's???:?

OldHag · Feb 26, 2008

DoubleDs has white isopods.. or he did. I have a colony of them.. somewhere..

how to: isopod colony

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