How to raise and breed sow bugs?

Embers To Ashes

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 14, 2011
Messages
269
I know that this is probably a question that has been asked 1,000,000 times, but I have searched and have not found anything segnificant.

I found some isopods today. I believe they are sow bugs. I have not seen any roll into a ball. I have 7 of them, mostly found under three diffrent logs. I want to be able to breed enough to be able to put them in all of my tarantula cages. Most of them look the same, so I do believe they are all the same species (exept for maybe one because he is alot smaller and lighter in color. They seem to be getting along fine, though)

Right now, they are in a deli cup with about half an inch of maist eco earth. I gave them some dry oatmeal and fish flakes for food.

How should I set their container up?
How do I breed them?
How long will it take to raise a small colony?
 

khil

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 5, 2010
Messages
315
I stress keeping them humid, I tried keeping them in a critter cage with coco fiber and dirt, even with daily mistings they all ****en died, isopods piss me off.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Messages
5,357
I'd put them in substrate collected from the site you found them in, but that's just me.

I have a bunch of isopods I put in a ten-gallon with some E. floridana, two species of millipede, and a few beetles. Rotting wood, leaf litter, and there are tiny babies all over the place.
 

H. laoticus

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
1,017
Yup, you gotta put in some sort of shelter to help the substrate stay moist or to allow them a moist place to stay under. Rotting wood like suggested is great for them. You can also use leaf litter. They will eat pretty much everything, but I tend to use stuff that doesn't leave bad odors.
 
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