Isopod attempt #3, gonna do it right this time!

Cavedweller

Arachnoprince
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I've wanted to try keeping pillbugs since I was in preschool, but I haven't had the best luck with em.

My first batch of pillbugs met an untimely end come summer, my apartment at the time had very little insulation and a big glass door facing the sun :(

Last year I gave it another shot, but I had several deaths within the first week, figured I was doing something wrong, and released the rest back where I caught them. Afterwards, someone (I can't remember who) told me an initial dieoff was normal with a newly caught batch of isopods.

I'd like to try it again this year, and make sure I do everything absolutely right. I was just going to keep them like millipedes; a 50% cocofiber, 25% leaf litter, 25% rotten wood/aspen shavings substrate mix, with extra leaf litter on top. Low ventilation. A slab of wood to hide under. Maybe some springtails.

Any suggestions or tips?
 

DETHCHEEZ

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Feb 11, 2010
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I may be wrong here if the pillbugs you have in Texas are different from the ones we have here???

NOT saying that there's anything wrong with your substrate mix / Sounds good
But think you might be over thinking it a bit

If you have access to organic compost try using that as a substrate
My compost pile is fill with 10s of 1000s of pill & sow bugs

They feed on decaying organic matter so compost is a good choice for substrate
They'll also eat stuff like lettuce & veggie scraps etc...

I've never kept them as pets
But do use them as clean up crews in my more humid tanks
&
My problem isn't keeping them alive
It's picking them out so they don't over run the tank / LOL
They multiply like crazy

Hope that helps
 

Hisserdude

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If they are the common pillbugs, (Armadillidium vulgare), make sure they have good ventilation, otherwise they will slowly die off. Also make sure they have rotten leaves at all times, it is their main diet and isopods will reproduce poorly or not at all without them. Hope this helps! :)
 

Cavedweller

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@DETHCHEEZE:
I think Armadillidium vulgare is spread all over the US? Man I had no idea the ubiquitous roly-poly was an introduced species!

The substrate mix is just what I've been breeding millipedes in, since that's what I have on hand I figured I won't fix what isn't broken. Unfortunately I do not have access to organic compost.

I don't have anything that eats pillbugs, when the population gets too high, I figured it would be ok to just release some back where I first caught them (at night or during a cool, moist day of course).

If they are the common pillbugs, (Armadillidium vulgare), make sure they have good ventilation, otherwise they will slowly die off.
Whoa, I didn't know that about pillbugs, thanks!
 

Hisserdude

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I didn't know either, until I read it in orin's isopod book! Hope you have success keeping them, 3rd time's the charm eh! ;)
 

KcFerry

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Mar 17, 2014
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80
I've wanted to try keeping pillbugs since I was in preschool, but I haven't had the best luck with em.

My first batch of pillbugs met an untimely end come summer, my apartment at the time had very little insulation and a big glass door facing the sun :(

Last year I gave it another shot, but I had several deaths within the first week, figured I was doing something wrong, and released the rest back where I caught them. Afterwards, someone (I can't remember who) told me an initial dieoff was normal with a newly caught batch of isopods.

I'd like to try it again this year, and make sure I do everything absolutely right. I was just going to keep them like millipedes; a 50% cocofiber, 25% leaf litter, 25% rotten wood/aspen shavings substrate mix, with extra leaf litter on top. Low ventilation. A slab of wood to hide under. Maybe some springtails.

Any suggestions or tips?
I've had good luck keeping them and letting them breed, but mine don't last long in my T enclosures? I have naturally occurring springtails in my more humid enclosures which do a nice job keeping things tidy and mold free.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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Here's another fun fact
They're actually "Land Crustaceans"
You can take that a step of two further. Crustaceans are the most obvious evolutionary bridge from aquatic to terrestrial. Numerous terrestrial myriapods closely resemble their aquatic relatives and of course there are fresh water and terrestrial crabs.
 

Scythemantis

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I have isopods breeding like mad in all of my tanks and they are virtually not ventilated at all. My tanks have glass pieces for lids with no visible gaps, moisture held in like a terrarium and they do just fine with rotten wood and soil....you guys overthink them!

I don't even have to add food, they eat the wood and leaves, though I add food anyway.
 

Hisserdude

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Well most isopods do not need much ventilation, but the roly poly/A.vulgare die without proper ventilation.
 

Cavedweller

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Well I ordered the book, can't wait to read it.

Anyone on the forum tried selectively breeding isopods for color before? I know several different color variations of sowbugs have been produced, but I have no idea how long it took. I find those pretty greenish-spotted pillbugs around here and I wanna try breeding for more green.

Here's another fun fact
They're actually "Land Crustaceans"
Wait, wait, I've got it, "Dirt Lobsters".
 

Smokehound714

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there are two armadillidium species in the USA- vulgare, and nasatum. In most of their range here, both are generally found together.
 

Cavedweller

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Thanks for the tip! I did a little googling, Bugs in Cyberspace mentions how to tell them apart:
We have two familiar species of pills bugs in the US. Armadillidium vulgare is the larger of the two, and the dorsal segments tend to be glossy. Larger individuals of A. vulgare (older) often exhibit yellow or greenish spotting which occurs mainly down the middle of the segments. The other species we usually encounter is Armadillidium nasatum. These are smaller and tend to have a pattern of very pale green to gray spots running through the middle and along the sides of the segments. A. nasatum is also less glossy, if at all.
Sounds like I'll get a feel for telling them apart with practice. Any idea if the book has some comparison photos?
 

watertiger21

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I did know this and it always makes me wonder if they taste anything like crab or lobster.
Actually, you're quite right! Isopods do taste a little like crab/lobster, and they even change colors when you boil them like lobster does. They're quite edible as long as you cook them! :D


I've successfully kept four species of isopod (seven varieties) and they've all been super easy. And once they start breeding, you'll quickly have too many! lol
Substrate doesn't matter too much as long as you don't let it dry out... Definitely keep it nice and moist.

I feed my cultures old dry leaves from hardwood and softwood deciduous trees such as cottonwood, oak, maple, and ash. I also provide pieces of rotting wood too.
This is really all they need, but I do supplement their diet with occasional treats like romaine lettuce, carrot, cichlid pellet fish food (for protein), and bell pepper. In fact, slices of bell pepper seem to be their absolute FAVORITE food!
It's fun to experiment too... one time I gave them half a jalapeno and to my surprise, they swarmed it and completely ate it within hours!

Good luck!
 

pannaking22

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Actually, you're quite right! Isopods do taste a little like crab/lobster, and they even change colors when you boil them like lobster does. They're quite edible as long as you cook them! :D


I've successfully kept four species of isopod (seven varieties) and they've all been super easy. And once they start breeding, you'll quickly have too many! lol
Substrate doesn't matter too much as long as you don't let it dry out... Definitely keep it nice and moist.

I feed my cultures old dry leaves from hardwood and softwood deciduous trees such as cottonwood, oak, maple, and ash. I also provide pieces of rotting wood too.
This is really all they need, but I do supplement their diet with occasional treats like romaine lettuce, carrot, cichlid pellet fish food (for protein), and bell pepper. In fact, slices of bell pepper seem to be their absolute FAVORITE food!
It's fun to experiment too... one time I gave them half a jalapeno and to my surprise, they swarmed it and completely ate it within hours!

Good luck!
Interesting that they seem to enjoy peppers the most. I wonder if they store the chemicals from the pepper to use as a defense against predators?
 

Biollantefan54

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Actually, you're quite right! Isopods do taste a little like crab/lobster, and they even change colors when you boil them like lobster does. They're quite edible as long as you cook them! :D


I've successfully kept four species of isopod (seven varieties) and they've all been super easy. And once they start breeding, you'll quickly have too many! lol
Substrate doesn't matter too much as long as you don't let it dry out... Definitely keep it nice and moist.

I feed my cultures old dry leaves from hardwood and softwood deciduous trees such as cottonwood, oak, maple, and ash. I also provide pieces of rotting wood too.
This is really all they need, but I do supplement their diet with occasional treats like romaine lettuce, carrot, cichlid pellet fish food (for protein), and bell pepper. In fact, slices of bell pepper seem to be their absolute FAVORITE food!
It's fun to experiment too... one time I gave them half a jalapeno and to my surprise, they swarmed it and completely ate it within hours!

Good luck!
I have known they are crustaceans for a while and one day a thought popped into my head...I wonder what they taste like!? So, I Googled some stuff, and threw one in some boiling water for a few minutes, after I worked up the courage to toss it in my mouth...I wasn't disappointed with the taste.

I bet you can make some good food if you can muster up the courage to eat a lot of them.
 

dementedlullaby

Arachnobaron
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May 8, 2014
Messages
300
Actually, you're quite right! Isopods do taste a little like crab/lobster, and they even change colors when you boil them like lobster does. They're quite edible as long as you cook them! :D

I bet the giant deep sea variety is especially good eatin'! haha ^_^

IIRC the reason they need good ventilation is because of how they breath. Just give 'em some cross vent holes, toss in some old leaf matter and they should explode (population wise of course :D) shortly. Half of the battle is to stop over thinking it lol!
 
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