isopod cooperative predatory behaviour?!

ok... so i have a gravid vittatus in a 18" upright front-loading exo-terra terrarium.
i have some isopods in there too, ~20 i guess collected from my garden.
so i peeked in this morning and this is what i saw:

i took pictures from two different angles...
so, there are two isopods, holding a cricket that's been chewed, but still alive and wriggling... it may not be clear in the picture, but the cricket is not touching the ground, i.e. the isopods are dangling it in the air. the cricket looks like its rear end has been eaten, and i'm guessing the isopods are eating it!

has anyone every witnessed this before?
my leading theory is something along these lines: the vittatus stung the cricket, sufficiently to paralyze it, ate some of it, but not enough to kill it, then wandered off. some isopods found it and started eating it, and while they were doing this, it semi-revived and started wiggling, which is when i saw them.
my biggest questions i guess: why are they dangling it upside down? to what degree are they "cooperating" ? do they commonly consume somewhat-living prey, and are they any threat to a mild-mannered gravid vittatus and her future scorplings?

cheers!
- munis

I believe they are omnivores and will eat any thing.

I guess they were very hungry and the cricket was the first thing they sensed to eat.

I know they do love to eat the F/T mice that my snakes wont eat.. crazy things.

That is crazy. I've never seen that. I guess they must have been really hungry! I love isopods though. They're great cleaners. I hunt for them on my lunch break at work sometimes. There are tons of dead leaves around that they like to hide under. Never seen them eating something alive. That's cool

That is precisely why I don't put them in with millis anymore. I've caught them nibbling on millis that are still alive. They managed to kill off my yellow leg milli colony before I could figure out why the were dying. I suppose they don't harm larger inverts, but I can't chance it anymore.

musihuto said:

do they commonly consume somewhat-living prey, and are they any threat to a mild-mannered gravid vittatus and her future scorplings?
- munis

Click to expand...

I would say they are a definite potential threat to the scorplings, but I think I am in the minority that think so.

I would agree if the do that they would eat a molting scorp for sure.. interesting pics! thanks for sharing.

well, those are pillbugs, i am thinking that with sowbugs, they might be different??? cause sowbugs feed on rotten woods right??