I’m wondering if any of you keep isopods purely for fun. I’ve always loved the little guys, and while I’ve seen them used for bioactive setups for reptiles or as food, I haven’t seen too many people keep them for their own sake.
I was considering getting a “starter kit” from Rubber Ducky Isopods (who apparently are in Denver, so I’m about an hour and a half away), but I don’t intend to feed them to anything, breed them to sell, etc., kind of just think it would be fun to keep them for their own sake!
Anyone have any tips for a potential new isopod keeper? Also, please show me pics of your isopods, there are so many out there I’ve never seen!
Yes! In fact there more isopods available as pets than as cleaners! I don’t have any pictures right now, but my profile pic is an example of Porcellio bolivari, which is a strictly-pet isopod. I will try to send some pics later
Please do send some pictures later!
I freaking love rubber duckies but I feel like I should learn how to isopod first before I invest in those, haha. I was considering Panda Kings since they’re so darn cute.
I definitely recommend getting panda kings because they’re so darn cute! I only have 3 types of isopods right now but I’m planning on getting more soon. Here’s some pics:
@caron That’s what my husband called them! I grew up calling them “potato bugs” and didn’t know they came in pretty colors until like a year ago, haha.
@baby_yoda Ahhh they’re all so cute! And yeah I’m assuming it’s like reptiles and tattoos, where once you get one you are now a collector.
Lol! I remember my dad talking about potato bugs in our garden but I am remembering them as being yellow. But who knows! Such nostalgia! I just ordered an isopod starter kit from Rubber Ducky……
I definitely keep a bunch of species for funzies, but some are utilitarian also.
I kept P. scaber ‘lava,’ A. maculatum ‘zebra,’ and Panda Kings as my first isopod species. For each species, I made sure to purchase starting genetic stock from more than one isopod source. I felt Panda Kings would be the most challenging, so I got my starting group from three different sources. Those 3 are the species I intend to try as clean up crew in the bioactive enclosures I’m planning on.
However, then I had a major problem: I discovered how cool isopods are, and wanted more species! So these are the species I currently keep for fun, with varying amounts of success:
Forgot to add that @hellfire_exotics has posted absolutely stunning pics of many species of isopods here on the forum- I highly recommend checking them out.
I can’t grab a photo right now because my dorm is making me take my isopod terarrium home (because during an inspection the RA said I had roaches in a jar…I love college )
But I took a small shoebox size latching tub and drilled some small holes in the upper sides. I added a charcoal layer, soil, some bark, leaf litter, river stones, sticks, and live moss/bean sprouts. I have 3 species in there currently, Zebra, Greek Silver, and wild type (that were literally from my backyard). These are pet only dudes I let exist as they wish and feed salad scraps. The wild types and Greek Silvers seem to breed faster/better than the Zebras so I don’t have as many of the fun looking ones.
I also use the wild types in my snail terrarium (which has also been banned by my dorm), to clean up any moldy scraps…Though I did find out they will eat a snail that is too weak to climb away…RIP Boe
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