Isopod Care Guide Part 4: Feeding and Hydration
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- Isopods are some of the best pet invertebrates! In this isopod care guide, I talk about foods and feeding of isopods, as well as hydration.
Check out these LINKS to Isopod foods and supplies below. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Vivariums in the Mist makes some great isopod foods: www.vivariumsi...
Wally at Supreme Gecko makes a great Isopod food: www.supremegeck...
#ad When I feed my isopods Repashy Bug Burger, they love it:
#ad 6-oz jar of bug burger: amzn.to/2PhSVKg
#ad 12-oz. jar of bug burger: amzn.to/2Mg3Nal
#ad Repashy morning wood is also a very popular isopod food my isopods love: amzn.to/2WdJq23
Isopods will munch on dried River shrimp as well!
#ad amzn.to/3qucDF2
#ad To give your isopods calcium, you can use cuttlebone: twin pack: amzn.to/2S9H3hG
I own a copy of a great book on isopods by Orin McMonigle, a fantastic source of isopod knowledge:
#ad amzn.to/2VArO1g
#ad here is a link to the sphagnum moss I use to help hydrate my isopods: amzn.to/36BxXiz
#ad here is some organic compost. I use organic compost as an isopod substrate component: amzn.to/3ptpoPK
#ad here are the oak pellets I use for my isopod’s substrate: amzn.to/2JYaznQ
#ad here are some cork bark hides, perfect for isopods: amzn.to/3kyRaX7
#ad here is the coconut fiber brick that can be used in isopod substrate : amzn.to/38I4si6
#ad Here is a link to the 6-quart sterilite tubs I use to house many of my isopods: amzn.to/2syYGZJ
#ad Isopods love cork bark pieces as hides: amzn.to/2WaYOfu
#ad One of the best food/substrate ingredients for isopods are oak leaves, such as these heat-treated red oak leaves: amzn.to/2We6GNm
Isopod Substrate ingredients:
#ad 1 part Organic Compost: amzn.to/2Wn4VO1 (You can probably find it much cheaper at your local garden supply or hardware store)
#ad 1 part Alder Pellets: amzn.to/2MBYj9O
#ad 1 part pesticide-free hardwood leaves, you may collect them locally or purchased pre-sanitized: amzn.to/2We6GNm
#ad I make my own isopod substrate, but here is a link to Josh’s frogs isopod substrate : amzn.to/2TfyC1D
#ad For FREE 2-Day shipping on qualifying orders, try Amazon Prime: amzn.to/2N2HuFb
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. In other words, I earn a small commission when you use that affiliate link, at no cost to you.
I actually get a lot of my isopod treats from hermit crab food shops on etsy, they sell a lot of freeze dried foods like chicken which they love, and a lot of calcium based stuff like crushed oyster shells. From trying different sample mixes meant for hermit crabs I learned that isopods love mixed seed mixes, they usually each grab a seed and run off with it. they also eat mixes with dried flower petals as well ^^
That totally makes sense...a great way to add variety!
I also keep hermit crabs and have recently added isopods as a clean up crew. I take it as since both hermit crabs and isopods are land crustaceans, they will eat about the same foods! For me, both species will swarm a shrimp head if I offer one.
I discovered they love seeds when I left birdseed outside a little late in the evening, no birds ate it but by night time my garden isopods were swarming all over it. Also surprisingly a little spider had grabbed a piece and ran off with it too!
watching isopods eat on youtube is therapeutic for me.
My dad use to have isopods and he said they loved the snake shed from his garter snake after she shed her skin, along with the iguana shed skin.
He also said he would feed them left over salad that wasn't eaten up.
Watching isopods eat, whether it is a salad, a shed, or anything, is definitely therapeutic, I agree!
Thank you for not having a crazy intro. You are great at delivering your expert advice,!
You’re welcome! It is easy to overdo an intro for sure 😊
As someone with an incredibly over the top and annoying intro, I find myself offended! Haha.
@@MIsopods Your into is very overdone. Congrats on your self awareness lol
@@lukulelesu if there's anything worth being over the top on, or overboard for, it's my kids!
And I practice self-awareness as often as possible.
Go easy!
Me
In addition to crushed egg shell mixed into the substrate, i offer them seashells as hides (as well as their bark, rocks, etc.) that double as a super long-lasting calcium source and the last time i cooked something with bones i saved a piece of bone for them. I also recently got my hands on a rodent skull so I'm going to be making that a centerpiece of the next set-up
You can never go wrong with fruits and vegetables but didnt know about the old leaves and wood diet thanks for the tips
I still have a tub of rubbish - leftover mealworm stuff; shed skins and carcasses. My isopod enclosure has a piece of cuttlebone as a serving plate, I pop a pinch of mealworm trash on there and my shy little pigs appear from nowhere. I hatched a fly for my P regius the other day but chilled it too much before offering, so that was a treat for the isopods too.
Great way to get the best use of those items!
I cant wait til my isopods act like hungry hungry hippos :))
🤣👍
Could the next topic be about factors that could kill off isopods populations?
I was just about to say that :)
Specially when cleaning the house with chemicals
I will include it in the series for sure. I am not sure of the order yet, but I will make sure not to miss that.
Right?
@@Aquarimax that’s awesome. Thank you!
Not sure what kind of isopods I have. They are completely grayish-brown and I live in SE Pennsylvania. I had read somewhere that they love melon leaves. I grew melons this year and put in a leaf and they devoured it. Second one…devoured that one too! So fun to watch :)
Agreed, very fun to watch them eat! You can try bugguide.net to get an ID on them 👍🏼
I agree with the person about what things could cause a die off/or signs of sickness etc
I will have to include it!
@@Aquarimax Great!
I use freeze dried "trail mix" found in the chicken feed section, which consists of a combination of freeze dried mealworms, locusts, and black soldier fly larvae as the primary protein source and my isopods love it, especially my P laevis colonies!
Sounds like an excellent supplemental food!
I just got Isopods some from a store and some from the wild. Gave them lettuce, dried leaves, and wood but there was a few strands of dries grass in there and they went right for it. I guess dried grass is in their diet also.
I recently discovered my Klugii go crazy for green beans, my dairy cows love them too, but my clowns certainly eat them faster than they do any other foods I give them.
just ordered some clowns, will keep that in mind!
Excellent tip for a species that can be a bit picky!
Vegan proteins hehe:)
This might seem a little gross, but my pods love nails of all kinds. Fingernails, toenails, cat claws… I’ll even find the clippings dragged to the dark tunnels they like to hide in, presumably for munching in private. Whenever I trim my nails or give my cats a clip, I’ll drop whatever clippings I’ve saved into their enclosures. They also quite like eggshell, and I’ve considered repurposing an old salt grinder and filling it with eggshells.
Wow i am first here today rus awesome video i can tell
Nice Crystal
You’re first!! 👏👏👏
Lovin’ the isopod content
Thank you!
This is a great series Rus, thanks for putting it together. I saved and froze a lot of pumpkin from Halloween and my isopods seem to love it.
An excellent isopod snack!
Mine love seaweed sheets sold for salt and fresh water fish. I rip them up and put them in the bins. The zebras and a. Species go nuts for them. And any algae from my fish tanks. Thanks for making these videos.
I've not visited the channel in a while but this series is a great help! I'm just getting back into the isopod hobby after losing several cultures, thanks for the videos Rus!
Glad to see you back!
I just got my first colonies which are: Powder orange and Porcellionides "red koi"
Your videos are my inspiration and I've been learning a lot, thank you sir!
Hi! I'm so glad that you mentioned the hydration station with the sphag moss! I had that idea a while ago and it seems to be a great solution. Glad to hear it vetted by an expert :) One question: how much do you spray the rest of the drier substrate? Do you still try and leave a gradient? Do you spray or just water? Spray the sides and/or substrate? I'd love to know exactly how you do it. Thank you so much for your videos! I'm a recent big fan.
Thanks for watching 😁👍 Generally I don’t add moisture to the dry end at all. If I need more of the enclosure to be moist, I add more
Moisture to the hydration station and let it begin to seep over to the drier end.I use a squirt bottle with a stream of water, rather than a mister these days. More efficient.
@@Aquarimax Thank you so much for this!
I started giving mine anything that I have like carrots, potato, peas, sweetcorn, Brussel sprouts, cucumber, Apple, pear etc all cut up into small chunks. In addition to fresh foods I use ground egg shells, cuttlefish pieces, as well as giving fish food flakes and dried complete cat food. As stated by some others they are clean up crew so will also eat any shed skin, and anything that has died such as un eaten crickets, dead roaches and yes even dead millipedes. I believe they also made light of a frog that went missing 10 months ago. I have not seen them trying to eat anything living and feel that they get blamed for deaths that have happened naturally. There are a couple of great guys that are long term hobbiests and have kept Isopoda and millipedes together for over 20 years with no problems. I can certainly say that I have personally millipedes that are definitely thriving despite being in a bio active viv setup. All very controversial as they are many forums etc that say Isopoda are bad and can cause deaths. Unfortunately deaths are part of nature and happen especially if animals are wild caught. Hope that this helps. 🙈🙉🙊🐸
Saved a piece of pumpkin from Halloween and my Cubaris Murina go crazy for it. It doesn't last very long once put in there lol
Mine love Bug burger and Morning Wood. My Dairy cows LOVE fish flakes and snake skin.
What type of fish flakes. I bought some spiritulina flakes and they don't seem all that interested.
Every time I watch I get new ideas, thanks
hello great video
Thank you Rodolfo!
Thank you so much for this series. My 7 year old daughter and I are about ready to start a few colonies and this has helped tremendously.
That’s precisely what I like to hear. Best of luck as you embark together on your isopod adventures, I am glad to have been of assistance!
Im sick today and im bingewatching this series, you are really enjoyable to watch :)
Yuss! Keep em coming Russ!
Thanks, I will!
I always look forward to your uploads!
Thank you! Glad to hear it!
New keeper loving ur videos 😍
Thanks for this information. Mine love the foods made by COASTLINE DESIGN DUO, Retanicals and Hard Pill to Swallow😊
Glad to have found this video just getting into Isopods and wanted to know good foods. Thank you for great information.
GOD BLESS and keep on teaching.
😃💖💖
Moringa would be an excellent source of all the nutritional needs...plus every part of the tree can be eaten
Can't wait for the maintenance part of the video! Keep it up :D
I might even do two on that topic!
hi i have a bio active vivarium with several species of isopod, millipedes, ground beetles, etc, and one vegetable is loved by them all, thick raw potato skins from pealing them, i take them out after two days but they go down very well with all of my little friends.
love all these thank you
You’re welcome!
Great video, Rus!
Thanks Drew! Have you seen that isopod hunter about?
@@Aquarimax alas no.
There's no way it could have escaped so it's either hiding very well or became one with the isopod enclosure.
If I had the opportunity to raise another isopod hunter or could recommend to anyone else trying it, I would make a separate small enclosure for the spider and just introduce isopods to it at feeding time rather than what I did which was put the spider in the isopod's home. I think it's even possible that the isopods overwhelmed the spider. If she is in there she has hidden herself really well.
@@drewinsch2916 excellent suggestion. If you want another we could try again in the spring, that way.
@@Aquarimax thanks!
I think I'll try to see if I can find one locally first. Gotta research their range.
I just finished watching the replay of today's live stream. Thanks for answering all my questions. I'm going to try the suggestion on adjusting feeding to control the carrying capacity and I decided the smart thing is to not gift a colony of isopods to anyone who isn't already trying to get into the hobby.
I give mine a little bit of my crested gecko powdered diet from pangea and they love it :D
I just catched some isopods today on my campus and want to breed them and maybe even sell some, so this videos are pretty useful
Here a couple weird foods just for a treat, popcorn and baby oatmeal 👍
How about a morph isolation video?
Great video as always!
Great suggestion!
Thank you Rus! Amazing content.
Thank you!!
My dairy cows go bonkers for hair algae from my fish tank.
Nutrient export becomes a food source...great efficiency!
This was a big help! I recently got interested in Isopods and all you care videos have really helped me understand them better :)
Delighted to hear it!
I have a Fern and my isopods love eating Fern leaves as well as English Ivy. I also feed turtle and dog food but haven't seen them eat
This was an excellent video. And thank you for the links. I will surely use them. I want you to get paid for making an informative video.
Thank you! We don’t use pesticides on our lawn or trees, so I collect leaf litter in our large backyard. I appreciate the support very much!
Always great content!!!
Thank you!! 😀
They live my bathroom!!!!!! 😃🙏🏿
Very useful video, as always.
For my other hobby, taxidermy I couldn't find dermestid beetles that are usually used to clean skulls and such. So I gave my isopods a try. I gave them animal skulls (bird skulls that I find on the side of the road for example (check your local laws)). I usually freeze them first to try and get most of the possible disease off, take as much meat off as possible, depending on the size of the skull. This way I cleaned a squirrel skull, tree marten skull, several wood pigeon skulls and complete wood pigeon skeletons.
I think it's a nice way to combine hobbies :)
are you a serial killer?
@@lore2165 no, I don't have the discipline. But also, as you could have read, I only use roadkill and naturally died animals..
@@chrisveenker3150 i was joking ^^
@@lore2165 hahah that's okay. It's difficult for me to decide if its a joke or not. A lot of people are easily offended when the topic of working with dead animals is discussed.
Anyway, have a nice day :)
@@chrisveenker3150 you 2 my friend
Armidillidum varieties eat tons of living plants. I'm not knowledgeable about things like that, but I hypothesize their may be something in the living plants that are not in the dead ones, and they might want more of that nutrient.
Have you tried feeding nutritional yeast? I've put a small pinch to see if they eat it along with fish food flakes. To see which they prefer.
Many isopods will eat it, a good option to round out the diet
My isopods love some kinds of fruit, like cucumbers, zucchinis and eggplants, while they don't even try to eat kiwis.
I have pecan trees throughout my yard, would their leaves be good for isopods?
As long as there are no issues with pesticides, collecting some fallen pecan leaves for your isopods should work well I have a couple of pecan trees too, and I use the leaves with mine.
What water do I use to moisten the enclosure? Rainwater? Tapwater (I'm in europe)? Bottled water?
What would be a good food for added nutrients for porcellio scaber? I have some zoomed insect feeding blocks but they aren’t interested. Maybe just that they a Newley added to the breeding setup?
Newly established cultures don’t always show a lot of interest in supplemental food. As the culture density increases, you are likely to see more.
Can you lightly mist the moss instead of poring a small amount on the sides of the enclosure
It depends on species. Some species will not mind, but Armadillidium klugii, for example, tend to respond very poorly to misting.
Russ you should start going over certain sp and some of their special care requirements anyway love the work keep it up❤❤
Keep an eye open in about an hour 😂👍
Has anyone had success feeding isopods freeze-dried brine shrimp pellets? None of my fish seem to like them for some reason, but I don’t want to throw the package away.
Definitely worth a try!
I know it sounds a bit crazy but I dehydrated potato peels in my oven. I fed some today, waste not want not.
How do the isopods react to them dried?
@@Aquarimax I added quite a bit so I can't say yet, I'll let you know.
@@HerrWade
*legends say they are still eating*
Where to snake skins fall into the food categories? Are they protein rich?
They do contain a decent amount of protein 👍🏼
I have been curious, if you fed a colony mostly sweet potatoes and carrots, would their color eventually change to a more reddish tone? Many animals, for example shrimps, derive their body color from their diet, but wouldn't technically all or most animals be able to do so? It has even been observed how people can develop a slightly tan like skin color from consuming a lot of beta-carotene rich food and on the topic of shrimps, they are even crustaceans as well, like isopods, so I feel it wouldn't be too far fetched to expect isopods to slowly turn somewhat reddish over time if their consists mainly or to a large degree of carrots and similar foods. Any input or ideas on this?
You mentioned you use omega one fish food pellets but never put a link in the description on which type you use, what type do you use?
Curious to know if anyone uses dead, dried up crickets as a food source? I know that when dead, crickets do release ammonia at first and this can be harmful to other insects, but just wanted to know if this might be an okay food source if the cricket has been dehydrated and dead for a while.
Good question! I'd love to know the answer. I don't see why not.
Can I ask, I am just new in this hobby. I saw a yt reels that he/she gave the isopods a grains of rice. Is that okay?
Sure, they might take a while to get through a dry grain, a cooked one would probably be eaten more quickly.
Why does my isopods likes the moss more than the acacia bark I found? It's already decayed and sanitize and I bought my isopods about Saturday or they just getting used to the new environment?
It is very possible that they are just getting used to things
@@Aquarimax phew
My porcellio laevis seem to go crazy for cucumber! carrots n beans too.. they really go ham with them! got me thinking what their least favourite foods are, n i would say apple.. any fruit ive tried seems to be left relatively untouched
Where's the best location in the house to put a colony?
I feed mine yeast flakes they seem to like it
Will you ever do a warrior/ground beetle best pet invertebrates, or have you ever kept some.
I would love to keep some, and gain the experience needed to create that video. 👍🏽
Does anyone know what’s the orange isopod in the thumb nail? I have orange isopods with orange eyes and I’m curious as to their species.
The one in the thumbnail is Porcellio laevis, but there are morphs ofnothwr species with similar coloration. Do you have a picture of yours?
Should i use ro water for isopods or tap water?
I typically use carbon-filtered water.
First of all, thank you so much for these videos, I have learned so much from them and I am very excited to start keeping my own isopods!
I have one question about watering them, do you need to use distilled/dechlorinated water, or is normal tap water okay?
Glad to hear it! It really depends on your tap water, as the quality,it’s can vary greatly.
I am trying to keep a damp pile of spaghnum moss but it keeps drying out in a day while the soil underneath is still damp. Any tips?
As long as the substrate underneath is damp, it should be ok. The isopods can go down to where they can hydrate. How much ventilation do you have?
How about turtle food pellets?
They will eat them!
Can I use dried leafs from my houseplants for isopods? Do you know if some plants would be toxic and what would be edible?
I think some ARE toxic. Maybe get that isopod book Russ recommends
My ispods are eating my plants in one of my vivariums. They're munching on my fittonias (white and red vein), and just found a piece of fikus pumila they like. I have a bunch of leaf litter in there, but they seem to like the plants instead. How do I prevent this?
Some isopods will eat live plants, especially Armadillidium. You can offer other supplemental foods (veggies especially) to try to keep them away from the plants.
Hi there, I was wondering if there is any preparation that needs to be done with shrimp shells before I feed them to my isopods. I was worried about bacteria, and I'm thinking I may need to bake the shells before feeding? Thanks to anyone who can give an answer :)
To be honest, I just rinse and toss them in! If the isopods don’t finish them after 24 hours, it is best to remove them to prevent excess bacterial/fungal growth.
Thank you so much for these videos! Can you use water beads for hydration? I have heard some people use water storing crystals for roaches.
I Use water crystals for hydration with other creatures, I have. It used them with isopods. They tend to need an area with very high humidity to hydrate rather than drink, so I am not sure if water crystals would work or not.
I have some isopods as a clean up crew for my beetles, I am going for a very clean look for the tank, do I still meed to provide hardwood leaves and wood ?
Not necessarily, though mostnisopod species will reproduce much better if they are provided. There are a few species that will
Reproduce well without them
If only there were a way to prevent mold altogether. How fast does mold show up on foods? I know it takes awhile on wood and leaves.
Some foods will no,d within a few hours. It depends on ventilation, humidity, and temperature. Warm, wet, and stagnant conditions will speed it up.
Question about Hydration Stations. I tend to cover mine up with substrate, and only leave a few parts of it exposed.
Do you see any issues with this? The most obvious one is not having direct access to all of the moss, visually. But as I tend to it frequently enough, for me personally that's not a problem.
Would you be able to give me the link to the fish food pellets and flakes that you like to use
Sure! #ad amzn.to/3R8DR21
Do you also have a link for the kind of fish food flakes you use as well also thank you very much for replying so quickly I'm at the store right now as we speak
@@ImmaPEEP sorry this reply is delayed, it’s kind of hit or miss 🤣 I generally don’t use flakes for my isopods, but omega one does make a flake food as well.
@@Aquarimax thank you very much
My isopod's favorite food is spaghetti noodles.
Thank you for all this info! I have organic garden lime and I've heard people talk about feeding it to Cubaris. Is it a good source of calcium for other species?
Hello, Rus. In my country, it's spring now and there are no fallen leaves and there is nowhere I can buy dried fallen leaves. Can I gather fresh leaves and dry them in the oven? This way I don't think it's decomposition, it's more like dehydration. What do you really suggest in this situation? I am sure that many people face this problem during the spring [especially the mid- and late spring].
Fresh leaves dried in an oven can have a different chemical composition than fallen leaves. Is there no forest where you can find decomposed leaf litter from last year?
@@Aquarimax I found rotten walnut leaves and the isopods seem to really enjoy them. They were really rotten (and wet) so I missed the part with the sterilization (and like you, I am not sure that sterilization is the best option to do in the first place as you've already mentioned somewhere in your videos; I've had cultures with springtails and mites infestation - they were absolutely fine, there was just food competition and it's difficult to beat the mites and some species of springtails in this regard, that was the only downside I've observed).
My zebras seem to like potato
What about decomposing pine bark and wood.
Pine bark and wood can be too resinous, but older, decomposing wood is likely better than fresh.
Great videos thank you so much.
My isopods were collected from cow pastures - then cultured and added to my Blue Tongue Skink enclosure. I have no idea what species they are…. Their favourite food appears to be poo. I’m guessing this might be due their place of origin? I have tried vegetable matter etc, but the Springtails (also wild collected - then cultured) seem to be far more interested in the vegetables (but only when they start to rot a little) while the isopods stick to the poo and leaf litter. In fact I have stopped feeding them both now as the vivarium seems to be in balance. I am curious if this will work long term? My Blue tongue skink is feed a variety of foods including 40% repashy grub pie, raw kangaroo meat + fresh vegetable material and added calcium. I guessed that since the BTS has a good variety of foods + The supplements in the grub pie & added calcium that this would translate to awesome poo. Do you know if it works this way or is my BTS absorbing all the goodies
It sounds like a pretty good setup for your isopods. Adding more foods for the isopods will cause more production, but stable food in the form of leaf litter and poo will probably work fine for a long time.
Awesome video!! Dechlorinated water is safe for isopods correct???
Thanks! Yes it is.
0:20
A:"Wow, your aquarium is amazing!
The fish look beautiful! And..."
B:"Fish? This is an isopod aquarium! Look in the mouth of the fish!"
A:"WHAT THE...."
Can the fruit and vegetables be placed on some small flat object. Like a rock or a small plate?
To make it more easy to find incase it needs removal. But also to protect the surroundings in case mould does happen?
Yes, I recommend that in fact
@@Aquarimax thank you for the help!
I want to give shrimp tails to my isopods, but is there a certain way it needs to be made/prepared?
I just rinse them and toss them in!
Do you know how long it takes for P. laevis to get some size on them?
👍
😊👍
@@Aquarimax 👍😗👍
Does it matter if you pour water on the moss or mist it? Thanks
Not too much for some species, but certain isopods, like A. klugii, seem to hate misting…it can even cause a culture crash.
Does anyone know if you HAVE to put limestone in a rubber ducky enclosure or is there a replacement or is it not needed at all?
Also, is there a way to know when food in the enclosure will start to mold?
Many people swear by it...I have always used it, but I am not sure if others have had success without it.
There are a lot of factors that influence this...moisture in the area of the food, type of food, humidity, temperature, number of isopods...
Would isopods eat shrimp shells leftover from food? If the shells were seasoned would they be affected by the salt in them, and if so could you just rinse it off first? It seems like it would be a good source of calcium but I don't know how isopods do with salty foods.
I have given mine rinsed shrimp shells, most isopods really seem to like them and have never see,Ed to have any issues.
Do you think you could use certain millipedes as apart of a clean up crew for some geckos
Great question! I be concerned about the defensive chemicals of the millipedes harming the geckos.
@@Aquarimax thank you
What type of water can be use to make the moss moist? As i live in Singapore and the tap water is treated
Distilled or dechlorinated wster are fine 👍
@@Aquarimax what about leaves and wood, as OAK wood bark and leaves are common here in my country, what could i use as a subsitide for my gestroi? My countries does have a lot of evergreen trees mostly tembusu trees.