Keeping woodlice

It's an addictive hobby to get into! I bought some captive bred to start my colony:

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Isopods For Sale (Various Genus Available)

Here you will find our range of isopods for sale, we try be as transparent as possible and list all species we are currently working with
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Isopods for Sale UK | Live Isopods to Compare

Buy live isopods in the UK and compare species by genus, visibility, setup style, and keeper goals before choosing a colony.
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The enclosure I sourced from etsy:



If adding leaves or materials from outside it's best to sterilise first:
https://www.isopods.co.uk/blogs/supplies-setup-guides/how-to-prepare-leaf-litter-for-isopods

I use cuttle fish for calcium as well, they also love dried shrimp and fish food.

They also like a moisture gradient, so keep one side of the enclosure dry, and the other spray with water to keep damp.

I hadn't thought about accidently domesticating them! :laughing:

I take them home for the holidays, along with my stick insects (not in the same enclosure)
 
We used to keep these for ages. We had a small fish tank with a couple of inches of potting soil, some twigs and leaves, then we used to put the potatoes from osmosis in, ours had holes from cork borers in which the lice loved. You will need to add water regularly to keep it damp. They thrived in the tank for years. I is worth adding a few extra every so often to help with the old genetics.
 
@DaybreakScience If you want some to start a colony off I'd be happy to send you a starter colony (with springtail cleanup crew) for the postage cost when I get back from my holiday. I have way too many.

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Complete Cubaris Isopod Care Guide

Cubaris care for UK keepers: Rubber Ducky, Panda King and White Shark. Substrate, limestone, temperature, humidity, calcium and realistic breeding.
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We don't do this practical but I have always wanted to keep woodlice! In my area we get both the kind that don't roll up and the kind that do. I wonder if the could cohabit or are they rivals XD
 
Emma said:
@DaybreakScience If you want some to start a colony off I'd be happy to send you a starter colony (with springtail cleanup crew) for the postage cost when I get back from my holiday. I have way too many.

postpods.co.uk

Complete Cubaris Isopod Care Guide

Cubaris care for UK keepers: Rubber Ducky, Panda King and White Shark. Substrate, limestone, temperature, humidity, calcium and realistic breeding.
postpods.co.uk postpods.co.uk
Click to expand...
This link sent me down a millipede investigating rabbit hole for my lunch break and now I want one XD
 
Emma said:
@DaybreakScience If you want some to start a colony off I'd be happy to send you a starter colony (with springtail cleanup crew) for the postage cost when I get back from my holiday. I have way too many.

postpods.co.uk

Complete Cubaris Isopod Care Guide

Cubaris care for UK keepers: Rubber Ducky, Panda King and White Shark. Substrate, limestone, temperature, humidity, calcium and realistic breeding.
postpods.co.uk postpods.co.uk
Click to expand...
Ooh that would be absolutely amazing! Unfortunately it will probably have to be after the summer holidays end (sept 1st) as we're just about finishing up for the year
 
We get in a few starter colonies through Darwin each year for me to look after. Each colony gets its own sizeable plastic tub with holes poked around the top for air (if you put them together there's a risk of them fighting). They get a couple of inches of soil and some leaf litter or bark as a starting point.

I give them a quick spray of water every week and a few bits of vegetables for food based on what practicals we've been doing lately. They seem to really like beetroot which we've taken cores from since it gives them a place to hide while they eat, then by the time we get around to the end of the year it's decayed. Celery also seems to go down well for them, but I find they don't seem all that interested in actually eating potato chunks. We usually also give them some scrunched up blue roll early on as a place to hide, but I'm planning on not doing so next year so I don't have to fish it out later when I release them.

We keep them throughout the year in case any students need to do a retest for the required practical, then release them onto the school site around Summer, though it's been difficult this year to work around the heatwaves. They seem to manage pretty well, with a breeding boom happening partway through the year.
 
We have one of those lamb feed boxes with holes drilled in it. I concur, they absolutely love bored potato. Never thought about giving them bones though. Might be a thought
1787318130813.webp
 
Emma said:
@DaybreakScience If you want some to start a colony off I'd be happy to send you a starter colony (with springtail cleanup crew) for the postage cost when I get back from my holiday. I have way too many.

postpods.co.uk

Complete Cubaris Isopod Care Guide

Cubaris care for UK keepers: Rubber Ducky, Panda King and White Shark. Substrate, limestone, temperature, humidity, calcium and realistic breeding.
postpods.co.uk postpods.co.uk
Click to expand...
Have you had any issues with fungus gnats? One of my isopod tubs is riddled and I'm sick of seeing the bloody things flying about the preproom lol.
 
shopo said:
Have you had any issues with fungus gnats? One of my isopod tubs is riddled and I'm sick of seeing the bloody things flying about the preproom lol.
Click to expand...
Not with my isos but in my python's tank yes, mosquito bits are great!
 
This is my set up, I bought in captive bred woodlice, I started with a colony of 60, they must be happy because they keep breeding and I need to buy a second enclosure! I discovered over the summer that they love the end piece of a cucumber as an additional snack to the shrimp and algae pellets.
 

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