I remember Bob Ross loved animals and sometimes had them on his show, you're literally Bob Ross if he decided to go for his passion of animals instead of painting.
I went to High School in the 70’s with a guy named Paul that had a huge “Natural” like yours. He became a software wizard. And the last I heard he was VERY wealthy. That’s good because he’s a nice guy. Good Video Cheers.
Yes! I love isopods! I have zebras in with my millipedes, it's cool to watch them trundling about. I feed rotted oak wood and birch leaves to both the 'pods and 'pedes. Eta: We call them "chucky pigs" in the south west of England.
Thanks for the video, Daniel! I appreciate the explanation of the setups, as I'm hoping to get into cultivating isopods/springtails for bioactive setups very soon! The mesh is a good idea; I had been wondering how to provide ventilation while still preventing escapes.
You are such a great speaker / presenter. Loved your video and can't wait till spring comes to Canada so I can go out and find some isopods for my terrariums.
I was making my own native culture of armadillidium vulgare and also found 1 GIANT guy amongst all the smaller boys. Real excited to see how they turn out
@@mikedeisle5 I was able to find some really cool morphs. Threw them in with the rest. Hope I can make some really cool lookin dudes. Find anything of interest?
I found some with a little bit of yellow in them that look neato. Also found some sowbugs for the first time this year. I probably seen around 100 or so armadillidium vulgare just lifting up rocks around my house lol
@@mikedeisle5 Yes! Hundreds of the lil buggers! Just made for good pickins though. Was able to find 1 cool one with vibrant yellow spots down the spine and a ton of brown ones that looked more marbled. Hoping the marbled ones will mate with a full black one in hopes of a darker marble color. Just think that would look super neat
Great Video!! 😊 I love how you explain everything about the isopods😊 i am sorry for my comment Weeks ago... You doing an awesome Job Daniel, keep Up the good work 😊💪
I caught some Isopods in my backyard and have kept them for a few weeks now! I don't have side ventilation on their enclosure and they've seemed to be doing just fine so far, I'd put some in but I don't have anything to store them in while I refurbish their current home.
randomly clicked this vid here after finding some isopods i dont even know you but i just fell in love with the montage and the way you make your vids subbed
just btw, i found a huge collection in an underground sprinkler box thing, so idk if the airflow is that important, but it should still be freshened every day at least
How do you not have more subs man? For real thank you so much for sharing info on these animals and bugs. I want to keep a population of wild isopods for my turtle and fish. My painted turtle loves them and I have a few types of wild fish that will not take any store bought fish foods and think they are sick of eating guppy fry.
Bought some cultures earlier this year for my 2 first inclosures. I really should’ve bred them first. I just went out back and grabbed a couple pots of soil and got some isopods. Hopefully i can breed these ones!
Good video bro! I had some deciduous bonsai trees out for the winter and when they came back in to the window sill for spring isopods keep flushing out the bottom every time I water. Now my moss terrarium is becoming an isopod haven for them, but I needed to know exactly how best to keep them. Should be easy now.
For anyone looking for isopods - our small family farm offers organically raised isopods, including bulk options for starting colonies just like these, just look up Ficarro Farms on Amazon :)
i’m going to be keeping a crested gecko soon and i was wondering about colonies so i wouldn’t have to regularly buy isopods. i have 2 questions as of now but i’m sure i’ll have more lol. 1) what’s the best species to keep with a crested (they require 50% humidity) 2) after the colonies have been established and are watered regularly what other requirements do they have. i.e. how often do you need to remake the substrate and how do you do that?
i put some in my dubia tub.. so far they are ok they like to chill on the cut up apples and stuff. Is it safe to keep doing this? There isnt any substrate on the floor of the tub, the dubia colony is 100 and only about 3 months old. The poop hasnt accumulated into a layer of dirt layer. i also put a few earwigs in there, but i havent seen them in a long time
Just found you. I do have a question. I saw someone include some roly poly's in his terrariums and whatnot. You said they are sensitive to stagnant air, so... would it be bad to introduce them into a closed or mainly closed terrarium?
Every weekend, I just put a bit of lettuce, carrot, strawberry, etc. in with my isopods. They seem to love their lives as their population is SOARING daily
I have a devil's coach horse beetle in a similar set-up. Do you have any tips? I feed him mealworms and mealworm beetles and he's been doing fine for several months, but I'm still unsure if he has what he needs.
Rove beetles are super cool. I'm not experienced in their care but it sounds like you're doing well. This kinda setup is great for things like earwigs, and I would imagine a rove beetle is about the same
HI Daniel Carter, my name is Jo., I'm from New Zealand. Don't know if you know this but we have the giant cave Weta and garden weta.They've been around for billion of years. I made a hotel for them to hibernate and breed. By tying cut up pieces of bamboo together and hung it in a tree ( -in a sheltered position in my garden). Even though they freak me out, I actually bred a few baby wetas. Pretty cool ayhe!!! Thought you might be interested. Great channel.....I'm into creating living terrariums.
Hey Daniel! I realize this is an older video but I was wondering how these cultures are doing with that salamander soil for you? I’m going to the Tinley Park expo this coming week and hope to find a few starter cultures of Millie’s and isos! Just getting things set up before the trip. Cheers!!
Idk why, but when I was younger, I created a massive colony of isopods. Just gave them potatoes and carrots. I ended up with 1/2 an inch thick floor of isopods in the container. I suspended clothes vertically on strings and spaced the cloth 1/4 an in apart to maximize surface area and air flow. I forgot about them for a month, and they were still doing fine they just ate the 11 rags I put in there you could barely tell the cloths were ever there. Never had any substrate just sprayed the cloths with water.
Hey! I have a question. What do you think, can they consume dead slugs as organic material or are they completely herbivores? I have some armadillidium nasatums.
do you add any extra food? or do they only eat the decaying items inside the bin? will you introduce springtails or do you do those separate in charcoal containers? thank you for your time! :)
Isopods did so well in my terrarium, which is about the size of an old computer monitor, that I had to hand pick them out and release them because they were destroying the plants. Now all that live in it are springtails and centipedes. Once the plants start growing on top of dead biomass, I will re-introduce them.
Do you have any issues with springtails getting out of the ventilation holes? In my regular closed terrariums, the springtails tend to climb up the walls, so I am hesitant to putting them into an isopod enclosure (though I know most people do).
Springtails are great at keeping mold and fungus in check, isopods do well with dead plant matter and animal waste. I think it's worth having both, but if I were to go with just one as a cleanup crew I'd probably do springs.
For arid setups certain species of isopods are ideal. Springtails don’t do very well in arid setups since they need such a high humidity (I have experience with both). Isopods also provide a nutritious snack.
I have mine set up with rotting wood, lots of leaf litter, coconut fiber substrate mixed with a few other things and peat moss with very little ventilation, I've had them like this for 6 months and their population is booming. do you think they'd do better with more ventilation?
I have several colonies of Armadillidium vulgare living under some garden border logs that surround my light pole in the front yard. I think I have 200+?
They'll eat a lot of stuff. I throw everything from snake sheds, cuttlebone, fish flakes, table scraps, pumpkin guts, and unused feeder rodents in there. They're very efficient scavengers
Great video. Have some salamander soil was just wondering maybe I can use that for my isopods set up. now have to buy more bags at hydroponic store they're on clearance.
Question! Dose any live plants help with stagnant air? I have 2 glass terrarium with some ferns in them. Slugs seem to like one, but I wanted to put pull bugs in the other, but it's got a cork lid
Thanks for this video Daniel. This is awesome!! I loved the intro as well. Very cool. I currently have zebra isopods. When I got them there were 9 in the cup. Is that enough to start a colony? Or should I buy more?
Great video! I have some isopods that I collected outside and they are doing great. I also want to have some springtails in my terrariums. Is it possible to collect them outside, just as I did the isopods, or do l have to buy some? Springtails are so tiny that I don't know how to find them outside, where to look for them and how to catch them. I live in Chicago and right now the winter is setting in. What happens to isopods and springtails during the winter months? How do they survive the cold temperatures? Just wandering. What is their lifespan? They are interesting little creatures.
It is possible, they might just be hard to find. I don't know their lifespan but if you set them up properly you shouldn't have to worry much about running out. Springtails love activated charcoal as substrate - you may be able to find some in a wet environment under rocks or rotting logs.
I feel like in order to say " how to care for isopods " >> u should probably show the process over a time span. Maybe I'm being pedantic, but I am looking for caring guides caz I'm going to use these indoors in living soil. So I want to know what they eat; how much they eat; what food will harm them ; is there a ratio of food to overall population >> if we put in a bunch of food they like, will thousands emerge & overtake your house ? Will they then start eating living plants ... Did they end up eating the oak leaves ??
i appreciate the shot of you bumping into those roots on a kayak when you say “we’ve never strayed farther from our roots” in the intro
I remember Bob Ross loved animals and sometimes had them on his show, you're literally Bob Ross if he decided to go for his passion of animals instead of painting.
Lol probably true
@@evershyxoxo2972 I’m sure that’s why the comparison arose in the first place... sigh
@@evershyxoxo2972 no the comparision was firstly due to the afro. you added the afro as if it's a mind blowing fact
He comes from the future of a different universe
He has the hairstyle too
*where can I get isopods?* me: Go outside flip a giant rock over, there you go. I mean that’s how I got mine.
• Lmaosady • same I just let them breed for like 3 months
I swear to god I haven’t seen a single wild isopod since I was a kid
god is dead you likely don’t tip over dozens of rocks and downed trees like you used to as when you were a kid
Eric Carve I sure do lmao I still have the one I found almost last year.
They love to live by trees too and on the bark. That's my jackpot spot I usually get a ton.
You should do an update on these isopods I would love to see how your colonies have grown in the couple months since setup.
I'd like to see his operation now. Jeez, I thought this was a new video. It's old af
Im from east texas, we called them rolly pollies.
Same
I've heard everyone everywhere call it that but isopod is more like the scientific term
@@cinnadel I'm in N.Y. and they call it rollie pollies her to but I'm from the west coast and the same name there
I'm from California and I've also lived in Texas Oklahoma and Colorado and I'm pretty sure they are called that every where
We called them pill bugs here in California.
I went to High School in the 70’s with a guy named Paul that had a huge “Natural” like yours. He became a software wizard.
And the last I heard he was VERY wealthy. That’s good because he’s a nice guy. Good Video Cheers.
0:44
Same here, except parasites like botflies, I want to vomit whenever I think of something like that.
Mom can we have a Bob Ross?
We already have him at home
Bob Ross at home:
Yes! I love isopods! I have zebras in with my millipedes, it's cool to watch them trundling about. I feed rotted oak wood and birch leaves to both the 'pods and 'pedes.
Eta: We call them "chucky pigs" in the south west of England.
The zebras also really like fresh moss so I go up to the woods and find big fallen bits of oak that have a good moss covering.
“Chucky pigs” is a new one, thanks for sharing
Perfect timing Dan! Just ordered my first isopods and this video will for sure help me out. Amazing video as always.
When I was a kid I played with these. I loved them. They were so fascinating.
Thanks for the video, Daniel! I appreciate the explanation of the setups, as I'm hoping to get into cultivating isopods/springtails for bioactive setups very soon! The mesh is a good idea; I had been wondering how to provide ventilation while still preventing escapes.
Thanks for this tutorial! If it wasn't winter I'd run outside and collect the local species and set up a colony!
I love keeping Isopods.
All hours are real isopod hours.
Woo hoo!! Gotta love them isopods! Can’t wait for some updates!
Yesterday when i saw one of your room tour a got so satisfied and it would be cool with a grow tent update
Hey, Daniel- I'm teaching my Austin middle schoolers about isopods now. -- And you're wearing the shirt I illustrated
!
You are such a great speaker / presenter. Loved your video and can't wait till spring comes to Canada so I can go out and find some isopods for my terrariums.
Omg💕💕💕 i love your hairs !!! Beautiful
As always, exactly the information I was looking for. Thanks Daniel!
I just got into keeping isopods and what a nice surprise when I search isopod care and afroherpkeeper comes up!:)
I was making my own native culture of armadillidium vulgare and also found 1 GIANT guy amongst all the smaller boys. Real excited to see how they turn out
I just made one today, had some fat boys around my house
@@mikedeisle5 I was able to find some really cool morphs. Threw them in with the rest. Hope I can make some really cool lookin dudes. Find anything of interest?
I found some with a little bit of yellow in them that look neato. Also found some sowbugs for the first time this year. I probably seen around 100 or so armadillidium vulgare just lifting up rocks around my house lol
@@mikedeisle5 Yes! Hundreds of the lil buggers! Just made for good pickins though. Was able to find 1 cool one with vibrant yellow spots down the spine and a ton of brown ones that looked more marbled. Hoping the marbled ones will mate with a full black one in hopes of a darker marble color. Just think that would look super neat
@@GreatGrace1123 thats exciting, hopefully they do! Never thought collecting isopods would be so much fun lol
I'm from germany we call them kellerasseln and the live eeeverywhere, i really didn't know that some people keep them as pets😂
How could they survive in Germany ? especially in winter 🤷🏻♀️🥶
I absolutely love the intro btw
Great Video!! 😊 I love how you explain everything about the isopods😊 i am sorry for my comment Weeks ago... You doing an awesome Job Daniel, keep Up the good work 😊💪
I caught some Isopods in my backyard and have kept them for a few weeks now! I don't have side ventilation on their enclosure and they've seemed to be doing just fine so far, I'd put some in but I don't have anything to store them in while I refurbish their current home.
Happy happy little isopods
ahhhhh that soldering idea is so useful, i wish i knew it what i was making all my mushroom tubs so i didn't shatter so much plastic
Haha, it’ll definitely work for those too!
randomly clicked this vid here after finding some isopods
i dont even know you
but i just fell in love with the montage and the way you make your vids
subbed
Dude literally not even a minute in and you’ve got my sub lol this channel seems great so far
The beginner species is what ever the heck is outside your house
Would love to see an update on these isopods. How are they doing? Are they breeding? Wally
just btw, i found a huge collection in an underground sprinkler box thing, so idk if the airflow is that important, but it should still be freshened every day at least
Spectacular work. You certainly have quite a few beautiful isopods. Great video!
I’ve only watched the intro, and I already liked it!!!
How do you not have more subs man? For real thank you so much for sharing info on these animals and bugs. I want to keep a population of wild isopods for my turtle and fish. My painted turtle loves them and I have a few types of wild fish that will not take any store bought fish foods and think they are sick of eating guppy fry.
Lolll the name alone made me subscribe. The personality kept me for the video. My intrest is what brought me here. :)
You have fabulous hair 👍🏻
Bought some cultures earlier this year for my 2 first inclosures. I really should’ve bred them first. I just went out back and grabbed a couple pots of soil and got some isopods. Hopefully i can breed these ones!
Great video, I absolutely love Isopods
Good video bro! I had some deciduous bonsai trees out for the winter and when they came back in to the window sill for spring isopods keep flushing out the bottom every time I water. Now my moss terrarium is becoming an isopod haven for them, but I needed to know exactly how best to keep them. Should be easy now.
For anyone looking for isopods - our small family farm offers organically raised isopods, including bulk options for starting colonies just like these, just look up Ficarro Farms on Amazon :)
Hey! I'm a isopod farmer and having trouble with getting more so do you know were to find them in the wild.
You can find em everywhere.
YAS YAS FINALLY 👏👏👏👏👏
i’m going to be keeping a crested gecko soon and i was wondering about colonies so i wouldn’t have to regularly buy isopods. i have 2 questions as of now but i’m sure i’ll have more lol.
1) what’s the best species to keep with a crested (they require 50% humidity)
2) after the colonies have been established and are watered regularly what other requirements do they have. i.e. how often do you need to remake the substrate and how do you do that?
i put some in my dubia tub.. so far they are ok they like to chill on the cut up apples and stuff. Is it safe to keep doing this? There isnt any substrate on the floor of the tub, the dubia colony is 100 and only about 3 months old. The poop hasnt accumulated into a layer of dirt layer. i also put a few earwigs in there, but i havent seen them in a long time
Just found you. I do have a question. I saw someone include some roly poly's in his terrariums and whatnot. You said they are sensitive to stagnant air, so... would it be bad to introduce them into a closed or mainly closed terrarium?
Late reply, only the smaller ones thrive in closed terrariums as far as I've seen
Every weekend, I just put a bit of lettuce, carrot, strawberry, etc. in with my isopods. They seem to love their lives as their population is SOARING daily
how about a quick update on how these turned out please?
Awesome, thank you for all the info. Just caught some natives to hopefully incorporate into a terrarium.
I have a devil's coach horse beetle in a similar set-up. Do you have any tips? I feed him mealworms and mealworm beetles and he's been doing fine for several months, but I'm still unsure if he has what he needs.
Rove beetles are super cool. I'm not experienced in their care but it sounds like you're doing well. This kinda setup is great for things like earwigs, and I would imagine a rove beetle is about the same
Imagine actually having isopods readily available that you can buy, can't relate.😢 And the isopods actually looking good.
Try looking in your backyard. I have armadillium vulgare in my backyard. So, free isopods when I start a bioactive enclosure.
@@bigsam8597 lucky you, here, i just buy to start their colony of own
Love the new intro
HI Daniel Carter, my name is Jo., I'm from New Zealand. Don't know if you know this but we have the giant cave Weta and garden weta.They've been around for billion of years. I made a hotel for them to hibernate and breed. By tying cut up pieces of bamboo together and hung it in a tree ( -in a sheltered position in my garden). Even though they freak me out, I actually bred a few baby wetas. Pretty cool ayhe!!! Thought you might be interested. Great channel.....I'm into creating living terrariums.
I live in Tennessee, it's cold and I'm wondering if I can find some of those rn with this weather
hello bob ross
LMAO what a legend!
This was so helpful and informative - thanks so much!
Hey Daniel! I realize this is an older video but I was wondering how these cultures are doing with that salamander soil for you? I’m going to the Tinley Park expo this coming week and hope to find a few starter cultures of Millie’s and isos! Just getting things set up before the trip. Cheers!!
Did he ever get back to you about the soil?
Idk why, but when I was younger, I created a massive colony of isopods. Just gave them potatoes and carrots. I ended up with 1/2 an inch thick floor of isopods in the container. I suspended clothes vertically on strings and spaced the cloth 1/4 an in apart to maximize surface area and air flow. I forgot about them for a month, and they were still doing fine they just ate the 11 rags I put in there you could barely tell the cloths were ever there. Never had any substrate just sprayed the cloths with water.
New favorite channel
Love the new intro!
Hey! I have a question. What do you think, can they consume dead slugs as organic material or are they completely herbivores? I have some armadillidium nasatums.
I love what you do!
do you add any extra food? or do they only eat the decaying items inside the bin? will you introduce springtails or do you do those separate in charcoal containers? thank you for your time! :)
Isopods did so well in my terrarium, which is about the size of an old computer monitor, that I had to hand pick them out and release them because they were destroying the plants. Now all that live in it are springtails and centipedes. Once the plants start growing on top of dead biomass, I will re-introduce them.
Glad to know I'm not the only one using a soldering iron to put holes in plastic things
Hehe, there are not a lot of people with afros where i live, so my sisters friend saw u and said "WOOOOW, he had a lot of cool hair" 😂😂😂
Do you have any issues with springtails getting out of the ventilation holes? In my regular closed terrariums, the springtails tend to climb up the walls, so I am hesitant to putting them into an isopod enclosure (though I know most people do).
What does a better job at tank cleaning isopods or springtails? Do I only need one or the other, or should I have both?
Springtails are great at keeping mold and fungus in check, isopods do well with dead plant matter and animal waste. I think it's worth having both, but if I were to go with just one as a cleanup crew I'd probably do springs.
For arid setups certain species of isopods are ideal. Springtails don’t do very well in arid setups since they need such a high humidity (I have experience with both). Isopods also provide a nutritious snack.
I have mine set up with rotting wood, lots of leaf litter, coconut fiber substrate mixed with a few other things and peat moss with very little ventilation, I've had them like this for 6 months and their population is booming. do you think they'd do better with more ventilation?
If it works it works! The Spanish species of Porcellio are the ones which really need that cross-ventilation.
@@AfroHerpkeeper good to know, thanks.
Love the fro!
I found those same little sheets of mesh at a hardware store and i cant remember the place! They were perfect for enclosures.
I have several colonies of Armadillidium vulgare living under some garden border logs that surround my light pole in the front yard. I think I have 200+?
Interested in selling some?
Wow, thanks this was really helpful!!!! My favorites are the clown isopods!
I just gotta say I love your intro
Love the new intro btw
cool stuff, thanks for doing this
Update please! Love the video
What do you feed the isopods? Or fo they just eat the leaves and such? Thanks
They'll eat a lot of stuff. I throw everything from snake sheds, cuttlebone, fish flakes, table scraps, pumpkin guts, and unused feeder rodents in there. They're very efficient scavengers
@@AfroHerpkeeper Good to know. Thanks. I feed mine carrots for now. Also Morning Wood from Repashy
Love your mission statement.
Great video next summer i wanna go hunting for some local isopods and breed them for all of my enclosures.
(✪‿✪) oh my goodness those orange ones!! I wanna get some and collectively name them pumpkin!!!
Please do another reptile room tour or a tiger salamander tank review and by the way where did you get your tiger salamander
Big Boy Bandz he got his Tiger Salamanders from CatAleah.
Great video. Have some salamander soil was just wondering maybe I can use that for my isopods set up. now have to buy more bags at hydroponic store they're on clearance.
Do you ever need to clean up the enclosure? Or do they clean up after themself?
They clean up after themselves! Theyre detrivores.
How long would you recommend letting wild caught isopods breed out before introducing them to a bioactive enclosure?
You're wild mix looks like you picked up some gold flexs, they are a gorgeous species one of my favorites such a subtle beauty.
Happy little isopods :)
Question! Dose any live plants help with stagnant air? I have 2 glass terrarium with some ferns in them. Slugs seem to like one, but I wanted to put pull bugs in the other, but it's got a cork lid
do isopods need light? i mean can u just store them in ur closet or what?
They like the dark that's why they may dig or hide under places like rocks or leaves.
You should do a vid on the grow tent for blue
It will happen in due time, I have lots of other stuff I'm working on
Idk about the things what ever says about you. You rock :D
I have two of them and one is female and one is male and I love them so much how long do they live?
They live for 2 years
Thanks for this video Daniel. This is awesome!! I loved the intro as well. Very cool. I currently have zebra isopods. When I got them there were 9 in the cup. Is that enough to start a colony? Or should I buy more?
Definitely enough to start a colony if you give them what they need, I had about that many to start too.
Do the holes have mesh over them? Wouldn't the isopods escape out of the holes if they don't have mesh?
He talks about this in the video. They have mesh.
Great video! I have some isopods that I collected outside and they are doing great. I also want to have some springtails in my terrariums. Is it possible to collect them outside, just as I did the isopods, or do l have to buy some? Springtails are so tiny that I don't know how to find them outside, where to look for them and how to catch them. I live in Chicago and right now the winter is setting in. What happens to isopods and springtails during the winter months? How do they survive the cold temperatures? Just wandering. What is their lifespan? They are interesting little creatures.
It is possible, they might just be hard to find. I don't know their lifespan but if you set them up properly you shouldn't have to worry much about running out. Springtails love activated charcoal as substrate - you may be able to find some in a wet environment under rocks or rotting logs.
@@AfroHerpkeeper thank you!
Yes
I feel like in order to say " how to care for isopods " >> u should probably show the process over a time span. Maybe I'm being pedantic, but I am looking for caring guides caz I'm going to use these indoors in living soil. So I want to know what they eat; how much they eat; what food will harm them ; is there a ratio of food to overall population >> if we put in a bunch of food they like, will thousands emerge & overtake your house ? Will they then start eating living plants ... Did they end up eating the oak leaves ??
Can I put isopods in a small glass aquarium? Or should I stick with plastic totes?
A LOT of folks keep them in reptile enclosures as cleanup crew so i cant see a glass enclosure being any different!
@@sparklepupfaeri7069 your right! I’m not sure why I didn’t think of that lol. Thanks for the reply
Hello afroherpkeeper, which isopod you recommend as cleaner crew? Please answer mate. Sorry for bad english