I think its my number one to tell people to start small and slow a few species at a time. I feel like most social media posts reads i just started yesterday with 20 species.
Jesus that's a quick way to burn out 🥺 poor guys. I have two species but 4 bins with different morph projects going on right now 😂 started with natives and got some dairy cows. The native vulgares are still my favorites bc they come out orange sometimes. Breeding for that rn
Something I love doing with these amazing small UA-cam channels is draw a line of UA-camrs who have done a collaboration/have the channel in their “channels” tab. For example you can trace Wally from Supreme Gecko and Chris ‘ The Mad Aquarist ‘ Biggs to Aquarimax pets (via comments, collabs, and so much more). Aquarimax Pets has done a few videos with Clint’s Reptiles, Clint’s Reptiles has done a few videos with Snake Discovery, Snake Discovery has Serpa Design in her channels tab. Serpa Design has done a challenge from AntsCanada, AntsCanada has done multiple videos with Exotics Lair. Finally, Exotics Lair has too many channels in his channels tab to count (not subscriptions). The weirdest one I found was mostly skateboarding. It’s very fun to connect the branches of this tree like one big game of telephone and compare the different sections of the tree. I never knew that you could draw a line from Supreme Gecko to AntsCanada, to Serpa Design, It’s amazing!
Something I would like to get in mind are the needs of isopod categories. Like which ones need more or less humidity, extra protein etc. Certain ones treated mostly alike and what the exceptions are. You do a good job. Thanks.
I like the comment about enclosure types, I was using one type that was six quarts but was discontinued when I wanted to add a few new cultures. I upgraded to a twelve quart container and bought several extra so I could continue to expand my species. I still use the six Quarts for new cultures and then upgrade them to the twelve quarts as the colony grows.
For anyone who’s really worried about this, back when I was younger, I would keep some A. vulgare in the crappiest enclosures ever and they would still breed a bunch. One of them was about the size if you made your 2 thumbs, and two pointer fingers into a circle. It was like half isopod poop but they still made lots of babies, I moved them out after like a month because I realized that It wasn’t the best home for them.
I DO have individual care videos. Not every single isopod but several of the ones I keep. Have you visited my channel and checked them out. If so, if there are any that you would like me to do that are missing, please feel free to list here. Thanks.
@@SupremeGecko hmmm I went thru them but maybe I am missing them if you do have them. Want to see if there is any specific care for Cubaris Red Tigers, Cubaris Rubber Duckies, and Cubaris Blonde Duckies. I've seen both the rubber and blonde duckies around but I have not seen my red tigers since I put 6 in about 2 weeks ago. Want to know I'm doing everything right. Also if you can make a video explaining how to safely transfer an isopod colony into a new bigger bin. If you have one already, sorry lol.
Such helpful tips! I'm a bit obsessed with having the same size containers when possible. Too much time spent trying to deal with odd sized bins for my mealworms.
Woah I never heard of the bag method! Will definitely have to try it sounds a lot easier then baking or boiling. I also use a grill to bake as well if an oven isn’t an option.
I am loving your videos! I am just getting started with isopods and doing my research before getting dairy cows as my first species. I can't collect leaf waste from my yard for some time as I had to have it treated for pests due to a roach infestation next door (so sad!) How do you identify safe areas to collect from nature? Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Sarah, I am glad you are both enjoying our videos and learning something from them. Thank you for watching. For safe leave litter, the best thing you can do is head out to a park, take one of the trails, and go off trailing when you see a bunch of hardwood trees. I carry a black bag with me and gather plenty of 'iso' supplies (decaying wood, mushrooms, etc.). Good luck and thank you for the question.
I totally agree with you on the point of wild collecting some isopods ans see if you can keep those alive before you invest in a bunch of special ones.
Hey Wally, I'm making a dedicated isopod terrarium! I'm very excited and have never kept reptiles or invertebrates before. That being said I'm very familiar with plants and substrates as I have nearly 200 various house plants. I'm overthinking what to make the substrate out of, specifically for dairy cows, as I love their big size. I was thinking of doing 1part sphagnum moss, 1part coca fiber, 1 part small various woodchips, and 1 part worm castings. I'm probably overthinking this but I want my new tiny friends to have the best enclosure. Also planning on having small plants like fittonia and mosses. Thanks a ton!
Never a bad thing to think through the process. But, have you seen a couple of my other videos on substrate? A chance to your recipe would be to have at least half to 3/4 worm castings or other (non-treated) dirt. Everything else can be an add on from there.
@@SupremeGecko Thanks for the reply! I ended up watching like 3 hours of isopod tutorials and substrate videos last night so I have a much better feel for what I want and for what the cows will want. I'm going more with something that I saw on The Mad Aquarist's substrate 101 video with a focus on the squishy decaying wood, but still a lot of worm castings as well as the other reccomended stuff. Def staying away from anything with additives and fertilizers. Like you said, I'm asking a lot of questions to increase my success chances. Cheers!
Awesome video Wally! Very helpful, I have heard of boiling and baking which is my preferred method, but I wasn't sure about baking moss or leaves, didn't want them to disintegrate... so I think I am going to try out your "Bagging" method! Never heard of that one before. Thanks!
Wow! You pretty much just summed up our biggest questions since starting! I think number two is going to be hard for us as well! I don't want anything to go hungry in this house, including the isopods!
I'm right there with you. I would rather see a bit of uneaten food than no food left over and worry that they are not getting enough. It's a balancing act that we all do.
Thank you Wally for all you do for us that are pretty new to the hobby. I can not thank you enough for the tip on keeping one side with the moss moist and the rest dry. I have at least 60 baby zebras. All my enclosures are booming with babies.
What information are you looking for? I could write a book :) I don't use almond leaves as they are a bit acidic and more $$ . Just use a hardwood leave like maple or oak. I you have almond leave freely availble to you, I would gladly trade you for some!
Thanks for another informative and helpful video. I have been collecting some decaying cactus wood, tree bark and lots of leaves especially from my house plants (spider, Pothos, ivy). I have a worm bin, so I will have worm castings. I just have to wait for the weather to cool down before I get any isopods, but my substrate's ready.
Love this! Only thing I have to add is your protein hungry isopods will produce much faster with added protein rich foods. I have a bunch of different species currently. Started with two at first and added mo more than two every few months.
Great point. I wish I could have added that but I wanted to keep it down to 3 (I think I actually have 8 in total :) I got carried away. But this is a great point too.
Awesome video wally! sadly, I did not have this video before I started but it will definitely be helpful to any new or begging keepers! I have a friend who is thinking of begging with isopods and I will probably be sending him this if he decides to get some isopods.
I started a few months ago keeping porcellio scaber and a mix of armadillidium klugii. I am already seeing mankai. They are super fun and super easy. I kinda follow everything Supreme Gecko and Aquarimax Pets say and I can tell you these men are masters.
I want to start a isopod colony. I was thinking a 12qt Rubbermaid container. My questions are I would like to try to get rid of large amounts of maple leaves and kitchen scraps like lettuce,apple ores,celery etc. Are there kinds of isopods that will eat enough of the above foods to make it worth while so should I stick with worms? I really don’t like worms. Thank you for your thoughts.
Trying to use native isopods for hermit crab crabitat, would you suggest building the culture before throwing 5 or 6 into a 40 gallon tanks or just let them build in the tank?
I always suggest keeping a small culture of isopods to the side. Then when you are ready for your bio-active, you can pull some out of your side container.
Great question!!! I use hardwoods simple because I have two maple trees close by. BUT, the hardwood leaves are perfect for drying up and decomposing. Using hardwoods is also a safer option than guessing if the leaves are safe or not.
Good afternoon, I had a question on the vents. What screen works good so isopods wont escape but still have food air flow. I saw a solar window screen I liked because it can keep isopods inside but doesnt seem like the air flow is good
Wally I have a question on ventilation what is a good material to use to cover the hole I make to increase ventilation. I do not want little critters to enter or babies to escape.
Personally I use stockings ( some people call it pantyhose) either way it works and it's small enough to where fungus gnats cant get through. I know that wally had mentioned in a previous video that he uses chiffon or cheese cloth. Hope this helps.
@@SupremeGecko hm, I see. So technically isopods cause damage, not millepedes) Now I have in my tank just thousands and thousands springtails. And I had some millepedes (about 1 cm or less). I separated them from into a small volume, and I yesterday decided to check them, don't found only 2 from 4. May be springtails ate them, may be they are so small than they just hide in piece of wood. I wish to find out if millipedes can breed when springtails are so many. . Btw, in my tank (there live roaches) I have also scolopendra, they are 0.3-1,1 cm. I'm not sure, but it seems they don't bother anybody and just feed on springtails.
I just started out with this hobby as I found terrarium making very satisfying and thought, why not add springtails and some kind of insects? Found your channel recently and decided to get isopods. Love them! My Dalmatians are having offspring, and the zebras and dairy cows are doing great as well! Any advice on how a terrarium (around a 1 gallon glass jar) will do versus the plastic tub method you use?
Congratulations on your new hobby :) And on the baby (mancae) dalmatians. The only difference I can see is the ventilation capability. Glass tanks can only (easily) have ventilation from the top and not true 'cross' ventilation. But that might be ok if you use a screen top. Experiment and if you need to (losing too much humidity or moist area drying out too quickly), add a small piece of Plexiglas to the top to reduce evaporation. Good luck and keep me posted.
Thank you so very much Denise. You will realize I try to answer every comment/question within about 1 day of posting. Our community here is building quickly and I really enjoy sharing with everyone.
I like the tips. I do have some questions. Where do you get kings leaves or wood? If I can’t get that type of wood, what do you recommend? What type of mushrooms work best and should they be dried out first? Finally, what about the enclosure sizes and lighting? Appreciate your info
Thanks for the questions. I get all my wood and leaves from my yard (leaves) and from nearby parks. PM me and I can recommend a couple of people for isopod supplies. Mushrooms- the type that grow on trees mostly (I don't know the name, sorry). And yes, dry them out and shave them with a razor knife (safely!). I don't provide any lighting other than ambient through the holes. I like a 6 qt tub for starters and 12-15 qt tub to grow out. Hope this helps.
Ouch! Holds hand to nose, pulls away seeing bright red blood. Looks back at you. NOBODY makes me bleed my own blood! (10 points if you can name the movie)
Good video. I'm very new and constantly learning, videos like this are always great. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! #2 here was big for me. I am so used to having to actively feed things, like my kids! haha. And other pets I've had. In fact, getting used to NOT having to feed my rescued African Fat Tailed like other pets (daily if not close to), took me a while too. Go easy! Me
I'm seeing my A. maculatum bin diminish, and the babies I see aren't as plentiful as I'd expect by now. I also think I saw a small worm?? How do you (or other keepers on here) tend to go through the troubleshooting process to find out what to do? Finally how long do you maintain a change to see if it is beneficial?
Great analytical questions. First, have you viewed my video on the Zebras? There are a couple of tips and tricks I go through in the video. That worm might be ok, depending on where it is from and what type. How do I monitor and maintain- unfortunately, I'm on the side of don't bother the isopods and they will be happier so when I do notice something astray, it is already established as an issue. But all isopods like to be left alone and produce better that way. So, I generally look for colony size and monitor that way.
Also, can you boil moss? I love gathering moss. Normally I do a good job. I take them home and soak them. Then, I freeze them. I do that one more time, and never had a problem. ...until this last time. In one of the containers, I found that little black crickets have started to propagate. It's not the biggest deal, in that I'm now trying to breed them haha! It's more of a bruise to my ego, as I thought I did a better job. Thank you again! Me
I have a question I believe it was this video where you said you isopods like mushrooms what types of mushrooms do you use if this is what I remember correctly?
Great question. I don't know the types (not a mushroom expert by any means) but the shrooms I use mostly occur on trees/fallen logs. They are fairly firm, with large heads (is that the proper name). With a little drying, they can easily be shaved off into smaller pieces.
I've seeing many people suggesting feeding springtails with bread yeast, can it also be a good idea to feed isopod? It's there a problem mingling different species such as armadilium vulgare and porcellionides pruinosus?
You can try that. Small amounts to test first however. I'm of the opinion that if you have leaves and decaying wood, most other foods offered are supplements to their main diet. And, I strongly recommend not cohabitation of different isopods. One will eventually out compete the other.
I had planned on keeping several different Isopods in a large vivarium with plants, etc. What different types of Isopods can be placed together? My plans were to take several types of Isopods and give them to my grandchildren for Christmas as most of them do not need too much special care. I wanted it to be kinda like the old fashion " Ant Farm". Any Suggestions?
Hi Carol, thank you for the great question. I personally do not keep multiple species together simply because I believe eventually one will overtake the other. YES! Just like an ant farm without the mess. AND isopods breed easier.
I bought some dried reishi mushroom strips from China that look like strips of bacon and 2 days ago, I have one to my isopods. My isopods seem to really like the dark part of them. Unfortunately the dark part is only about 10% of the mushroom.
@@SupremeGecko They also liked the Inky Caps and some unknown brown cap mushroom growing out of wood mulch in my yard. Neither of these species should be eaten by humans, but the isopods seem to like it. I know enough about mushrooms, to never even touch a "Destroying Angel", "Death Cap", or the most common one that is toxic, which is the "False Parasol" (green spores) Chlorophyllum molybdites, etc type of mushrooms.
I have a question! You mentioned that your porcellio sevilla were out-competed by powder blues. I was planning to keep Dwarf Whites and Powder Blues together in the same container. Will that be okay, or will one species out-compete and wipe out the other?
I got mites, are these bad for the rolly polys? How do I kill them? Because a few days after I give them their protein food I start itching for a week!
Hey Wally! I have a question, would ground up snail shells be a good source of calcium? I have a pond in my backyard and I found my Isopods around there.
I just got my first isopods today (dwarf tropicals, I think they’re the dwarf white ones) I’m planning on using them in my gecko and frog tank. I wanna grow my colony though so I don’t have to keep buying more
Hello! I just bought my first culture of 10 dairy cow isopods. My intent is to breed them. I've heard from everyone that you should start with 40+ to breed efficiently. Do I really need that many? Or will it just take longer for them to breed? Thanks!!
I know I followed this advise when I started. Started with 5 easy ones, and 8 months later I haven’t lost a colony and they keep growing to fill the bin after a few months
Exceptional video Wally! so much solid information all in one video...Mushrooms are gross so yes feed them to ISOPODS!!!! I prefer feeding them the bones of my enemies...good protein source then a calcium kicker! Love it my friend. Gonna share it
Only problem with you feeding the bones of your enemies to your isopods.................... they never get to eat as you have no enemies (and so many friends). (Awwwwwwwwwwwwww) ;) And thank you for the kind words.
Hello I'm new! I just started with p.laevis milkbacks and a.klugii montenegros... I plan to go bioactive with my leopard gecko in a few months. Which of these would be best, or should I opt for a different species for that specifically? Thank you!
I'm glad this helped. Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, I don't believe I can fix the audio of the video once it is posted. If you know a way, I'm all ears. :) Have you checked newer videos? This one is about 100 videos ago. How is the sound on them? Thanks again, this feedback always helps.
@@SupremeGecko I haven't checked your new videos mate (too many tabs open in the brain right now). :) If you are up to, a lavalier microphone will do the job.
Thanks for the video! I really appreciate it. I have a question I have been doing research on cubaris as a whole ( I'm not planning on getting them any time soon but I enjoy learning about any and all types of animals and creatures) I see that some people put limestone in their enclosures due to most cubaris near or on limestone areas. Some people say it's a neccesetity others dont mention it at all. What do you personally do and your view on this. Anyway my question is what exactly would I put in my enclosure? Chunks of limestone, crushed limestone or powder limestone etc.? I do have a suggestion and please don't take it negatively. In the beginning when you put the sound the isopod vlog. Its super loud compared to your video sound so maybe you can just lower the volume? Thanks again for the video! I do enjoy them. Have a great night!
Hi Danielle, thanks for the question. I only have the 4 species of Cubaris and, they are all different. I do have limestone in my ambers and rubber duckies. They are actually pieces of limestone. I would like to find some with holes in them that the isopods can go into. Search is still on. As you mentioned, there are MANY different opinions on this and my limited amount of experience probably doesn't help much. I will check the sound (I do want it to be a bit louder but not overbearing) thanks for mentioning this.
Hi Wally iv tried to buy few different isopods and chow .something keeps happening as my order dont go through. Maybe coz I'm in scotland . Do you deliver that far ?
It is because you are outside of the US. I don't typically ship product, and never animals outside US. If you would like to order the Supreme Isopod Chow, please just contact me on FB and I will check shipping $$ for you.
"ants, millipede infestation" cue my panic. i conciously included in my new colture a couple of millipedes (very small, smaller than my isopods) because i heard they have the same diet and i worried about cleanliness of the enclosure , and to provide some biodiversity (there is also a miniscule snail in there, not really intentional but i was glad). Unfortunately there are also ants, one or two in there (not intentional) Since there is no queen, are they just going to die of old age (i guess they wont die of starvation)? I worry now because i dont think i can do a transfer to a cleaner more secure enclosure as of now. Are they something i should be seriously worried about, like a physical danger to the isopods? Also, what if i was to split the two millipedes, that im not even sure are of the same species, so that there is no chance of reproduction, are they gonna be a danger to my isopods? I realize the video is old but i hope ill get a response soon 🥲
I would allow the millipedes to stay together. There is really no worries about them being kept together. A note- some isopods may bother the millipedes when they molt. And, ant WILL be a negative influence to the isopods.
@@SupremeGecko thank you for the reply. What should i do about the ants? again, there are only a few and its hard to spot in which enclosure they are. I might not be able to rehouse the isopods.
I will only buy mine mushrooms, and I give them frog 💩, and turtle 💩, they have a ton of nice dried out rotten maple, and oak, hemlock, birch bark, and that moss like stuff that grows on bark. It sometimes be on the cork bark. Thank you for your videos. You have been beyond helpful. I have few beginning species, with different morph colors. They are such fun little dudes.
@@theCreative_Rosey Ah, I understand. I make my own and feel very comfortable now with the mix after a year or so using them. A store bought (I'm assuming you mean from someone like Permien Exotics) is worth the money but you do pay more then mixing your own.
I lost a whole colony of mardi gras to a centipede infestation my dad got them for me while he was at a show they even. Were in my Spanish orange isopods and I lost both of em i felt so bad but now I'm taking many steps to make sure nothing hurts my colonies I felt bad for the breeder as well.
@@SupremeGecko I had moved a group of survivors and had them colony live for a while until the adults just wouldn’t breed anymore so I think I’ll try again once I’ve got my 2 new colonies settled and doing well
Maaaan my Sevillas just randomly croaked.. like... i had a 20ct at first, then one day i open it up and had 6 remaining. Still never found out the issue...
I threw orange isopods in with breeding holloween hissers, and blue isopods in with some black tiger hissers, to make bioactive enclosures. They are all spawning like crazy. It's pretty cool the kids love it. I'm now I'm to the point where I'm selective breeding them. I feed them roach poop "obviously" lol, bunny poop, snake shed, rotting wood out of my bioactive snake enclosure. I want duckies and cows.
Wally, don't forget to add a valuable piece of info in a future video on sealing your ISO tubs to prevent escapees and intruders. You know, the one you have just invented (wink) :-) :-)
I agree with you on the research its so important and like you said start off slow and then grow ... plus I should be an isopod expert by the time I am done watching all your videos lol just joking I will be asking you a ton of question as I go
@@SupremeGecko Aww thanks mate, I’m starting up an Australian isopod project, already have permission to collect isopods in multiple Australian states. Still though finding 20 different species is rather difficult, I’m having to learn all about pitfall traps.
I must say , after 2 months there are over 20 here . But maybe because of Luck or because of your Videos, all are alive and reproducing . So fingers crossed because i want more and more
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I think its my number one to tell people to start small and slow a few species at a time. I feel like most social media posts reads i just started yesterday with 20 species.
Yes! I cannot tell you how many questions/complains from other isopod keepers that indicate they went big, lost major $$s and became frustrated.
Jesus that's a quick way to burn out 🥺 poor guys. I have two species but 4 bins with different morph projects going on right now 😂 started with natives and got some dairy cows. The native vulgares are still my favorites bc they come out orange sometimes. Breeding for that rn
Something I love doing with these amazing small UA-cam channels is draw a line of UA-camrs who have done a collaboration/have the channel in their “channels” tab. For example you can trace Wally from Supreme Gecko and Chris ‘ The Mad Aquarist ‘ Biggs to Aquarimax pets (via comments, collabs, and so much more). Aquarimax Pets has done a few videos with Clint’s Reptiles, Clint’s Reptiles has done a few videos with Snake Discovery, Snake Discovery has Serpa Design in her channels tab. Serpa Design has done a challenge from AntsCanada, AntsCanada has done multiple videos with Exotics Lair. Finally, Exotics Lair has too many channels in his channels tab to count (not subscriptions). The weirdest one I found was mostly skateboarding.
It’s very fun to connect the branches of this tree like one big game of telephone and compare the different sections of the tree. I never knew that you could draw a line from Supreme Gecko to AntsCanada, to Serpa Design, It’s amazing!
I love this!!! I do the same exact thing!
@@SupremeGecko Wow! I thought it was just me
I know for sure that this is going to help many people who are gfetting in to isopods!
Thank you so very much. I hope so too.
Something I would like to get in mind are the needs of isopod categories. Like which ones need more or less humidity, extra protein etc. Certain ones treated mostly alike and what the exceptions are. You do a good job. Thanks.
Great point. I know I struggled with this too in the beginning.
I like the comment about enclosure types, I was using one type that was six quarts but was discontinued when I wanted to add a few new cultures. I upgraded to a twelve quart container and bought several extra so I could continue to expand my species. I still use the six Quarts for new cultures and then upgrade them to the twelve quarts as the colony grows.
YES!!!! Exactly what I do.
For anyone who’s really worried about this, back when I was younger, I would keep some A. vulgare in the crappiest enclosures ever and they would still breed a bunch. One of them was about the size if you made your 2 thumbs, and two pointer fingers into a circle. It was like half isopod poop but they still made lots of babies, I moved them out after like a month because I realized that It wasn’t the best home for them.
Cool!
Could you possibly make us a video of different care for certain species you've learned along the way? Please and thank you!
I DO have individual care videos. Not every single isopod but several of the ones I keep. Have you visited my channel and checked them out. If so, if there are any that you would like me to do that are missing, please feel free to list here. Thanks.
@@SupremeGecko hmmm I went thru them but maybe I am missing them if you do have them. Want to see if there is any specific care for Cubaris Red Tigers, Cubaris Rubber Duckies, and Cubaris Blonde Duckies. I've seen both the rubber and blonde duckies around but I have not seen my red tigers since I put 6 in about 2 weeks ago. Want to know I'm doing everything right.
Also if you can make a video explaining how to safely transfer an isopod colony into a new bigger bin. If you have one already, sorry lol.
Such helpful tips! I'm a bit obsessed with having the same size containers when possible. Too much time spent trying to deal with odd sized bins for my mealworms.
YES! That is me right now..... If I would have only known :)
Woah I never heard of the bag method! Will definitely have to try it sounds a lot easier then baking or boiling. I also use a grill to bake as well if an oven isn’t an option.
ABSOLUTELY easier. I'm all about being lazy (for the right reasons :)
@@SupremeGecko I agree lol I’ll definitely try it though once the weather gets warm enough
I am loving your videos! I am just getting started with isopods and doing my research before getting dairy cows as my first species. I can't collect leaf waste from my yard for some time as I had to have it treated for pests due to a roach infestation next door (so sad!) How do you identify safe areas to collect from nature? Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Sarah, I am glad you are both enjoying our videos and learning something from them. Thank you for watching. For safe leave litter, the best thing you can do is head out to a park, take one of the trails, and go off trailing when you see a bunch of hardwood trees. I carry a black bag with me and gather plenty of 'iso' supplies (decaying wood, mushrooms, etc.). Good luck and thank you for the question.
I hope you got your dairy cows and I hope they are doing well
Thanks for sharing so much information in such a condensed format!
It is always my pleasure, and thank you for noticing I try to keep this as short as I can. I don't want anyone watching an hour long feeding video :)
I totally agree with you on the point of wild collecting some isopods ans see if you can keep those alive before you invest in a bunch of special ones.
Exactly.... and you might find a really cool color variety.
Hey Wally, I'm making a dedicated isopod terrarium! I'm very excited and have never kept reptiles or invertebrates before. That being said I'm very familiar with plants and substrates as I have nearly 200 various house plants. I'm overthinking what to make the substrate out of, specifically for dairy cows, as I love their big size. I was thinking of doing 1part sphagnum moss, 1part coca fiber, 1 part small various woodchips, and 1 part worm castings. I'm probably overthinking this but I want my new tiny friends to have the best enclosure. Also planning on having small plants like fittonia and mosses. Thanks a ton!
Never a bad thing to think through the process. But, have you seen a couple of my other videos on substrate? A chance to your recipe would be to have at least half to 3/4 worm castings or other (non-treated) dirt. Everything else can be an add on from there.
@@SupremeGecko Thanks for the reply! I ended up watching like 3 hours of isopod tutorials and substrate videos last night so I have a much better feel for what I want and for what the cows will want. I'm going more with something that I saw on The Mad Aquarist's substrate 101 video with a focus on the squishy decaying wood, but still a lot of worm castings as well as the other reccomended stuff. Def staying away from anything with additives and fertilizers. Like you said, I'm asking a lot of questions to increase my success chances. Cheers!
@@paeve362 Sounds like a great plan and good job with the research.
Awesome video Wally! Very helpful, I have heard of boiling and baking which is my preferred method, but I wasn't sure about baking moss or leaves, didn't want them to disintegrate... so I think I am going to try out your "Bagging" method! Never heard of that one before. Thanks!
Thank you so much Liz. Leaves is fine for baking... just a lower temp. I do the bagging (esp. a week in the sun in the Summer) whenever I can.
Wow! You pretty much just summed up our biggest questions since starting! I think number two is going to be hard for us as well! I don't want anything to go hungry in this house, including the isopods!
I'm right there with you. I would rather see a bit of uneaten food than no food left over and worry that they are not getting enough. It's a balancing act that we all do.
Thanks for those tips, it helped as far as most types having the same care and of course doing research helps a lot.
Absolutely. Glad this helped.
Thank you Wally for all you do for us that are pretty new to the hobby. I can not thank you enough for the tip on keeping one side with the moss moist and the rest dry. I have at least 60 baby zebras. All my enclosures are booming with babies.
OUTSTANDING. That makes my day. Seriously. Puts a smile on my face. Thank you for all your support Barb.
Thank you Sir for so much great information.
Thank you for watching. (seeing your ID, makes me want to break out my coin collection from when I was a kid. so many boxes :)
Any information you can give me on the powder orange species Porcellio pruinosus? And are Indian almond leaves ok??
What information are you looking for? I could write a book :) I don't use almond leaves as they are a bit acidic and more $$ . Just use a hardwood leave like maple or oak. I you have almond leave freely availble to you, I would gladly trade you for some!
Can you make a video of how to take care of lava isopods
Hi Heather. I sure can. I just received some so I want to make sure I've dialed them in first.
Thanks for another informative and helpful video. I have been collecting some decaying cactus wood, tree bark and lots of leaves especially from my house plants (spider, Pothos, ivy).
I have a worm bin, so I will have worm castings.
I just have to wait for the weather to cool down before I get any isopods, but my substrate's ready.
Ohhhhhhh worm castings. Golden! This is such a great addition to the substrate.
Love this! Only thing I have to add is your protein hungry isopods will produce much faster with added protein rich foods.
I have a bunch of different species currently. Started with two at first and added mo more than two every few months.
Great point. I wish I could have added that but I wanted to keep it down to 3 (I think I actually have 8 in total :) I got carried away. But this is a great point too.
Supreme Gecko one of the reasons I like your videos is that they are information packed. Not just filler and fluff.
Awesome video wally! sadly, I did not have this video before I started but it will definitely be helpful to any new or begging keepers! I have a friend who is thinking of begging with isopods and I will probably be sending him this if he decides to get some isopods.
Thank you if you do share. Greatly appreciated!
What do u think about using fox farm ocean forest soil as isopod substrate?
It's not my favorite substrate.
I have lots of isopod ,pill bugs or Roli poli in my compost bin but the regular black grey color haven’t seen the zebras or orange !
That is cool. Perhaps you should look for weird patterns or just a small difference in colors and try to cultivate them.
I started a few months ago keeping porcellio scaber and a mix of armadillidium klugii. I am already seeing mankai. They are super fun and super easy. I kinda follow everything Supreme Gecko and Aquarimax Pets say and I can tell you these men are masters.
Thank you so much for the wonderful comments! Congrats on your mancae!!!
I want to start a isopod colony. I was thinking a 12qt Rubbermaid container. My questions are I would like to try to get rid of large amounts of maple leaves and kitchen scraps like lettuce,apple ores,celery etc. Are there kinds of isopods that will eat enough of the above foods to make it worth while so should I stick with worms? I really don’t like worms. Thank you for your thoughts.
It depends on how many isopods you keep :) Armadillidium like more veggies.
Trying to use native isopods for hermit crab crabitat, would you suggest building the culture before throwing 5 or 6 into a 40 gallon tanks or just let them build in the tank?
I always suggest keeping a small culture of isopods to the side. Then when you are ready for your bio-active, you can pull some out of your side container.
Why do you need only hardwood leaf litter? or am I understanding wrong. Thanks, sorry if it is a stupid question. New Sub.
Great question!!! I use hardwoods simple because I have two maple trees close by. BUT, the hardwood leaves are perfect for drying up and decomposing. Using hardwoods is also a safer option than guessing if the leaves are safe or not.
@@SupremeGecko OK mate thanks.
Good afternoon, I had a question on the vents. What screen works good so isopods wont escape but still have food air flow. I saw a solar window screen I liked because it can keep isopods inside but doesnt seem like the air flow is good
I have this in one of my other videos- chiffon, cheesecloth, or I like to use the bags snakes are shipped in (sterilized of course).
@@SupremeGecko thanks im looking for that video right now.i enjoy doing the research
@@SupremeGecko i think chiffon will work better the the solar screen I got. Thanks again for the help and im still watching more of your videos
@@zer0coolninja887 You are most welcome! Enjoy and keep the questions coming.
Wally I have a question on ventilation what is a good material to use to cover the hole I make to increase ventilation. I do not want little critters to enter or babies to escape.
Personally I use stockings ( some people call it pantyhose) either way it works and it's small enough to where fungus gnats cant get through. I know that wally had mentioned in a previous video that he uses chiffon or cheese cloth. Hope this helps.
This might help- ua-cam.com/video/BJamaKAQepg/v-deo.html Let me know if you have any other questions after watching this one.
Thanks for the helping hand Danielle. MUCH appreciated.
Can I ask you, how millipedes make damage to isopods?, small ones that comes with peace of wood.
Good question- Usually it is the other way around. When millipedes molt, the isopds COULD bother them and cause damage. I hope this helps.
@@SupremeGecko hm, I see. So technically isopods cause damage, not millepedes)
Now I have in my tank just thousands and thousands springtails. And I had some millepedes (about 1 cm or less).
I separated them from into a small volume, and I yesterday decided to check them, don't found only 2 from 4. May be springtails ate them, may be they are so small than they just hide in piece of wood.
I wish to find out if millipedes can breed when springtails are so many.
.
Btw, in my tank (there live roaches) I have also scolopendra, they are 0.3-1,1 cm. I'm not sure, but it seems they don't bother anybody and just feed on springtails.
I just started out with this hobby as I found terrarium making very satisfying and thought, why not add springtails and some kind of insects? Found your channel recently and decided to get isopods. Love them! My Dalmatians are having offspring, and the zebras and dairy cows are doing great as well! Any advice on how a terrarium (around a 1 gallon glass jar) will do versus the plastic tub method you use?
Congratulations on your new hobby :) And on the baby (mancae) dalmatians. The only difference I can see is the ventilation capability. Glass tanks can only (easily) have ventilation from the top and not true 'cross' ventilation. But that might be ok if you use a screen top. Experiment and if you need to (losing too much humidity or moist area drying out too quickly), add a small piece of Plexiglas to the top to reduce evaporation. Good luck and keep me posted.
You are an awesome wealth of information! I appreciate you so very much! Been binge watching your videos
Thank you so very much Denise. You will realize I try to answer every comment/question within about 1 day of posting. Our community here is building quickly and I really enjoy sharing with everyone.
I like the tips. I do have some questions. Where do you get kings leaves or wood? If I can’t get that type of wood, what do you recommend? What type of mushrooms work best and should they be dried out first? Finally, what about the enclosure sizes and lighting? Appreciate your info
Thanks for the questions. I get all my wood and leaves from my yard (leaves) and from nearby parks. PM me and I can recommend a couple of people for isopod supplies. Mushrooms- the type that grow on trees mostly (I don't know the name, sorry). And yes, dry them out and shave them with a razor knife (safely!). I don't provide any lighting other than ambient through the holes. I like a 6 qt tub for starters and 12-15 qt tub to grow out. Hope this helps.
Great video Wally! The bag method. I didn't know you had sun in Wisconsin. ;)
Ouch! Holds hand to nose, pulls away seeing bright red blood. Looks back at you. NOBODY makes me bleed my own blood! (10 points if you can name the movie)
Good video. I'm very new and constantly learning, videos like this are always great.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! #2 here was big for me. I am so used to having to actively feed things, like my kids! haha. And other pets I've had. In fact, getting used to NOT having to feed my rescued African Fat Tailed like other pets (daily if not close to), took me a while too.
Go easy!
Me
Thank you very much for watching and I am so glad this helped.
I'm seeing my A. maculatum bin diminish, and the babies I see aren't as plentiful as I'd expect by now. I also think I saw a small worm?? How do you (or other keepers on here) tend to go through the troubleshooting process to find out what to do? Finally how long do you maintain a change to see if it is beneficial?
Great analytical questions. First, have you viewed my video on the Zebras? There are a couple of tips and tricks I go through in the video. That worm might be ok, depending on where it is from and what type. How do I monitor and maintain- unfortunately, I'm on the side of don't bother the isopods and they will be happier so when I do notice something astray, it is already established as an issue. But all isopods like to be left alone and produce better that way. So, I generally look for colony size and monitor that way.
Great Video, thanks for Sharing. 🎉
Thank you for watching.
Also, can you boil moss? I love gathering moss.
Normally I do a good job. I take them home and soak them. Then, I freeze them. I do that one more time, and never had a problem.
...until this last time. In one of the containers, I found that little black crickets have started to propagate. It's not the biggest deal, in that I'm now trying to breed them haha!
It's more of a bruise to my ego, as I thought I did a better job.
Thank you again!
Me
Of course you can, but if you do, you take away so much of the reason even for using live moss.
An other great video buddy ! I learn more every time . Peace out from scotland !
Thank you very much. Wish I was in Scotland today.
I have a question I believe it was this video where you said you isopods like mushrooms what types of mushrooms do you use if this is what I remember correctly?
Great question. I don't know the types (not a mushroom expert by any means) but the shrooms I use mostly occur on trees/fallen logs. They are fairly firm, with large heads (is that the proper name). With a little drying, they can easily be shaved off into smaller pieces.
Great learning video wally thank you so much for sharing this video you are an amazing person☺☺
Thank you so much for the kind words Crystal, and for watching.
I've seeing many people suggesting feeding springtails with bread yeast, can it also be a good idea to feed isopod? It's there a problem mingling different species such as armadilium vulgare and porcellionides pruinosus?
You can try that. Small amounts to test first however. I'm of the opinion that if you have leaves and decaying wood, most other foods offered are supplements to their main diet. And, I strongly recommend not cohabitation of different isopods. One will eventually out compete the other.
@@SupremeGecko thank you very much and congratulations on your channel. the same situation in a bioactive enclosure, choose just one specie right?
@@dlbasket exactly. Else one will take over the other.
I had planned on keeping several different Isopods in a large vivarium with plants, etc. What different types of Isopods can be placed together? My plans were to take several types of Isopods and give them to my grandchildren for Christmas as most of them do not need too much special care. I wanted it to be kinda like the old fashion " Ant Farm". Any Suggestions?
Hi Carol, thank you for the great question. I personally do not keep multiple species together simply because I believe eventually one will overtake the other. YES! Just like an ant farm without the mess. AND isopods breed easier.
I only have 4 right now lol but I have 6 more containers I just got to make the enclosures how you suggested thanks for all the great tips!
YES! Exactly. And thank you for the nice comment.
I bought some dried reishi mushroom strips from China that look like strips of bacon and 2 days ago, I have one to my isopods.
My isopods seem to really like the dark part of them.
Unfortunately the dark part is only about 10% of the mushroom.
Very interesting. For the mushrooms we collect, the isopods eat them all up.
@@SupremeGecko They also liked the Inky Caps and some unknown brown cap mushroom growing out of wood mulch in my yard.
Neither of these species should be eaten by humans, but the isopods seem to like it.
I know enough about mushrooms, to never even touch a "Destroying Angel", "Death Cap", or the most common one that is toxic, which is the "False Parasol" (green spores) Chlorophyllum molybdites, etc type of mushrooms.
hi, i had a quick question. whats your opinion on zilla jungle mix as a substrate for isopods?
I HIGHLY recommend it. Great product. Now, I do mix in worm castings and other materials (check out my other videos for setting up an enclosure).
Thanks a lot!
Always welcome.
@@SupremeGecko I’m just getting into isopods this year, got a culture from my backyard and once they had babies I was hooked.
@@ratatataraxia that's I I got going
I have a question! You mentioned that your porcellio sevilla were out-competed by powder blues. I was planning to keep Dwarf Whites and Powder Blues together in the same container. Will that be okay, or will one species out-compete and wipe out the other?
I would imagine that eventually one will out compete the other.... and 10 to 1 I'd bet on the PBs taking over :)
Hey, I was wondering if there was any information on what to do if your colony gets too big and you can't sell them?
I have geckos so I do feed off some.
I wonder the same
Do you still need to feed the isopods if you keep them with other pets - ie the isopods are the cleaning crew
I would feed a small amount of food but ALWAYS have leaves available.
I got mites, are these bad for the rolly polys? How do I kill them? Because a few days after I give them their protein food I start itching for a week!
that is terrible. It really depends on the mites.
😳 I meant ; my terrarium has mites
Hey Wally! I have a question, would ground up snail shells be a good source of calcium? I have a pond in my backyard and I found my Isopods around there.
They would. For me, it is easiest to just grind up egg shells. But you could.
Supreme Gecko thanks a lot, we don’t eat many eggs and it would be easier than cuttlebones!
@@unliketube8827 Makes sense. The other option (but $$) is to purchase a bag of calcium carbonate off amazon (@ $22).
Supreme Gecko understood, I only started my culture yesterday, so I don’t need much. Thank you for your quick replies and advice!
Thanks For the video!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
I just got my first isopods today (dwarf tropicals, I think they’re the dwarf white ones) I’m planning on using them in my gecko and frog tank. I wanna grow my colony though so I don’t have to keep buying more
Perfect idea! Check out our store for more isopods when you are ready.
Hello! I just bought my first culture of 10 dairy cow isopods. My intent is to breed them. I've heard from everyone that you should start with 40+ to breed efficiently. Do I really need that many? Or will it just take longer for them to breed? Thanks!!
Whoot! Congrats on your new isopods. Everyone?!? Nope, 10 is fine. You'll have 40 in a few weeks, then 100 the week after :)
@@SupremeGecko thank you!!
I know I followed this advise when I started. Started with 5 easy ones, and 8 months later I haven’t lost a colony and they keep growing to fill the bin after a few months
Excellent. Great job. That makes it fun, doesn't it.
Exceptional video Wally! so much solid information all in one video...Mushrooms are gross so yes feed them to ISOPODS!!!! I prefer feeding them the bones of my enemies...good protein source then a calcium kicker!
Love it my friend. Gonna share it
Only problem with you feeding the bones of your enemies to your isopods.................... they never get to eat as you have no enemies (and so many friends). (Awwwwwwwwwwwwww) ;) And thank you for the kind words.
For honorable mention number 2 I’ve heard the freezing method of sterilizing works great too! Just thought I’d throw that out there :)
I use it to sterilize wood for my turtle tanks
This does... but I get yelled at for using the freezer for gecko/isopod stuff ;)
Nice
Nice vid! How many total species of isopods are you up to now?
Over 50 for sure.
Where can I get that shirt? Thanks!
Edit: found it on Etsy and ordered
I should have put the link in the description. Will try next time. Very glad you find this though. They are very nice shirts.
Hello I'm new! I just started with p.laevis milkbacks and a.klugii montenegros... I plan to go bioactive with my leopard gecko in a few months. Which of these would be best, or should I opt for a different species for that specifically? Thank you!
Nice collection to start with! Well done. For leopard geckos, you can go with the milkbacks or better yet, find some Powder Orange.
@@SupremeGecko thank you so much for the response! I've been getting so much mixed info regarding which ones are best for an arid environment
I checked everything, but thank to your video I see what I am missing: decaying wood.
Btw: You should do something about the audio, it's low.
I'm glad this helped. Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, I don't believe I can fix the audio of the video once it is posted. If you know a way, I'm all ears. :) Have you checked newer videos? This one is about 100 videos ago. How is the sound on them? Thanks again, this feedback always helps.
@@SupremeGecko I haven't checked your new videos mate (too many tabs open in the brain right now). :) If you are up to, a lavalier microphone will do the job.
@@exuviumisopods sounds good
Thanks for the video! I really appreciate it. I have a question I have been doing research on cubaris as a whole ( I'm not planning on getting them any time soon but I enjoy learning about any and all types of animals and creatures) I see that some people put limestone in their enclosures due to most cubaris near or on limestone areas. Some people say it's a neccesetity others dont mention it at all. What do you personally do and your view on this. Anyway my question is what exactly would I put in my enclosure? Chunks of limestone, crushed limestone or powder limestone etc.? I do have a suggestion and please don't take it negatively. In the beginning when you put the sound the isopod vlog. Its super loud compared to your video sound so maybe you can just lower the volume? Thanks again for the video! I do enjoy them. Have a great night!
Hi Danielle, thanks for the question. I only have the 4 species of Cubaris and, they are all different. I do have limestone in my ambers and rubber duckies. They are actually pieces of limestone. I would like to find some with holes in them that the isopods can go into. Search is still on. As you mentioned, there are MANY different opinions on this and my limited amount of experience probably doesn't help much. I will check the sound (I do want it to be a bit louder but not overbearing) thanks for mentioning this.
Hi Wally iv tried to buy few different isopods and chow .something keeps happening as my order dont go through. Maybe coz I'm in scotland . Do you deliver that far ?
It is because you are outside of the US. I don't typically ship product, and never animals outside US. If you would like to order the Supreme Isopod Chow, please just contact me on FB and I will check shipping $$ for you.
"ants, millipede infestation" cue my panic.
i conciously included in my new colture a couple of millipedes (very small, smaller than my isopods) because i heard they have the same diet and i worried about cleanliness of the enclosure , and to provide some biodiversity (there is also a miniscule snail in there, not really intentional but i was glad). Unfortunately there are also ants, one or two in there (not intentional)
Since there is no queen, are they just going to die of old age (i guess they wont die of starvation)? I worry now because i dont think i can do a transfer to a cleaner more secure enclosure as of now. Are they something i should be seriously worried about, like a physical danger to the isopods?
Also, what if i was to split the two millipedes, that im not even sure are of the same species, so that there is no chance of reproduction, are they gonna be a danger to my isopods?
I realize the video is old but i hope ill get a response soon 🥲
i must specify its millipedes not centipedes, which i know are/can be carnivorous.
I would allow the millipedes to stay together. There is really no worries about them being kept together. A note- some isopods may bother the millipedes when they molt. And, ant WILL be a negative influence to the isopods.
@@SupremeGecko thank you for the reply. What should i do about the ants? again, there are only a few and its hard to spot in which enclosure they are. I might not be able to rehouse the isopods.
I will only buy mine mushrooms, and I give them frog 💩, and turtle 💩, they have a ton of nice dried out rotten maple, and oak, hemlock, birch bark, and that moss like stuff that grows on bark. It sometimes be on the cork bark. Thank you for your videos. You have been beyond helpful. I have few beginning species, with different morph colors. They are such fun little dudes.
I am so glad our videos are helping you. Congratulations for having innovative ideas.
I use none toxic soil with crushed leaf litter
Is that wrong?
What is your concern?
Everyone always tells me to use all these store bought mixes just wondering how it effects isopods
@@theCreative_Rosey Ah, I understand. I make my own and feel very comfortable now with the mix after a year or so using them. A store bought (I'm assuming you mean from someone like Permien Exotics) is worth the money but you do pay more then mixing your own.
Thank you so much
Also can i ask you one more thing?
Great information
Thank you very much.
Great video. I also give mine snake shed from my snakes
Great idea. I know many keepers that have snakes do the same. TONS of protein.
Hi, im starting with clowns in a day or two. Your tips are great !
Thank you Erwin. And good luck! Any questions, let me know.
I lost a whole colony of mardi gras to a centipede infestation my dad got them for me while he was at a show they even. Were in my Spanish orange isopods and I lost both of em i felt so bad but now I'm taking many steps to make sure nothing hurts my colonies I felt bad for the breeder as well.
So very sorry to hear this! Hope all is well now.
@@SupremeGecko I had moved a group of survivors and had them colony live for a while until the adults just wouldn’t breed anymore so I think I’ll try again once I’ve got my 2 new colonies settled and doing well
@@rk-romania2297 Very cool. Keep me posted
Maaaan my Sevillas just randomly croaked.. like... i had a 20ct at first, then one day i open it up and had 6 remaining. Still never found out the issue...
Oh no. So sorry to hear. I can try to help if you like. Just need details.
I threw orange isopods in with breeding holloween hissers, and blue isopods in with some black tiger hissers, to make bioactive enclosures. They are all spawning like crazy. It's pretty cool the kids love it. I'm now I'm to the point where I'm selective breeding them. I feed them roach poop "obviously" lol, bunny poop, snake shed, rotting wood out of my bioactive snake enclosure. I want duckies and cows.
Sounds like a great experiment. Congrats and best of luck finding your isopods.
Make sure you check out the Isopod store at - supremegecko.square.site/s/shop?page=1&limit=60&sort_by=name&sort_order=asc
nice art behind u
:) Thank you
Wally, don't forget to add a valuable piece of info in a future video on sealing your ISO tubs to prevent escapees and intruders. You know, the one you have just invented (wink) :-) :-)
Great point. I think that may be a video all onto its own.
I agree with you on the research its so important and like you said start off slow and then grow ... plus I should be an isopod expert by the time I am done watching all your videos lol just joking I will be asking you a ton of question as I go
I think if you watched ALL those reviews, you've achieved the Isopod Expert certificate.
@@SupremeGecko lol I know I will
Our millipedes and centipedes are tiny lol, not really any threat. Good video, mate.
Cool! Thanks for the watch.
“Before you get like 20 or 30 different cultures of isopods”
Me being an Australian and finding it hard to find more than two species…
:( So sorry to hear. Wish I could help.
@@SupremeGecko
Aww thanks mate, I’m starting up an Australian isopod project, already have permission to collect isopods in multiple Australian states. Still though finding 20 different species is rather difficult, I’m having to learn all about pitfall traps.
@@boglenight1551 great idea.... forum and traps.
Roly Poly (pillbug) enthusiasts is a group on FB
Sorry, I think I miss the reference. Can you explain?
@@SupremeGecko just supporting the facebook page dedicated to roly poly enthusiasts
I must say , after 2 months there are over 20 here . But maybe because of Luck or because of your Videos, all are alive and reproducing . So fingers crossed because i want more and more
Excellent. That is great to hear. I would attribute it to their care giver ;)
Perhaps you could sell your excess isopods?
Good suggestion. We do- www.supremegecko.com
Isopods and Tattoos you can't get just one
Well said. :) Thanks for watching.
What about an Isopod tattoo?
It’s been a Long time and my zebras haven’t breed:(
Sorry to hear. Would you like me to do an isopod setup review video for you? If you need a quicker response, can you message me on FB?
Da bears ✌️
Thanks!
Roly Poly (pillbug) enthusiasts... we're on facebook
Cool. Send me a message iso-buddy :)
Really great advice ❤️
Thank you so very much.