Porcellio laevis Isopod Care Guide
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- Опубліковано 25 лис 2021
- Porcellio laevis isopods, such as Porcellio laevis Dairy Cow, Porcellio laevis Milkback, Porcellio laevis Orange, and Porcellio laevis How Now, and Porcellio laevis California Mix, are some of the best pet isopods, amd best pet invertebrates available. However, there are pros and cons to Porcellio laevis. We’ll talk about species of isopod with respect to care, housing, Bioactive enclosures, and keeping them as pets/hobby animals.
Thanks to Kyle at www.roachcrossing.com for letting me use the picture of his Porcellio laevis ‘How Now’.
/Links to isopod supplies:
Here is a link to the Kathy Auto Magic Fungus gnat trap. It also works for other pest insects, such as fruit flies and mosquitoes!
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Check out these LINKS to Isopod foods and supplies below. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
#ad here is a link to the Fungus Gnat trap I tested in this video: amzn.to/3qtA2pn
#ad I use this breathable medical tape to cover ventilation of some of my isopod enclosures: amzn.to/35oMTkn
I really enjoy my enclosures from www.tarantulacribs.com/
Vivariums in the Mist makes some great isopod foods: www.vivariumsinthemist.com/is...
Wally at Supreme Gecko makes a great Isopod food: www.supremegecko.com/shop-onli...
superior shipping supplies.com makes the smaller isopod enclosures I show in the video.
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Isopods will munch on dried River shrimp as well!
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#ad To give your isopods calcium, you can use cuttlebone: twin pack: amzn.to/2S9H3hG
I own a copy of book on isopods by Orin McMonigle, a great source of isopod knowledge:
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#ad here is a link to the sphagnum moss I use to help hydrate my isopods: amzn.to/36BxXiz
#ad here is some organic compost. I use organic compost as an isopod substrate component: amzn.to/3ptpoPK
#ad here are the oak pellets I use for my isopod’s substrate: amzn.to/2JYaznQ
#ad here are some cork bark hides, perfect for isopods: amzn.to/3kyRaX7
#ad here is the coconut fiber brick that can be used in isopod substrate : amzn.to/38I4si6
#ad Here is a link to the 6-quart sterilite tubs I use to house many of my isopods: amzn.to/2syYGZJ
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#ad One of the best food/substrate ingredients for isopods are oak leaves, such as these heat-treated red oak leaves: amzn.to/2We6GNm
Isopod Substrate ingredients:
#ad 1 part Organic Compost: amzn.to/2Wn4VO1 (You can probably find it much cheaper at your local garden supply or hardware store)
#ad 1 part Alder Pellets: amzn.to/2MBYj9O
#ad 1 part pesticide-free hardwood leaves, you may collect them locally or purchased pre-sanitized: amzn.to/2We6GNm
#ad I make my own isopod substrate, but here is a link to Josh’s frogs isopod substrate : amzn.to/2TfyC1D
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I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. In other words, I earn a small commission when you use that affiliate link, at no cost to you.
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I bought a culture of probably about 40-50 dairy cows about 7 months ago. I now have probably 300 or more! I split the original culture in half- half to go in my bioactive crested geckos enclosure, half to keep because they were so fun to watch run around. I had no idea at the time that they were going to multiply so quickly. I went from a small kritter keeper to a shoe box sized enclosure in probably only about a month or two. They now need an upgrade again. I absolutely love it! Luckily for me, I live very close to a family run reptile shop, and they have told me they might be willing to sell my excess dairy cows in their shop.
It's really easy to get a sellers permit! That's what I did so I could sell to shops and at expos. It's a bit overwhelming at first if you go down the whole business route, but if you stay on top of everything right away it's really easy and fun to do. I've lived it, and went into it wanting to learn and I've learned so much
@@alexandertucker8175 at this rate I have a stupid amount of dairy cows so I may need to 😂
This video was extremely helpful! I’ve always been interested in isopods, and I’ve recently convinced my parents to get me some for my birthday!
These videos help narrow down which species we’re gonna get, thank you for all the work you put in these videos!! :D
I have them in my Redfoot tortoise enclosure and love them! They are prolific breeders, which is fine as my tortoises actively hunt and eat them.
Tortoises eating bugs? What?
I throw about 100 of them, into my big Toad enclosure, from time to time.
They are gone very fast xD
@@youraveragephesh3173 yeah some species eat bugs
@@youraveragephesh3173it may come as a shocker, but tortoises have been documented to eat animal protein before in the wild. A while a go, a researcher recorded a tortoise snacking on a live bird chick that fell from its nest. While they are indeed herbivorous animals, when animal protein is available they wouldn't hesitate to have a protein boost.
I was wondering how they would do as feeders for larger reptiles such as bearded dragons as I want them as a hobby as well
I loved this species spotlight. My Dairy cows are very enthusiastic breeders. I regularly post on my local FB Reptile page for people in need of free isopods and have met many new keepers that way.
Thank you! That is indeed a great way to network!
Mine are slow breeders that I can see, but I always see babies at varied stages. They seem to always fight over food.
I got them and my spanish orange at the same time. My oranges are slowly taking over their enclosure.
I just got a few dairy cows from my work actually!
my manager said if I went and bought a container for them she would help me set up a little enclosure using supplies we already had laying around and even gave me some of the isopods we keep :') I'm very excited about it and wanted to share
she also said if I ended up with too many I can always bring them back to the culture at work so I'm a little relieved that their biggest con hopefully wont be too big of an issue for me
Excellent situation!
Hello, I just got Dairy Cows and I love them!! However I'm a little confused about breeding. Can I request a deep dive video into isopod breeding?
Meaning breeding behavior, their biology, and if it's eggs or live bearing. Where they leave eggs and such. Life cycle of a new baby. I just want some of the nitty gritty information about isopod breeding beyond "make sure they have food and space". If that makes sense!
Great idea for a video!
@@Aquarimax If you have made this video already, I couldn´t find it...😪
It would be really great, if you could cover this theme!
(I just wrote a comment about my breeding problems...)
There are so many videos about isopods on the net, but I found nothing about all these questions.
And there is no one more competent to talk about this, than you (and Wally), as far as I know...
I occasionally am tempted by Dairy Cows, an enabler friend is offering some just now, but then I think of coping with surplus myself. Conclusion - I'll wait for a species/morph which is impressive in other ways!
I respect that completely…it is a very responsible choice!
I'd like to see a care guide for Armadillo Officinalis, I don't see a lot of people talking about them but there are some amazing morphs popping up!
This is so informative! Great job, fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝 Keep it up 🙌
classic isopod
I’d like to see a care video on rubber ducky next. I just got 20 a few days ago.
I need to add that to the list for sure!
Your passion for what you do is amazing and inspiring and your a natural when it come to teaching ✨ 🙌 💛 thank you for all you do for us and the hobby 😊 great video as always Russ
Thank you! If I could teach people about the creatures I love as a full-time job, I totally would! It is such fun!
@@Aquarimax what about an entomologist professor at a college isn't that a thing that would be fun
Thank you for doing this video.
Excellent video Rus!!!
Love those little cows lol 🥰Great video.
Just in time! I've been wanting to learn more about these!
Love the channel mate, and my isopods love your advice!
Awesome video rus great information I had milk back before
Good video, informative. And the way you went over the cons was very insightful.
I just started my dairy cows I only have about 10-12 in there...I've had some hiccups with getting their care correct though so I really hope these guys make it!!! Long story short, I don't feed them foraged items anymore (they got poisoned) :/
Sorry to hear that you lost some! That should be plenty to fry a colony going on no time as long as they are healthy.
Would love to see an in-depth video on Porcellio laevis ‘Giant Orange".
Id like to see care guide of armadillo officinalis. Great video!
awesome video.
Thank you!
Awesome! I have a whole tub of laevis now. I captured three or four outside and accidentally mixed them with my Armadillidium vulgares. They both seem to be thriving though. These guys are veracious eaters 😂.
Very informative as usual! Got my first batch of milkbacks, and some are really huge!!!
They’re impressively chunky for sure! I love them!
I love Dairy Cows. I need to get some soon!
Agreed!
Hey Rus! I would love to view care videos for P expansus and Cubaris, the murina as well as the more expensive ones. Thanks for the fantastic information !
Thank you Sandy! I have one coming up on Cubaris sp. ‘Rubber Ducky’ very soon! Porcellio expansus should be forthcoming as well.
I started with dartfrogs in January and in the terrarium, that was included, were a few Oranges, which I picked out and put in a small container.
Unlike the frogs, white dwarfs and pink dwarf the Oranges still didn´t breed.
The culture is set up like I learned of you and Wally.
Only the enclosure is very tiny (4 by 6 inch) because it were so few (at least 7, but less then 10) individuals.
When I got the terrarium it was way to wet (the former owner had only peet mos as substrate) and the isopods where hiding in the top corners of the background and seemed depressed: They only came only out at night and tried to hide seconds after I turned of the light, so I took them out.
They looked very happy in there new home immediately, running around curious, were taking food and are mostly out in the open now.
I have changed the substrate to ABG-mix and from time to time I can see one Orange which is still left (might be several) in bright daylight.
(Didn´t expect invertebrates to be so emotional...😂)
Now my question:
What might be the reason, that they don´t breed???
They are in the new home for to months next week.
Is the enclosure too small?
Might it be possible, that I have only one sex?
Could they have lost the breeding capability for some reasons?
Others possible reasons?
Or do I just need too have more patience?
I would be thankful for any advise!
They (and your videos of course!!) really got me hooked, but I don´t want to buy other species, as long I struggle with an easy one...
This is perfect! I just recieved some P. laevis from my compost club and really wanted to know more about them!
Excellent! Do you use them in conjunction with red wigglers for composting?
@@Aquarimax Yes! I'm excited to see how the castings will turn out!
Hi Russ! I recently got a 10 count starter culture of Dairy Cow isopods and used your channel to set up their tank! This is my first time caring for Isopods and I have found your channel very helpful and informative . I have noticed that my culture isn't very active during the day, is this typical for isopods who are adjusting to a new habitat?
This is quite normal for a small, new colony. As the population grows, you’ll see the shyness decrease.
I want to have porcellio scaber, porcellio laevis and merulanella… so best of all all kinds of them 🤔😅
I'd love a care guide on Armadillidium maculatum! I've been trying to pick out a starter species (I want so many!) for collecting and this one sounded like it has high marks as a starter.
Right you are! I will make one. In the meantime, this could help:
ua-cam.com/video/9oUkDOI_QmI/v-deo.html
I got a culture of 50 dairy cows yesterday and already know about their prolific ways, though I wonder if I've jumped the gun and bit off more than I can chew. Their protein hungry nature may be good news as I have a growing cricket culture and can feed off surplus and use my growing dairy cow cultures as a cleanup crew in plant terrariums. Thanks for the informative video, rus!
- Ashley Bonner
You’re welcome!
Luckily, I know a guy at my local aquarium and reptile store who will take my excess isopods off my hands....so P. laevis are one of my favourites!
An excellent arrangement!
Can you please do a rubber ducky Isopod care guide ❤️
If I ever get this isopod I have some pitcher plants that would love to have some company for lunch and dinner.
I’ll bet they would!
Porcellio scaber "Lava" care pls
Hi and thank you for another great video on isopods! My Dairy Cows which I have had a week and a half do not behave like what you have described or from what I have read about them. They are extremely shy and hide in the substrate or in the moss almost all the time. I hardly see them! Is it ok that they are like this or is something not right? As for species profile videos, please make one on Gestroi, my only other isopod at home.
I am working on gestroi right now!
You’re Dairy Cows are acting normally for a new culture. I made a video all about what to expect from a new colony, in fact: ua-cam.com/video/n9vC8QytRtI/v-deo.html
@@Aquarimax hey spot on! I watched your video on new colonies and realised that’s exactly where I’m at. Thank you.
I found my first ever Isopod mancae yesterday but also suffered a first death, both in my Dairy Cow enclosure. My Gestrois are stable but definitely looking forward to your video on their kind.
Any guide for Cubaris sp. penguin?
My P. laevis orange are huge, and they don’t seem to mind my presence. Strange how different behaviors we all experience
Would you ever be interested in an isopod trade? I’d love to work with some of your oranges, and study the differences between the bloodlines.
@@Aquarimax sure man! I’ll send you a message with my phone number
@@Aquarimax I sent you a message on Instagram
I love your content! I have a question: Can milkbacks breed with dairy cows? Or is one or the other derived from the other? Don’t know if you’ve addressed this before but I can’t seem to find information on this. Thanks :)
Is it possible to keep Porcellio laevis together with small millipedes? I was thinking about getting some benoitolus sp. khao sok
Id like to see Porcellio werneri, I've had some for quite a while and they just aren't breeding like my other giants
Or at all for that matter...
Good suggestion! will need to interview someone, or some people, with that species. I haven’t kept it…
Hey, o was looking for an isopod to put with in my centipedes terrarium but idk which kind would be safest? Heeeelp!
Hey hi hello! recently I got some dairy cows unexpectedly, it was before I had done enough research on the species to know that I do not have the greatest way of keeping them at the moment. I have less than 10 at the moment, but if the species does end up taking off randomly I'm not sure what I'm going to do for a way of lessening the numbers. What would you recommend for culling methods?
Do you use Tropical white springtails with your isopods? I remember you saying you use Tropical whites but yours look very different and larger than mine.
I use Sinella curviseta with most of my isopods. To be honest, springtail common names are usually mixed up quite a bit. Sinella curviseta is fairly llarge, fuzzy, a little pinkish, and tolerant of lower humidity than some other species.
I had a culture of Milk backs for a few months but ants took over and I had to get as many out as I could and throw the Substrate away around a month ago. Now I'm just waiting for them to get back to the way they were before. :(
Is there an alternative you'd recommend for a closed terrarium? I was looking at buying these but I'm worried they may overpopulate too much. I'm mostly looking to use them as a clean up crew for any mold and debris in the terrarium, and if needed (not much debris from the terrarium plants) I can feed them of course!
I’d look into dwarf white isopod for a closed terrarium. They’re smaller and breed less quickly than dairy cows, and don’t crave protein or calcium.
In my experience, isopods can handle a little mold, but will die if exposed to large amounts. I’d look into cohabitating the isopods with some springtails if you are concerned about mold.
Hope this helps!
I think I have some p. laevis that developed a new morph. I can’t find anything like it in photos. Is there a full list of morphs I could find somewhere?
Good question. Could you send me some photos?
Is it possible to keep Milkbacks and Dairy cows as pets together in one enclosure? Or even together with common black roly polys that you can find in the woods?
You can keep them together, they have been determined to be the same species. They can cross and produce wild types, and the next generation typically looks like Dairy Cows.
If you add another species, it is likely that one will eventually outcompete the other.
I just realized half of my wild caught Armadillidium were nastatam and not all vulgare so I isolated them today. a lot of thrones babies of the nastatam have a redish brown front and a white back. some also have peach colorations in the middle on the back
It will be interesting to see what develops from the variety you seem to have found!
Thank you so much I think my next species will be the Dairy Cow. Sorry not good with the scientific name.
I am lucky to have Pods Solo in my area so I can buy local.
GOD BLESS 💖💖💖💖💖
Hi Rus, have you ever tried to feed feathers or others keratinous matherials to isopods?
I put a molted feather from one of my finches in my zebra isopod culture and they completely ignored it
I have, mouse hair seems to get eaten, feathers seem to go both ways
Can milk backs and dairy cows cross breed?
Panda Kings :)
Maybe its just mine (which are all wild caught from Michigan) but i find they dont enjoy fruit?? Or at least sweet fruit? Ive given them blueberries, strawberries, apples, persimmon and even raspberries. They prefer sweet peppers, carrots, celery, coconut, cucumber and such. Every time ive given them something sweet they dont touch it
Interesting observation! Mine typically devour whatever I throw in there, but it does take them a while to eat banana. It definitely relates to population density, sheer numbers, etc.
May I know what are those yellow stuffs dairy cows chewing on,Sir?
That is bee pollen. :)
@@Aquarimax Thanks for sharing,Sir!!🙏🙏
As a substitute for cuttle bone is organic bone meal acceptable?
That should work!
Are they hard-shelled or soft-shelled species which you never mentioned in your video?? Are they great feeders for spiders with fangs?? Can my pet true spiders pierce through their tough exoskeleton??
I’d say somewhere in the middle between hard and soft. Whether your true spiders can pierce their exoskeleton would depend more on the spider than the isopod. Many spiders can handle isopods like these, though.
@@Aquarimax Hey, thanks for letting me know, Rus. Oh boy, you're probably one of the fastest to reply to my comments or questions. Other UA-camrs would mostly reply the following day, and some wouldn't even reply at all. Yeah, I do have other mygalomorph species aside from my true spiders, such as my Calommata obesa of Thailand and my Calommata signata of East Asia, that I want to feed using this species. Their fangs are too long, more like sabertooths, so it kind of worries me if P. laevis's shells might be too hard to peirce for two of my rare Calommata species to handle.
I heard that dairy cows aren't good with frogs? what about toads? or should I just keep them separate? also WHat about as feeders?
There is a lot of debate on this topic. Dairy cows have big appetites. However, many frogs and toads will dairy cows, amd they do make a good food item.
Can milk backs cohabitate with emperor scorpions?
I could see some potential issues there. Hard to say. The isopods might be big enough to be seen as food and completely eradicated…on the other hand, a molting scorpion might be munched on by the isopods.
My DC Isopods are very active at night and barely during the day. Is this normal? They won't touch food until the night. Just wanna make sure this is normal?
That has no t been my experience, but is your culture new?
How do they feel about marine salt? I have a saltwater shrimp who doesn't like eat his molt, could isopods safely eat the molt? (I would rinse it in RO/DI or distilled water but I imagine some salt would still remain.)
Honestly, I think they would be fine even without rinsing it…a little bit of marine salt can be beneficial. If you try it, please let me know what you observe.
@@Aquarimax It took until now for a molt and to my surprise the isopods ignored it completely. I offered it to my dairy cows, a vulgare and p pruinosus
@@chaospit9788 weird! Not what I would have expected, after seeing them destroy shrimp tails
did you ever make a creamsicle? we talked about that a long while back
Apparently they cannot cross 🤣
@@Aquarimax shucks... thanks 4 response
So should I still get springtails to put with my dairy cows?
I would definitely recommend springtails with them, yes. 👍
@@Aquarimax Thank you! Found your channel yesterday! Started watching all of your videos. Thanks for responding and thanks for what you do!!
I had my porcellio laevis wild type for a few months already, but rarly almost don't see them out during daytime at all, is it because I collected them in the wild?
The wild types seem quite a bit different from some of the morphs…although it may partly be due to the numbers you have.
Thanks a lot！
A little late to this, but I had some questions:
Are there any vegetables I can’t feed them?
Do they need a water dish?
How would I deal with excess population?
Can I feed them mealworms?
Great questions!
Most veggies are worth a try, I don’t offer tomatoes or avocado. Peeled and/or washed are likely safer.
They don’t need a water dish, and in fact isopods will often drown themselves in one.
They need an area of moist substrate accessible at all times.
Excess population can be a concern with P. laevis. they make good feeders for many reptiles, amphibians, fish, even some mammals (like hedgehogs) and birds!
They will readily eat dried mealworms.
@@Aquarimax thank you so much! I love your channel!
@@bolo_ants thank you so much for watching!
@@Aquarimax I’m sure you’re sick of me by now, but I had one more question:
I just ordered some zebra isopods, and after reading online, I found out a lot of people found them slow breeders. Do you think this is unusual, or are there any specific conditions to help them breed faster? Thanks so much for helping me out so far😊
@@bolo_ants They can start out a bit slowly, but once you have enough of them, they speed up a bit. They are not as fast as Dairy Cows or Powders, that is for sure! Starting with larger numbers, or putting them in a moderately sized container to start out may help them breed faster.
Hi I’m newbie and i have questions.
-Can i keep dairy cow and orange in the same enclosure? Can other isopod with same species can keep in the same enclosure? I have asked my local shops and they say that i may do that if they are just morphs. Is it true?
- Can i feed my P. laevis orange with cat food?(as a supplement)
You can keep Dairy Cow and orange together as long as there is enough food, I have done the same.
If they are just morphs of the same species , you can keep them together but may lose the morph over time. This is not true with orange and dairy cow, as they are no longer considered the same species, but can still coexist.
A little cat food now and then for you P. laevis orange should be fine.
@@Aquarimax Thank you 😊
Meanwhile my dairy cow colony is four strong and hasn’t grown at all. I think the springtails are outcompeting them…
How easy or difficult are they to catch? I want to give them their own enclosure and feed them to my hedgehog. So i would have to catch them 😁
Now that i'm thinking about it, i might put a bit of food on a lid of some sort, wait for them to get on the food and then transfer them to a feeding dish 😊
@@elisabeth_kawaii6518 that is a good way to do it! Most species aren’t too fast. I would recommend a fairly large, fast breeder for your hedgehog like Porcellio laevis Dairy Cow
@@Aquarimax Thank you so much!
Great video! Does laevis keep reproducing even if the conditions are suboptimal to support overpopulation? That seems like an evolutionary flaw...
At some point, they do slow down, but the density is quite high before that happens, especially if plenty of food is offered.
So my dairy cows must be broken. I do have a very nice thriving colony of them. I never see them, they hardly ever eat anything that I give them. The only thing they have eaten was a expired guppy fish out of one of my tanks.
How strange! How many do you have, do you think?
A. expansus please
P. Expansus? Definitely!
@@Aquarimax oh yes silly me
I have scabers is plastic shoe boxes. I am getting so many I dont know what to do with them. Any suggestions?
Some people use them as feeders, if you have amphibians or reptiles that will eat them.
Do zebra😊
I definitely will 👍🏽
I still can’t get mine to eat a single thing
How long have you had them?
@@Aquarimax a few weeks
@@raymondjones1601 Ah, that explains a lot. Have you seen this video? It has details
about your situation: ua-cam.com/video/n9vC8QytRtI/v-deo.htmlsi=XrGI-RU662lKNHcn
@@Aquarimax thank you so much
They killed my pet Whip spider....
Really? Was it just after a molt?