Hi,
I'm not sure how many isopod keepers are on this forum but wondered if anyone could help (apologies in advance for the long post). If you'd rather skip the writing feel free to glance through the pictures to see if anything stands out to you as an issue.
I had 11 Armadillidian klugii (clowns) in a 30 litre plastic box with 6 giant hissing roaches. It had good ventilation, a humidity gradient; mossy areas I kept damp then dry areas too with lots of decaying leaves and rotting wood hiding places.They were in there a few months then I only had two 2 of the isopods left. I found 3 dead ones (full bodies so not the moults). However I cleared out the whole of the hissing roach closure and never found the bodies of 6 of the isopods. So that made me think maybe the roaches ate them, but I didn't think roaches did that? I was also wondering whether the enclosure was too big for the isopods to find the damp and dry areas when needed.
I am now keeping the isopods in their own smaller enclosure so I can monitor them better. A few weeks ago I got 12 more clowns to join the 2 in the new enclosure. I have included pictures of the new enclosure below. I watched lots of care videos for this species and put even more emphasis on the moisture gradient. The videos said it was best to have 2/3 of the enclosure to be dry substrate with 1/3 moist and a hide that straddles across both, so I did that. I have been dribbling water onto the moss in the damp side when it gets dryer. However today I found another death
So the problem does not seem to have been solved. Please let me know if you have any ideas as to what I am doing wrong!
Pic 1 was taken a few days ago, so I assume this is the one that has died as it seemed to be having problems with a moult? So on one hand I was worried I wasn't keeping the majority of the enclosure dry enough, but if it was a moult problem wouldn't that suggest not enough moisture? :/ The others also seem to congregate under the cork bark in the moist side, which confuses me as I have seem some care guides stressing that this species tend to like it dryer than others.
The dry side also isn't as dry as it could have been as I ran out of really dry substrate, so put in some substrate made up a few days before from a block, then put the substrate dried out over a few weeks on top.
The mould picture is what I found today when I turned the wood over, so I have chucked that out. However I am confused as to how to get decaying wood for them to eat without it moulding? As I hasn't added any moisture to these pieces once they were in the enclosure (after trying to dry them out after getting them from the woods, decontaminating them in boiling water on the stove, then leaving them to dry as much as possible). Note: all the leaves etc, anything found in woods way away from a road, were all boiled too. I sprinkle the dry food (oats, milk powder for calcium) on the dry side to try to avoid moulding but obviously that hasn't worked. So I am wondering maybe they need a plate or something for that? I put in a range of small bits of fruit and veg also on the dry side and change it out before that moulds.
However, in the roach enclosure they were previously in when I cleared it out I found no mould at all, so the mould could account for today's death, but not the previous 10 deaths?
Who knew keeping isopods would be so complicated! Oh - I also do have cuttlefish bone mixed into the substrate as I read that helped for their protein.
I also have Armadillidium vulgare in an enclosure set up the same way, that so far seem to be fine (I 'think' I even saw a new baby), but it has only been a few weeks.
I'm not sure how many isopod keepers are on this forum but wondered if anyone could help (apologies in advance for the long post). If you'd rather skip the writing feel free to glance through the pictures to see if anything stands out to you as an issue.
I had 11 Armadillidian klugii (clowns) in a 30 litre plastic box with 6 giant hissing roaches. It had good ventilation, a humidity gradient; mossy areas I kept damp then dry areas too with lots of decaying leaves and rotting wood hiding places.They were in there a few months then I only had two 2 of the isopods left. I found 3 dead ones (full bodies so not the moults). However I cleared out the whole of the hissing roach closure and never found the bodies of 6 of the isopods. So that made me think maybe the roaches ate them, but I didn't think roaches did that? I was also wondering whether the enclosure was too big for the isopods to find the damp and dry areas when needed.
I am now keeping the isopods in their own smaller enclosure so I can monitor them better. A few weeks ago I got 12 more clowns to join the 2 in the new enclosure. I have included pictures of the new enclosure below. I watched lots of care videos for this species and put even more emphasis on the moisture gradient. The videos said it was best to have 2/3 of the enclosure to be dry substrate with 1/3 moist and a hide that straddles across both, so I did that. I have been dribbling water onto the moss in the damp side when it gets dryer. However today I found another death
So the problem does not seem to have been solved. Please let me know if you have any ideas as to what I am doing wrong!Pic 1 was taken a few days ago, so I assume this is the one that has died as it seemed to be having problems with a moult? So on one hand I was worried I wasn't keeping the majority of the enclosure dry enough, but if it was a moult problem wouldn't that suggest not enough moisture? :/ The others also seem to congregate under the cork bark in the moist side, which confuses me as I have seem some care guides stressing that this species tend to like it dryer than others.
The dry side also isn't as dry as it could have been as I ran out of really dry substrate, so put in some substrate made up a few days before from a block, then put the substrate dried out over a few weeks on top.
The mould picture is what I found today when I turned the wood over, so I have chucked that out. However I am confused as to how to get decaying wood for them to eat without it moulding? As I hasn't added any moisture to these pieces once they were in the enclosure (after trying to dry them out after getting them from the woods, decontaminating them in boiling water on the stove, then leaving them to dry as much as possible). Note: all the leaves etc, anything found in woods way away from a road, were all boiled too. I sprinkle the dry food (oats, milk powder for calcium) on the dry side to try to avoid moulding but obviously that hasn't worked. So I am wondering maybe they need a plate or something for that? I put in a range of small bits of fruit and veg also on the dry side and change it out before that moulds.
However, in the roach enclosure they were previously in when I cleared it out I found no mould at all, so the mould could account for today's death, but not the previous 10 deaths?
Who knew keeping isopods would be so complicated! Oh - I also do have cuttlefish bone mixed into the substrate as I read that helped for their protein.
I also have Armadillidium vulgare in an enclosure set up the same way, that so far seem to be fine (I 'think' I even saw a new baby), but it has only been a few weeks.
