Isopod FAQs

Have you ever picked up a piece of rotting wood in your backyard and found those little roly-poly creatures hiding under there?

THOSE ARE ISOPODS!

... or rather those are one specific type of isopod. If you're from Rhode Island like us, you're probably thinking about a variety called "Armadillidium vulgare" or as they're more commonly known, "pillbugs" or "roly-pollies". But Armadillidium vulgare are just one of an entire order of creatures -- the order Isopoda.

Well... some of them do. Giant isopods that live near the ocean floor and can grow up to 20" long, but unless you're a marine biologist, you probably don't have a tank big enough to hold one. (We certainly don't.) For this reason, we're concerned primarily with terrestrial isopods (like Armadillidium vulgare). The good news is that even the largest terrestrial isopods only reach about 1" in length (with many varieties being smaller than that.)

There's a number of reasons to keep isopods.

Some people use isopods as part of the cleanup crew in a bioactive vivarium. Isopods are great at recycling the fecal matter of larger animals and consuming decaying plant and animal matter (like dead feeder insects that no longer interest the vivariam's primary inhabitant). A bioactive vivarium seeded with isopods, springtails, and plants can significantly reduce the amount of thank cleanup required by pet owners.

Isopods also make a great first pet for children due to their limited needs and general hardiness. They also come in a variety of different colors and patterns which can make them a bit of a collectors item and colonies are often setup as a display piece.

Finally, some people use isopods as a treat food for their pets.

Nope.

Isopods that are labeled as "Wild Type" display the natural color of the species as it would be found in the wild, but this does not mean that the isopods were wild caught. Often the "wild type" of a species is black, brown, or gray which helps it avoid predators in it's natural woodland habitat where a lighter or more brightly colored morph would be easier to spot. On the other hand, a lighter colored morph that features orange, yellow, or white might prove advantageous in a desert environment.

Yes, and there are some good reason to do just that. But there are also some reasons why you might want to purchase isopods from a seller.

Good reasons to collect isopods in the wild include:

Learning the basics of isopod keeping before investing in a more active or decorative species
Having your children participate in collecting their own easy-to-care-for pet
Keeping a simple and hardy classroom pet

Good reasons to purchase isopods rather than collecting them in the wild include:

Looking for a particular species (or morph) as a decorative pet
Looking for a specific species (or morph) because of its compatibility with the requirements of your bioactive setup
MOST IMPORTANTLY, protecting your pets from exposure to diseases that could be carried by wild caught isopods

Porcellionides pruinosus

Porcellionides pruinosus is a fast moving medium-sized isopod native to the British Isles. While they enjoy the occasional protein source, they are less protein hungry than larger Porcellio species which makes them safe for inclusion in the clean-up crew of a bioactive vivarium. Unlike Armadillidium species, Porcellionides pruinosus cannot roll into a ball and instead relies on their speed to escape from predators. Fortunately, due to their medium size, Porcellionides pruinosus can often evade the attention of larger reptiles (but may be a tasty treat for medium sized reptiles capable of catching them).

Powder Blue

The Powder Blue color is the wild type expression of Porcellionides pruinosus and gets its name from the powdered look it takes on prior to molting.

Powder Orange

Similar to their Powder Blue relatives, Porcellionides pruinosus of the Powder Orange variety display the same "powdered" appearance prior to molting.

Oreo Crumble

Orange Cream

Morph	Count	Price
Powder Blue	10	$15
Powder Orange	10	$15
Oreo Crumble	10	Sold Out
Orange Cream	10	Sold Out

Porcellio scaber

Porcellio scaber is a large isopod native to Western and Central Europe. While they are a fairly protein hungry species, they are not as aggressive in their pursuit of protein as Porcellio laevis and are generally safe for use as part of a clean-up crew. In fact, Porcellio scaber holds the record for the species with the longest history of captivity and is one of the oldest species used in bioactive clean-up crews. Like other Porcellio and Porcellionides species, Porcellio scaber does not roll up into a ball for defense. While they lack the speed of Porcellionides pruinosus, their larger size can ward off predation from small reptiles and amphibians. On the other hand, Porcellio scaber can grow large enough to attract the attention of medium sized pets who may enjoy them as a delicacy. Like all isopods, Porcellio scaber require access to moisture in order to rehydrate their pleopodal lungs, but they are generally more tolerant of dryer environments than other species.

Wild Type

The wild type expression of Porcellio scaber presents as grayish black to dark brown which helps camouflage them in their native woodland environment.

Spanish Orange

Porcellio scaber "Spanish Orange" was the first orange isopod morph in the hobby and was isolated in the early 2000s.

Orange Dalmation

Porcellio scaber "Orange Dalmation" merges the coloration of the "Spanish Orange" morph with the pattern of the "Dalmation" morph to produce a light colored isopod with orange spots.

Morph	Count	Price
Wild Type	10	$10
Spanish Orange	10	$15
Orange Dalmatian	10	$20

Porcellio laevis

Porcellio laevis is a large isopod first recorded in 13th century Britain. Despite it's oldest documented appearances being in Europe, several biologists have suggested that Porcellio laevis may have originated in North Africa due to distinctive characteristics found in North African Porcellio species. Slightly larger and far hungrier than Porcellio scaber, Porcellio laevis is the first and (so far) only isopod species that we do not recommend for inclusion in a clean-up crew. While some herpetologists use Porcellio laevis with no negative results, others have reported that this species (and particularly the Dairy Cow morph) have been found nibbling on soft-skinned reptiles and amphibians. While we don't recommend them for clean-up crews, Porcellio laevis make great standalone pets due to their large size, tolerance to lighting conditions, and their feeding response when provided with protein sources like dehydrated chicken.

Wild Type

The wild type expression of Porcellio laevis is a dark gray nearly black color.

Dairy Cow

Porcellio laevis "Dairy Cow" has a Dalmatian-like spotted pattern similar to Porcellio scaber Dalmatian but larger spots. These larger black spots give them a look reminiscent black and white dairy cows from which they take their name. This morph is also the inspiration for our mascot, Penelope Pod.

Orange

The orange morph of Porcellio laevis combines the size and aggressive swarming activity common among the species with a bold orange color.

Morph	Count	Price
Wild Type	10	$10
Dairy Cow	10	$15
Orange	10	$20

Oniscus asellus

Oniscus asellus is large isopod with a rather unfortunate name. From Greek, the name "Oniscus" means "little donkey" while "asellus" in Latin means (you guessed it) "little donkey". Despite their rather silly name, Oniscus asellus is quite wide spread throughout Western Europe and thrives particularly well wetland ecosystems. Although not aquatic like their ancestors, Oniscus asellus is more tolerant of moist conditions than many other species of isopod. Since they do not display the aggressiveness of similarly size Porcellio species, Oniscus asellus can serve nicely as a member of a clean-up crew and due to their slightly out-turned segments, this species can sometimes ward off predators that would otherwise snack on them.

Wild Type

The wild type expression of Oniscus asellus features a brown color on the back and a lighter color around edges of the body giving them their nickname "skirted isopod".

Morph	Count	Price
Wild Type	10	$15