Porcellio Isopods

• Elite Cleanup Capabilities: Porcellio are the heavy lifters of the bioactive world. They possess an incredibly fast metabolism and will aggressively consume decaying leaf litter, rotting wood, fecal matter, and snake or lizard sheds before bad odors can even begin to develop.
• Nutritional Reward: While their larger size and hard exoskeletons make them too tough for tiny predators, they serve as a fantastic, calcium-rich supplemental snack for larger insectivores like monitors and skinks.
• Excellent Ventilation Tolerant: Many Porcellio species thrive in habitats with higher airflow and lower baseline humidity than tropical cavern species, making them highly versatile across a range of enclosure types.

• How to Seed Your Enclosure: Gently tip the contents of the culture cup directly onto the dampest zone of your substrate layer. Provide immediate security by placing them directly beneath a large piece of flat cork bark or a thick pile of damp moss.
• Substrate & Moisture Gradient: Provide a deep layer (3″+) of organic soil mix. Always maintain a clear moisture gradient: keep one side of the enclosure damp and humid with plenty of sphagnum moss, while allowing the other side to remain drier and highly ventilated.
• High-Protein Dietary Needs: Because of their large size, Porcellio require significantly more dietary protein than other isopods to prevent them from nibbling on live plants or each other. Supplement their main diet of hardwood leaf litter once a week with freeze-dried minnows, shrimp, fish flakes, or specialized isopod diet powders.
• Temperature: Maintain a comfortable room temperature between 21°C and 27°C. Avoid placing the enclosure near drafty winter windows or intense, direct heat sources.

For Isopod food and supplies click here.