Armadillidium vulgare Isopod Care Guide
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- čas přidán 7. 10. 2021
- Armadillidium vulgare, the common pillbug, has many beautiful morphs and localities and is one of the best pet isopods, not to mention one of the best pet invertebrates! I have Armadillidium vulgare Punta Cana, Magic Potion, T- Albino, and others!
In this isopod care guide, I will introduce Armadillidium vulgare and then talk about housing and care. Then I’ll talk about this species in bioactive setups and as a hobby/pet isopod.
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.
#ad When I feed my isopods Repashy Bug Burger, they love it:
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#ad Repashy morning wood is also a very popular isopod food my isopods love: amzn.to/2WdJq23
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
#ad Isopods love cork bark pieces as hides: amzn.to/2WaYOfu
#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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#isopods #Armadillidium #armadillidiumvulgare #aquarimaxpets
Thank you for this clear and concise care guide. Armadillidium Vulgare is my favorite isopod species. I love their easygoing and peaceful behaviour and I keep a mix of different types in a display container on my desktop. There are always a few "jelly beans" hanging around or exploring their enclosure all day.
I found one on the inside of the Wingstop that I worked out crawling on the floor in front of the soda machine and made it a pet and took it home and it had younglings I just transferred them into a bigger habitat as they were in a really small containerand upon moving them to a bigger container I counted them and there was a hundred and eight younglingsI hope they do well in their new container I just recently had some mold issues so I took out everything that had mold on it but that was concerning just checked them and added a little water and a little dead leaf material I bought them some fish food but every time I put it in it seems to get moldy so I'm holding off on that right now wish them luck.
How are they doing? Sounds like you needed some springtails
@@amyjohnson4621 They're doing quite well. I love how low maintenance they are. Getting big, seem to be flourishing. Thinking about a new habitat soon.
@@billyownsonhisphone glad it’s going well! Just started with isopods myself. I’ll trade you a springtail culture for a few isos? 😃
I'd get springtails. They're known to clean up the mold as the isopods don't really target mold. But the springtails will. They have some pretty neat springtail variations also
We call them Wood Lice in the UK. I have a garden full of them, and 10 albino ones in a tiny terrarium. I'm entirely new to keeping them properly though I think I tried as a kid. I've had the little albonis for about 2 weeks so I was glad to find your video. I've been watching a lot of your videos. Thanks, great work!
I’m pretty new to isopods, but I decided early that this was my favorite species and moved the other species on. I love their color variety.
Definitely my favourite species. I have every type available in my country(9 or 10 types) and they're all breeding. I love the little cuties so much.
wich country are you in? i like to start a farm
After watching this I believe that my new white locals are T-albino, I only have a handful but I am very excited to see the colony grows! Thanks for another excellent care video
Thank you so much! I just collected about 30 of these little guys from my grandma’s backyard, and they love the new home. They really like climbing up the flowers and plants for some reason, even though there are plenty of rocks to hid under.
The A. vulgare I've found in my backyard must be similar to the puntacana variety, they have quite a lot of color variation! I even found some sand-colored ones living in the sand, so there may be a measure of natural selection for that color going on there. I'm going to try to breed them and keep captive colonies
Of all my time digging around in the dirt, i nevee found a pillbig until yesterday! I am going to attempt to locate more from the same place and start a breeding colony if possible. I am based in the UK and didn't even know we had pillbugs here as porcellio scaber or Oniscus Ascellus are waaaaaaaay more common here
Glad you found some! Good luck getting a colony going 👍
Mine will eat an entire fresh mulberry leaf in just a few days and I only have a few hundred. Also it's not there only food they just really love them.
These are not common to be found in my area, in the wild they don't even exist here in Indonesia. Here also they are rarely for sale but I am thinking of getting a colony of 10. They are quite expensive here but I think it will be worth it! I'll try to breed them too. Great work Rus!
the albino varieties are pretty cool. (and of course I love the nightgolds ;-) Thanks yet again Rus!
Pretty sure that these are the guys who live under my sidewalk! I gave some a new home in my first successful vivarium, along with a couple of garden snails. They seem to be doing well so far!
I love their different color variants!
Me too, so much variety!!
Thank you for the species specific care guide!!!!! Can’t wait to see more.
I’m working on another now 😊👍
@@Aquarimax Awesome! We just attended Tinley Park show today and picked up some Dairy Cows and Punta Canas. They look fantastic. Do the dairy cows need a drier environment than other types?
My family has started collecting isopods here in utah and my 7 year old was weeding with me a we caught about 20 so she can start up her own colony. She's been very excited and they have some amazing markings
1day when i got the budget i'll get one, for now i'm Happy with my wild types.. . anyways thank you for keeping, food, and care updates that help me a lot. 👍☺️
- Philippines
These are go to CUC in a lot of snail keeping circles because they're less protein hungry and they do great in my snail vivarium!
Thanks for the video! Would love a Porcellio haasi Info & Care Guide.
I don’t have that species…but someday!
I have Porcellio haasi - they are quite a shy species and haven't bred yet (I've heard they're seasonal breeders) but all seem to be in good shape. Would love to find more info about them but there doesn't seem to be very much specific online.
@@peterashby-saracen3681 Thank for your input!
I love this species
Great video. Thanks for sharing :)
Great information rus
I love your videos! Always so informative!
Excellent video rus
Helpful video thanks mate
I looked this video up because I just collected some of these in my backyard here in Georgia, cool to learn there's a line of magic potions started here
great video!
Another outstanding video. So helpful!
Thank you for this education! These isopods can be overlooked sometimes but I'm glad you posted a video on them! Love your stuff!
Great video The magic potion isopods look stunning
I love my A. vulgare. Ive found them to be quite surface active and fun to handle. And adorable. My wild ones I collected are especially bold which seems counterintuitive to me.
That's why those are the wild ones you caught!
Its nice to have an isopod i like to try that..
Thank you for this, crazy timing as I had been collecting various specimens of what I was pretty positive is the Armadillidium Vulgar. Then a few days after I began collecting you posted this! Can't wait to see how mine grow and turn out
Wow! Thanks Rus i actually found some outside my house:) so this video was awesome
Great! Good luck with them!
Thx Russ! I really like this species and have been considering them for my next isopod adventure 😊
Definitely a species you should keep! There is a morph or locality for everyone!
Would love to see a Hoffmannseggi care guide
Love the Gem mix! I have the T positive albinos but they haven’t bred for me yet. Good to know that it’s ok that they’re taking their time and it’s not something I’m doing wrong! My kids prefer the ones that actually roll up so these are a favorite for them!
I’d really like to see percellio magnificus. Fantastic content. Thank you!
I refer my colony of vulgare as The Legion. The name is so Roman sounding.
Perfect timing as I’ve found a few of mine not looking so fresh!
Hopefully this video will help!
Woodlouse are very cool little creatures some of them can be very blue colors but very rare
Some good videos! You could look at cubaris sp. Panda king or ducky
Please make a video on Helleria Brevicornis
Love these species care guides. Will you be doing one on Porcellio Laevis?
Thank you, and yes, definitely!
I found a huge patch of these on my yard. We mostly have powder blues but these guys seem to collect on drier leaf litter
This species is great, I love the variety.
I still have a few wild A. vulgares and there are babies in the tub. Sad I lost my Magic Potions though.
So sorry to hear you lost the Magic potions! That happened to me a few years ago when I got my first group of them.
Hi Rus 🧡🧡
Hi! 😊👍
cool
i have a few wild caught from Oregon about 12 i would say and now i have all kinds of weird morphs starting to happen with light spots starting. and I have one that has light blue half in front and dark blue in the back half.
I have some Magic Potions that have started to breed, and my T+ albinos are also producing offspring. About 2 months ago I collected some A. vulgare here in Andalucia, Spain, and they are showing some nice variation in colour so it will be interesting to see what happens as they multiply - fingers xd for something exciting! Would love to locate some Gem Mix but I haven't found a supplier here yet.
Nice video Russ, can you tell I'm playing catch-up with your videos 😆I'll get through them all eventually lol :) We do have these in the wild here but unfortunately they're in the South of England and not where I am :(
I hope you find some! (And not just in my videos, though I appreciate the support!)
Hello. I'm just starting to get into isopods. May I know what's the care requirements of merulanella species? I live in a hot and humid country with 28-31℃ temperature and humidity levels of 70-90%
I collected some wild type for my bioactive kingsnake enclosure, it took a while for them to reproduce but boy when they they did…..there is baby isopods EVERYWHERE lol they have ALOT of babys
I had no idea there were even isopods native to North America. Turns out there's over 60. Sadly this species isn't one of those. Also I just found one of these guys in my yard so I'm curious to see what it'd take to keep a single individual. I love how some of those morphs look, especially the gem mix. Little jelly beans!
Awe keeping just one would be mean. Try and find at least a couple friends!
I think its endlessly funny that poly polys are named like weed strains. "Orange vigor" "magic potion" "orange dalmatian" "high yellow" "gem mix".... I think I've heard stoners use these exact names before! 😂
Just a little curiosity? Tatuzinho is the common name given to these little critters in Brazil (they speak portuguese, so the info in the video is correct). In Portugal we call them "Bichos de conta" which roughly translates to bead bugs
That’s cool! I learned a new term for them in continental Portuguese, thank you!
e ai portuga, cade nosso ouro? abraço
Está nos bolsos dos ricos, 70 'bilhões' de reais perdidos todos os anos para corrupção, continuem a votar em bandidos.
You should do another video with “Best Isopod for a Pet” with Clint
Great idea!
yey
With the Gem Mix, could you theoretically separate say.. the oranges and have a orange line only?
Eventually, yes! It might take a few generations, but can be done. One of my viewers did that and isolated Dalmatians (Magic potions) from her Gem Mix.
Hi, i wonder how long it will takes to mature orange vigor and santa lucia vulgare
They can take over a year to mature, but it depends on many factors.
Did you do a P. scaber guide yet? Those and A. vulgare are the easiest ones for me to get and I'm trying to decide between the two.
I haven’t done P. scaber yet, but I should soon! Are you using them for a cleanup crew, or as pets?
@@Aquarimax Just pets :)
Do you think these isopods would be okay to use in an arid bioactive set up for leopard geckos? I'm sure they'll mainly hang around in the moist hide and only come out when I water my plants, but will they likely die in an arid environment?
Love your informative videos by the way. I always use your videos to learn more about clean up crews.
Thank you! I am glad you find my videos helpful! This species could do well with a leopard gecko (especially an aridity-tolerant strain like Punta Cana, for example), as long as the have the moist hide, but it is quite possible that they would nibble on your plants. A less plant-nibbling option would be Porcellionides pruinosus, and they generally thrive in fairly arid enclosures with moist hides.
@@Aquarimax Thanks for the plant-nibbling warning! Would hate for my plants to be eaten after so many months of quarentining them haha. Will definitely be sticking to power blues and oranges.
Can they all interbreed when you keep a gem mix like this?
Yes! All Armadillidium vulgare morphs can interbreed
Could you possibly show the difference between the US and Japanese magic potion lines please?
I show both morphs starting at about 2:21. You can see the much greater incidence of yellow markings in the American line.
I'm only about 3 minutes in. But quick question, can all of these interbreed? Sorry if you answered it somewhere else in the video.
Yes, all Armadillidium vulgare morphs can interbreed. 👍
I'm not sure if there is much more to talk about but are there any of these morphs that have drastically different moisture requirements?
Not in my experience…the moisture gradient approach seems to work well for all of them 👍🏼
Oooo, you have convinced me to go catch some and see if I can find any morphs in them eventually. How long does it take to breed them a generation?
If you catch some mature females, you could have some offspring ver quickly, but those offspring might take up to a year or so to mature. This varies quite a bit.
@@Aquarimax I caught one who might be gravid, but if so still in the early stages, just a little bit of white stuff in the marsupium, definitely not babies yet. Caught a few mature ones, most of the valgeres I caught were young ones though, so it will take a while. Found three of another species that is really intriguing me, and I am hoping against the ads that I have multiple genders there. They are shaped more like a saber than an amadalidium, and have he biggest elbowed antennae, but they roll up still but their antennae don't fit inside and the stick out so comically and they have a bronze tinge to them, so I am now trying to set up two enclosures, and the sad thing is I am even more excited about these unknown three. XD I just hope they breed for me!
@@michellekent1289 I wonder if the new ones you caught are Cylisticus convexus? They roll up but their antennae stick out. I made a video about that species you could compare them to:
czcams.com/video/WkVtc77jSqw/video.html
@@Aquarimax I don't know how much isopods are like spiders and some other invertebrates where you have to use a microscope to be able to ID for certain, but as far as I can see, the shape and behavior of them is the same as the convexus. I am wondering if I caught them shortly after molt to get the bronze factor going, but other than that are very similar to your slate grey ones. Watching your video I am getting even more excited and curious about these guys because I am hoping to be able to get a bioactive setup for my bearded dragon if I can figure out how to keep isopods alive without giving him a respiratory infection and these might be a good fit if they are generally forgiving. Would have to figure out how to treat these so I don't introduce parasites though and definitely not there yet with just three of them. Right now I have them in a nutella jar so they don't get lost from each other. Is this a good idea or do I need to put them in something larger for breeding to happen? I know that Nutella jar won't work once I get more of them.
Interestingly enough these were caught not far away from where other convexus colonies with odd morphs were collected... SO I guess I just need to sit tight and see if they breed for me and see what happens... I have been in the hoppy for 4 hours and already want to see babies. XD Need to slow down.
I've had a great time breeding any other isopod species but for some reason these ones are so hard for me to keep bountiful. Max amount I have at one time is like 200 and it just stays that way. Dosnt fluctuate up or down just stays the same ah!
They are somewhat slower than some other species, but this sounds like something is going on.. is it possible they have reached carrying capacity on their current bin?
How is your Gem Mix doing? Are they still a 'mix', or are they reverting to a dominant colour?
They are still a mix…if you start with lots of recessive genes and add something like St. Lucia, they seem to do well
For many generations
Is there a particular morph good for a crested gecko?
Any morph could be an option, but the A. vulgare will munch on live plants and the gecko might munch on the isopods. I suggest T. Tormentosa, P. pruinosus, or Cylisticus convexus with a Crestie.
Jw what do you keep them for as pets or for compost or fish food I've seen a super pretty one that's yellow helmet but one cost 100 per one
I keep them as pets and and to clean up after reptiles, amphibians, etc.
@@Aquarimax ohh didn't know that I've always thought they were meant for food intresting
I love bugs and insects and used to keep Praying Mantids. Please don't take this the wrong way as it's an honest question but what do you get from keeping Isopods? Can you enjoy observing them when kept in plastic containers etc? I'm fascinated by them and genuinely interested to know what you guys collect/keep them for.
Perfect question! A lot of the colorful/active species are fun to watch, especially at feeding time. I keep some in transparent acrylic containers and get a kick out of observing them go about their business.
@@Aquarimax Thanks. I thought as much. I used to love watching my Ghost Mantids for hours and they barely move. Watching a Mantid wash itself is a real experience though.
Are you going to start selling the Nightgold any time soon? How's that going?
I have been selling the B grade Nightgolds, the project is going slowly, but I do notice a higher concentration and incidence of yellow coloring in many individuals
Porcellio scaber "Lava" pls
Definitely on the way!
Can we Mix different species in one habitats or it’s a bad practice?
With some species it can be done. In my experience, it can work for a while, but if resources are limited, one species will outcompete the others
can I keep Ivory millipedes and Pill bugs Armadillidium vulgare together?
Some people keep isopods and millipedes together succeed, but isopods may attack and eat a millipede if it has minor issues while molting.
@@Aquarimax thank you so much for the reply! :)
How do the egg trays benefit the isopods? do they munch on it? or do they just use it to hide in?
Both, but they are offered primarily as hides. 👍
@@Aquarimax thank you
How long would U guess it would take for Armadillidium vulgare “magic potion” to start reproducing
It depends on the age, and which strain to some extent, but you never really know. It also depends on how many you start with, size of enclosure, and whether any were gravid when you got them. the original magic potion line, the American ones, grow slowly, it I got mine as adults, and it was only a. I think or two before I started seeing babies. I would have expected my Japanese line Magic potions to reproduce sooner. They took much longer…but now I have good numbers of each.
I having deaths and bad molts from my guys. I dont know what's going on. Would you have any idea what could be causing it.
What is the ventilation like, and the moisture gradient?
@@Aquarimax it has bee to moist. And the ventilation is pretty low i probably should add more. I have been having deaths on my second colony aswell the have more ventilation and a moisture gradient.
Hello everyone ! I put my wild collected armadillodium vulgare bunch in a sawdust layer. And I spray them with water daily. And I cover their plastic lid with a paper towel. Am I doing it very wrong ?
That depends greatly on the composition and decompositional state of the sawdust layer.
@@Aquarimax , it's fresh sawdust
What type of wood? And is that the only substrate?
@@Aquarimax, mostly poplar and willow but I changed their base layer. Now I mixed organic soil, rich in nutrients, with that sawdust (60% soil with 40% sawdust). Also I have some pieces of wood bark I placed in the enclosure and I watered a handful of chunkier sawdust and placed it inside for them to hydrate. As food I finely scraped some carrot and mixed it with a pinch of flour and a piece of granulated dog food.Thank you very much for your help, it means a lot to me as this is my first attempt into carrying for armadillidium vulgare.
@@poetuliradiant good idea to use the organic soil. Watch the sawdust for mold and such as it is not nutritious to the isopods until it has fermented, so molt may set in.
Soo... Is shipping possible to South Africa?🤷🏻♂️
i wish!
I recently ordered various isopods from a UK supplier. Included in the various tubs were a few additional isopods, which I initially thought were Powder blues, but I'm not 100%. They're very fast, rather small and multiplying rapidly. Any idea's on what they could be?
Could they be springtails?
@@katherineheathcote6178 no, they're definitely isopods
They might be powder blues. Can you get any footage of them?
@@Aquarimax ill try and get some footage
Is there such a thing as a dwarf powder blue?
I’d love to do a trade with you! I have the albinos you don’t!
Sounds great! Shoot me a message from my website Aquarimax.com or on Instagram 😊👍
It's hungarian name is "közönséges gömbászka".
Cool! What is the direct translation into English?
@@Aquarimax I guess, that the "common pill-bug" is a cool translation. The hungarian term "közönséges" means: common, or vulgare in latin, and the word "gömb" means pill. "Ászka" is a term for isopod, or woodlice in our country.
Rus do you own species armadillo officinalis?
I got some locally , very recently though.
@@Aquarimax Great, could you make a care guide in the future?
Bro you made this like two weeks too late! All of mine died because my humidity dropped due to winter where I live 😢
Oh no!
:)
If you heal population from wolbachia you could get a colony of 100% males.
Hi I am still waiting for your answer
What is the question again? It can be hard to keep up with all the comments 🤣
@@Aquarimax what is the husbandry for Merulanella speices? Thanks for replying
@@devilzen Ah! I have actually never kept any Merulanella species, as I don’t have a permit for them.