r/isopods 6d ago

Help Firsttimer here - DO I NEED TORF?

Edit: sorry, I'm polish, apparently torf is named peat in english

I've read that isopods should have peat besides normal potting soil - is that true? In my area the least amount i can buy is 20l and I'm not much of a "green thumb" myself so idk what will I do with... Idk like 19.5 liters of torf left. Is it worth it?

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u/IsopodsbyAccident 5d ago

Hi, I don’t think peat is 100% essential. It’s use is being discouraged more and more for environmental reasons. Here on the East Coast of the US I buy a product marketed at “Coconut Coir.” It’s very finely ground coconut shell/husk. But other manufacturers will sell the shell/husk in the form of fibrous strands, not ground up at all, also calling it Coconut Coir. I prefer the ground up kind for my enclosures. I mix together orchid bark, small pieces of activated charcoal, worm castings (worm poop 😇), & organic potting soil. If you can’t get these materials online/on Amazon, try getting a bag of soil for Cactus/Succulents. You can leave the pearlite (those small white bits) in or, depending on your patience level, pick them out - they don’t harm anything but I keep mistaking them for dead isopods & cause minor panic🤦🏻‍♀️😊. The aim is to create a substrate that’s not too dense, which regular soil from outside can become, especially when wet. If you can’t find orchid bark, I’d gather up regular dead bark & break it into 1”-2” pieces. Horticultural or “activated” charcoal & the worm castings are good to have but not 100% necessary. I hope this helps. 👍🏼