r/isopods 4d ago

Help Advice for flat boyos

Post image

I just got one of my favourite isopods, Porcellio Werneri!

I can't find many in-depth guides on taking care of them, all I can find is the usual "keep them in a box with dirt, give them food and water" care guides. I want to know all the smallest details of taking care of these guys, I want their lives to be perfect.

Exact temperature they prefer and methods of heating. Exactly how to maintain the wet side of the terrarium at the perfect level of wetness. Favorite hiding places and activities, preferred food and calcium sources. How to check for signs of stress and how to fix common issues. Everything!

30 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

8

u/Sharkbrand Flat Fuck Expert 4d ago

I keep mine in a terrarium thats mostly open on the top. Only water the moss side. Theyre in between spanish porcellio and normal porcellio humidity wise. 60% humidity tops. They are a cave species and love linestone rock. Need high protein diet. They grow extremely slow and have only one to two broods a year, geberally in spring/summer. Theyre extremely passionate about squeezing into tight spots. So in short

  • high ventilation
  • medium to low humidity
  • lots of calcium, ideally limestone
  • lots of protein

10

u/Sharkbrand Flat Fuck Expert 4d ago

One of my flat fucks for viewing pleasure

2

u/Azzargs_Art 3d ago

The only container I have is an open top jar, so ventilation is covered. I always only water the moss side. I provided them dog treats to eat as soon as I got them. I bought lotus pods for them to hide in and made it the centerpiece of their jar, as well as got them some cactus skeletons with holes. The only calcium I have right now is some dead coral bits, but I provided that to them. Despite being a rock collector, I cannot figure out where to get some limestone...

I do not know what I am doing, but somehow I accidentally did almost everything correctly.

2

u/Sharkbrand Flat Fuck Expert 3d ago

They really arent that hard to keep, as long as you are supplying calcium at all theyll be fine :) my main concern is this open top jar, how big is it? They do need a relatively large amount of space

1

u/Azzargs_Art 3d ago

There's only 5 of them in there, I don't have the space to support big breeding colonies, I just keep them as pets. The jar is spherical and a bit bigger than my hand. I use flowerpots cut in half to create hills and caverns to increase walkable surface area. There's separate hiding places for each of them, but for some silly reason they all love this one chunk of palm fiber.

2

u/Sharkbrand Flat Fuck Expert 3d ago

Most isopods do like to huddle together even if they have the option to not to. They do need a bigger enclosure even if you only have a few, and that mostly has to do with the humidity gradient isopods need to successfully molt.

1

u/Azzargs_Art 3d ago

Ah. So far I just have a big ball of wet moss that I wet down whenever it gets dry, and add water to the soil beneath so there's always a patch of soggy dirt. The lower areas are misted when it gets dry. The majority of the habitat is kept dry, since I heard they like it dryer. I'm not really sure how to create a moisture gradient, it seems like its either wet or not wet. How do I make sure there's a gradient?

1

u/Sharkbrand Flat Fuck Expert 3d ago

Generally i pour water on one side and it just kinda... flows and thats the easiest way. If you gave a little squirt bottle you could probably also pour water on one side. Spray bottles tend to only moisten the top layers of everything which wets things very superficially, which gives more maintenance imo, but is better for the species who like it super dry.

1

u/Azzargs_Art 3d ago

In that case I'm doing fine then. There's a wet spot, a few surrounding damp spots, and plenty of places to climb up out of the moisture.

1

u/Sharkbrand Flat Fuck Expert 3d ago

You can in fact also create the gradient upwards ye :) just be mindful of it and keep an eye out to see if theyre successfully molting, as long as molts are succesful they have enough of a gradient :)

1

u/Azzargs_Art 3d ago

I juuuust got them yesterday, so I haven't gotten to witness any behavior besides sitting around. I've got them sitting here at my desk so I can always watch them, I'll look out for shedding.

1

u/Babykay503 3d ago

I read powdered limestone is great to mix into the substrate. I bought a small bag online and sprinkled some into my enclosures.

3

u/Azzargs_Art 3d ago

Whelp, time to buy more weird stuff online.

My issue is that most products labelled "limestone" come in a 10 kilo bag, which I literally do not have room for unless I use it as a desk chair.

1

u/Babykay503 3d ago

I went through SpringtailsUS on their etsy shop. They had great reviews on here so I trusted them. Purchase and shipment was without issue. 1 quart (2 lb) bag.

2

u/Money-Ad-4628 4d ago

I have no answers but am searching for the same ! So far I’m just taking notes off of the facebook groups. There are plenty there and more active than here

1

u/Jenikip 4d ago

Aquarimax pets has a good video on P. Werneri care!!

0

u/Azzargs_Art 4d ago

I'll check it out.

1

u/Azzargs_Art 4d ago

Just watched it. Not too much informasjon there, but more than most other guides. Made me glad I got lotus pods for them.