Whilst leaf litter will always dominate most terrestrial isopod diets, there are a lot of other isopod foods that can, and for many species should, go into their diet. Isopods love decaying organic matter and hiding under certain substrates, making a variety of food sources and habitat materials important for their health. In addition to leaf litter, vegetables like carrots and cucumber, and fruits such as apple, can be safely fed to isopods. Apples should be rinsed to remove pesticides and offered in moderation to prevent mold growth. Leftover fruits and vegetables can develop mold, which should be removed to prevent harm to your culture.
In their natural habitat, isopods feed on organic materials found on the ground, such as fallen leaves, vegetables, and fruits, as well as dead wood, which is a key component of both their substrate and food source. Providing materials that mimic nature, like leaf litter, dead wood, organic compost, and bioactive substrates, helps maintain a healthy terrarium ecosystem. Worms' waste products (earthworm castings) can also enhance the ecosystem within a terrarium.
Keepers have observed isopods' behavior and diet to monitor their health and prevent issues like mold or ammonia buildup. When keeping isopods as a pet, providing proper nutrition is essential. Supplements can be used to provide essential nutrients, including vegetables, protein, and calcium. Isopods also play a valuable role as a clean-up crew in reptile terrariums and offer nutritional value as a food source for reptiles.
Introduction to Isopod Diets
Isopods, often known as woodlice or pillbugs, are fascinating detritivores that play a vital role in the ecosystem by breaking down decaying plant and animal matter. In their natural habitat, isopods eat a diverse array of food sources, including fallen leaves, rotting wood, decaying wood, and even animal carcasses or dead insects. This varied diet not only recycles nutrients back into the soil but also supports the health and growth of isopod populations.
When keeping isopods in captivity, understanding what isopods eat is essential for their well-being. A balanced diet for isopods should consist primarily of decaying plant material, such as leaf litter, which forms the bulk of their nutrition. However, many keepers find that supplementing with additional protein sources—like dried shrimp, dead insects, or even commercial fish food and fish flakes—helps mimic the variety found in their natural environment. These protein sources are especially important for supporting growth, reproduction, and the development of a healthy exoskeleton.
To further enrich isopod food options, many keepers offer isopods small amounts of vegetables, such as carrots and cucumbers, and fruits like apples. While these foods can provide valuable vitamins and minerals, it’s important to feed them in moderation to maintain a balanced diet and avoid overloading the enclosure with uneaten food. A reliable calcium source, such as crushed egg shells or cuttlebone, is also crucial for isopods, as it supports the formation and maintenance of their exoskeleton.
Replicating the natural habitat of isopods in captivity is key to their success. This means providing a substrate rich in organic matter, such as sphagnum moss, fallen leaves, and decaying wood, which not only serves as food but also creates a comfortable environment for isopod cultures. By offering a variety of food sources and maintaining a habitat that closely resembles their ecosystem, keepers can ensure their isopods receive all the nutrients they need.
Isopods are not limited to plant matter; their diet consists of both plant and animal matter, making them important contributors to the ecology of their environment. Their functional morphology—including their ability to roll into a ball and their strong jaws—enables them to consume a wide range of foods, from decaying plant material to animal remains and even other invertebrates. This adaptability makes isopods a resilient and valuable part of any ecosystem.
Whether you’re keeping isopods as pets, using them as a clean-up crew in a reptile terrarium, or simply fascinated by their biology, providing a balanced and nutritious diet is essential for their health and longevity. By understanding what isopods eat and how to offer isopods a variety of food sources, keepers can enjoy thriving isopod cultures that contribute to a healthy, dynamic environment. With the right care and nutrition, isopods can become a captivating and educational addition to any collection.
Protein
There are a huge range of sources of protein, but one thing to attempt is to provide protein that they would come across in the wild. For isopods that in the wild would come across streams and water bodies, food such as shrimp and other crustaceans are natural sources of calcium for isopods, supporting their exoskeleton development. Fish food that includes fish and fish meal are also suitable.
For those that would not come across fish and similar it’s worth looking at insect-based fish foods, there are a variety such as bug bites and fish science.
Don’t discount feeding them insects, insect byproducts, and other species of isopod. There is a concern among some people that feeding isopods to isopods is cannibalism, but in the same way dogs and cows are both mammals, but different species, there are different species of isopods. So you could consider culling feeder isopods from another healthy colony.
Isopods can also break down larger animal remains, including those from snakes, as well as waste or carcasses from other animals.
If you are feeding meat-based products make sure that it doesn’t go mouldy or off before the isopods manage to eat it all.
One area of protein you might not have looked at is Bat Guano. Sold as a fertiliser, it has all the insect meal in it, already partly digested to make it the perfect food source for many cave-dwelling isopods, including many of the cubaris sp..
Guano
Guano is the waste material from birds, bats and other cave-dwelling species. It is so important as a fertiliser that literal wars have been fought over islands with rich deposits of guano. It is also the main source of nutrition for the ecosystems of many caves. With limited light, there aren't plants growing as the base of a food web. Instead, the nutrients are brought into the cave by bats or birds. Beneath their roosts, piles of guano build up. Many species of bat have poor digestion, meaning that their droppings contain undigested material.
In a similar way, many islands have bird guano as their main source of nutrients, adding the fertiliser that everything else grows on.
This means that for some isopods guano is an important part of their diet. But there are a couple of issues. Without knowing where the guano has come from you don't know what it is made up of, and there is often a large quantity of ammonia in the droppings.
The way around this is to use it as a part of their diet, spreading a small amount out across the substrate, this allows bacteria and other microorganisms to convert the ammonia and ensures that if there is something that your isopods wouldn't see in the wild, they are not going to be able to eat a large amount.
Vegetable matter
Various veg can be fed to isopods depending on the species. But for an easy meal, look at the various Repashy foods. These proprietary blends come in the form of pre-made powders or gels for convenience. Sold as a powder, you mix it up into a gel. That can then be put in the fridge or even frozen to extend its shelf life if you mix up too much.
To some extent, isopods will break down and utilize these foods differently compared to natural food sources like leaf litter or decaying wood, but they remain a practical supplement.
Two we love are Bug Burger, and Morning Wood. Made from the plants and wood that isopods would see in the wild, already processed to allow them to digest the food easier.
Micronutrients
The one thing that is easy to miss is the micronutrients that might be missing from a single area. Imagine if the soil in the area you collect your leaves from is depleted. That can be passed on in the diet. The advantage of adding in a variety of other foods means that if one area is deficient others will provide the missing part.
There are a number of supplements that you can add to your isopods diet. But a healthy diet will add most of this to their diet. As a creature that has evolved to live on the scraps and detritus from other living animals isopods have evolved to make the best of what they are offered.
