Setting Up Your First Isopods
This is the setup I've arrived at after years of keeping, and it's the one I'd give anyone starting out. In short: an 11-litre plastic tub with screw-in vents, a nutritious substrate built on flake soil and white-rotted hardwood, leaf litter always available, a cuttlebone left permanently on the surface, a moisture gradient rather than a uniform damp, and springtails added a fortnight before the isopods. Start with Dairy Cows or Powders. Get those things right and the colony largely runs itself.
Here's the detail, and the reasoning behind each choice.
Enclosures
Isopods will live in almost anything - plastic tubs, glass tanks, terrariums. Most people start in small 1.3 or 3-litre containers, and that works. But personally I find larger containers much easier to manage from the outset, because they hold their humidity and temperature gradients far more reliably. A small tub swings; a bigger one buffers.
I use 11-litre WHAM Crystal tubs from The Range as my standard, and go up to 17 litres for the larger species like P. hoffmannseggii or P. haasi. Whatever you choose, it needs three things: good ventilation, enough space, and a genuinely escape-proof lid.
Substrate
Substrate matters more than anything else in the setup, because for isopods it isn't just a floor - it's a primary food source. It needs to feed them as well as house them.
For a quick, reliable option, our own ready-mixed substrates take the guesswork out of it - our flake soil and crushed leaf litter substrate are ready to use straight from the bag.
If you'd rather mix your own, here's what I actually use:
- Organic topsoil - most brands are fine, just check there are no pesticides. I've used topsoil from Wickes and The Range and prefer the Wickes one.
- Wood pellets - a trick I picked up from Tom at Exotic Empire. Put some pellets in a container, add hot water, and they swell into a sawdust-like substrate. One bag lasts a very long time. Some people leave them overnight; I find they swell and cool within a few hours, though it's worth giving them a bit longer to be safe.
- White-rotted hardwood - crumbled through the mix. This is the component most beginners under-supply, and it's the one the isopods actually eat.
- Worm castings - not essential, but a nice addition. Organic, and the brand doesn't matter.
Two things to avoid. Peat moss is acidic, shifts your substrate chemistry over time, and carries real environmental problems in its harvesting. And coco coir - which gets recommended everywhere as a moisture-retentive base - holds water well but is nutritionally empty. For an animal that eats its substrate, building the mix around coir means giving it a floor rather than a food supply. Flake soil and hardwood do the same moisture job and actually feed the colony. Our substrate guide covers the full recipe.
Whatever you build, create a damp patch at one end - a moist corner or a pad of moss - so the animals have somewhere to retreat to.
The Other Staples
Cork bark
Our cork bark is food, shelter, and a population monitor all in one - most isopods congregate on or under it, so lifting a piece tells you at a glance how the colony's doing. Bake it for 45-60 minutes at 160°C in a fan oven before it goes in, to kill any hitchhikers.
Cuttlebone
The best calcium source there is. You can get similar results from eggshell or calcium powder, but I find those go mouldy, whereas a cuttlebone just sits there until the isopods have finished it. It doubles as a hide, too.
Leaf litter
Some keepers add it periodically. I keep it available at all times, and get better results for it - it also means that if you're away for a few days, they've always got food.
Moss
Food and humidity in one. A genuine win-win for the enclosure.
All of the above are in our accessories collection.
Ventilation
How much you need depends on the species, but there are two ways I do it:
- Holes around the top of the tub - made with a soldering iron or a drill.
- Screw-in air vents - which I've moved to almost entirely. You cut a hole with a drill saw and the vent screws in from either side. It's cleaner, faster and holds humidity better than a field of drilled holes. We stock our own screw-in air vents in the sizes I use.
Moisture and Humidity
Moisture management is the single most important part of isopod care, and it's where most beginners come unstuck.
Most temperate hobby species do well at 60-80% humidity. Mist regularly, but focus on one corner rather than the whole tub - that gives you a gradient, and lets the isopods choose between a damp end for burrowing and a drier end for resting. That choice matters more than any number you could set.
Species vary: Mediterranean Porcellio want it drier with a clear gradient, tropical Cubaris and Ardentiella want it consistently high (75-85%), and common P. scaber is comfortable anywhere from 50-70%. Our humidity guide covers the species detail and the physics behind it.
Feeding
The aim is a varied diet that mimics what they'd eat in the wild - decaying organic matter, leaf litter, and whatever else the forest floor offers.
I alternate between fruit and vegetables and a high-protein feed. Cucumber and butternut squash are strong favourites in my tubs, but they'll eat a huge range of things - experiment, and wash everything thoroughly first.
Fish flakes and pond sticks make good supplementary protein. Use them in moderation - a small amount weekly, not a daily staple and never dumped in by the handful.
Springtails: Add Them First
Springtails are essentially non-negotiable alongside isopods. They deal with fine debris, prevent mould, and create the bioactive ecosystem that makes the whole thing low-maintenance.
Add them two to three weeks before the isopods, so they're established and controlling mould before waste starts arriving. Browse our springtails collection.
Choosing Your First Isopods
Dairy Cows are what most people start with, and it's a good choice. They're very, very resilient, they have enormous appetites, and they breed quickly.
Powder isopods are what I'd personally choose, though. Similar price, similar hardiness, not remotely fussy about food - but they come in several colours and they're far more active, which for me makes them more rewarding to watch. We stock them in Orange, Blue and White.
Dwarf whites (Trichorhina tomentosa) are the ones to get for a bioactive cleanup crew. Tiny, prolific, happy in tropical or temperate setups, and they don't compete with larger species in a mixed enclosure.
Panda Kings are a good first step into Cubaris if you want something more exotic. They hide a lot at first, but as the colony settles and grows, so does their confidence. They're among the easiest Cubaris there is - we started ours in a 17-litre tub and they're now in a 62-litre one, purely because of how prolific they turned out to be.
Browse the full range in our isopods collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to set up my first isopods?
A ventilated plastic tub (10-11 litres is a good size), a nutritious substrate of flake soil, white-rotted hardwood and organic topsoil, leaf litter, cork bark hides, a cuttlebone for calcium, a spray bottle, and a starter group of 15-20 isopods. Add springtails a couple of weeks before the isopods.
What size enclosure do isopods need?
Bigger than you'd think. Small 1.3 or 3-litre tubs work, but larger containers hold their humidity and temperature gradients far more reliably, which makes them easier to manage. I use 11 litres as standard and 17 for the bigger species.
What substrate is best for beginner isopods?
A nutritious base of flake soil, white-rotted hardwood and organic topsoil, topped with leaf litter. Avoid peat (acidic) and avoid building it around coco coir - it holds moisture but offers nothing for an animal that eats its substrate.
Do I need springtails with isopods?
Effectively yes. They handle mould and fine debris that isopods can't reach, and they're what makes a bioactive setup genuinely self-maintaining. Add them two to three weeks before the isopods so they establish first.
What's the best first isopod?
Dairy Cow is the standard answer and a good one - resilient, hungry, and fast-breeding. Powder isopods are my own preference: just as hardy, available in several colours, and much more active, so you actually see them.
How often should I mist an isopod enclosure?
Every few days, focusing on one corner rather than the whole tub. That builds a moisture gradient, so the animals can choose a damp end or a drier one. A uniformly wet enclosure has no margin for error; a gradient does.
Final Thoughts
That's the approach we've developed at PostPods over years of keeping, and it's the one I'd stand behind. There are other ways to do it - there's no single right method in this hobby, and anyone who tells you otherwise hasn't kept enough colonies. But follow the structure above and you'll have a stable, low-maintenance setup that supports healthy colonies for years.
Once you know how many animals you want, our guide to how many isopods you need to start a colony covers the numbers.
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