Are you the sort of person that is always on the lookout for a new isopod for your collection? Me too. So pop our new arrivals page on your bookmarks bar. We spend a lot of time sourcing new and rare isopods for our own collection, and then ensure we have a sustainable breeding colony before making new isopods available for sale to the general public.
Here are some of our new arrivals that I think are well worth a second look, and ideally after that second look adding to your basket.
Tirolense 'Lake Garda' Captive Bred Isopods (Armadillidium)
Collected from around Lake Garda in Italy, their natural location, these are a great easy-to-care-for species, perfect for beginners or experienced keepers alike. A traditional Armadillidium species, these have that traditional roly poly charm. The dark carapace with the brighter yellow spots makes them wonderfully eye catching.
Their natural northern Italian habitat means they're happy at UK room temperature with a humidity gradient — properly not demanding tropical conditions. A good entry point for keepers wanting an Armadillidium species with established locality data.
Gestroi 'Milky Way' Isopods (Armadillidium)
I've seen these described as big, bold and beautiful, and I have to agree. Larger than your average Armadillidium with a wavey mottled white pattern on a black background, they also display distinctive segment colouration — often with a unique white segment that sets individuals apart from each other. Browse our Milky Way Isopods.
There's so much variation in a colony that you have a chance to breed something extra special. Happy to live in a room temperature house, these require a humidity gradient and a good quality substrate, but are as easy to keep as most Armadillidium species. Properly recommended as a breeding project if you're looking for selective work to do.
Armadillo Tuberculatus Rare Species Isopods
They are spikey and blue, and to be honest they should probably be called Sonic the Hedgehog isopods — but they're not, which is a little bit of a shame. But no matter what they're called they're well worth the space in your collection. Browse our Armadillo Tuberculatus Isopods.
Younger individuals are spikier and paler than older members of the colony, giving you a way to see the variety of ages in your group. Properly they just look that bit extra special — the blue tinting catches light differently from any other isopod we've kept. A genuine standout for collectors who already have the common species and want something distinctive.
Skeleton / Nebula Isopods (Armadillidium klugii)
Pareidolia is the human tendency to see faces in things that aren't faces. It's an evolutionary safety aspect — better to see a face in the trunk of a tree where there is none, than miss the face of a lion looking at you from the shadows. But the patterns on the backs of these isopods can often look like creepy skeletons. Browse our Clown Klugii Isopods.
A morph of the clown isopod, these are a more muted version, but well worth looking at if you want an interesting breeding project to start to develop these patterns. The "Nebula" naming variant captures the cosmic pattern aspect — properly some individuals look more like distant galaxies than skeletons depending on which way you look at them.
Premium Cubaris
If you've worked up to keeping Cubaris and want to expand into the premium morphs, the famous Rubber Ducky Isopods properly remain the showpiece. The distinctive yellow "duck bill" face shape gives them their iconic name. Browse the broader Cubaris collection for other premium species we've sourced.
Properly worth being honest: Cubaris are demanding species. High humidity (75-85%), warmer temperatures (22-26°C), and limestone-rich substrate are essential. They're not beginner species despite their popularity. We only stock Cubaris after establishing stable breeding colonies — the slow generation times of Cubaris make this approach important.
What Makes a New Isopod Worth Adding
When considering whether a new isopod is worth adding to your collection, properly worth thinking about:
- Distinctiveness — does it bring something visually or behaviourally different to your collection?
- Care requirements — do they match your current setup or need new conditions?
- Breeding potential — is there scope for selective breeding work?
- Availability stability — is this a recurring species or a one-off?
- Captive-bred status — is the lineage sustainable or wild-collected?
Our approach is properly to source new species, breed sustainable colonies, then make stock available — giving keepers confidence they're properly buying captive-bred animals from established lineages rather than wild-collected one-off imports.
Browsing for New Arrivals
The hobby keeps moving — new locality variants, new morphs, and occasionally new species become available throughout the year. Properly worth checking back periodically rather than expecting the same stock indefinitely. Browse our new arrivals page for what's currently available, and follow the pattern of accumulating species that genuinely interest you rather than feeling compelled to collect everything that appears.
The four species above represent the kind of distinctive options we try to focus on — properly different from the standard hobby species, but with care requirements that genuine keepers can meet successfully.
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