Why Isopod colonies Crash

There is nothing more confusing and disheartening to see a once thriving isopod colony suddenly dwindle in numbers or worse, show no signs of life. The word used in the hobby for this curious event is referred to as “crashing”. 

The exact reason/s behind a crash may never be truly known however there are a range of early warning signs to look out for within your colonies to try to prevent a future crash or at the very least provide some closure and lessons for the future.

The following list is not meant to be exhaustive and there is no doubt many other potential factors/causes that may cause a crash. 

• Illness – like all other living things, isopods are susceptible to disease and illness which can cause fatalities or full colony crashes. 

 

• Type of genus – there are believed to be over 10,000 types of isopod genus but not all are easy to keep. Some types of isopods such as the Laureola sp White Skull Spiky or the Isopoda sp Thai Spiky have expert level care needs therefore can be very unforgiven to a non-meticulous keeper.

 

• Drying out – as isopods are crustaceans, they breathe through gills located on their underside and receive oxygen through moisture in the substrate. If the enclosure is not humid enough, the isopods can suffocate.

 

• Competition – Some species of isopod are very protein hungry and if there is not enough protein rich foods available isopods are known to succumb to cannibalism. Our experience has seen this predatory and aggressive behaviour in the Porcellio laevis, Porcellio scaber, and Porcellio ornatus who can become opportunistic feeders amongst their cohab neighbours. 

 

• Overcrowding – beware that some species of adult isopods grow larger than other species therefore ample space is needed. Similarly, some species  breed quicker than others and can quickly over populate enclosures. This can cause the entire eco system to go out of balance and crash. To avoid this, consider increasing the size of your enclosure, split the colony into multiple enclosures, use excess isopods as feeders or clean up crew in other enclosures if you have other pets (as long as those enclosures are not too arid) or sell some privately, at an invertebrate show or to your local pet shop.

 

• Temperature – too hot or too cold can be harmful to isopods. For this reason, many isopod breeders will only ship isopods depending on the weather. Different isopods tolerate different temperatures. We recommend you research the needs of your pods to ensure your temperatures are just right.

 

• Pesticides/Chemicals – isopods can come into contact with potential pesticides or chemicals through their food, leaf little and substrate. We recommend organic foods, pesticide free leaf litter and substrate. Also depending on your location, your local water supply uses different levels of chemicals to deliver water to your homes. Therefore, only use tap water as a last resort, it is recommended that you use filtered water where possible. If you are unable to use unfiltered water, let the tap water sit out in room temperature for 24 hours to let the chemicals evaporate from the water.

 

• Parasites – only deal with reputable breeders and do not mix an existing thriving colony with wild caught isopods. If collecting your own leaf litter and substrate be sure to sterilise them by baking, boiling or freezing, which ever method that suits you best.

 

• Predators – depending on accessibility to your enclosures, predators can easily invade isopod enclosers and have their very own personal isopod buffet. This we speak from experience, we found one of colonies numbers were slowly on the decline. On careful investigation we discovered a house spider had made a home in the enclosure and was living his best life!

 

• Too much moisture – too much moisture can drown a terrestrial (land) isopods even though they have gills. 

 

• Improper ventilation – proper ventilation is needed to ensure oxygen can get in and harmful gasses such as ammonia and carbon dioxide can get out.

 

• Old substrate – depending on the size of your enclosure and colony, over time substrate may need to be changed out. Old substrate can become compact, causing some pods may not be able to burrow out of the substrate (leaving them to eventually suffocate or starve). Other issues may stem from too many droppings (or frass) in the original substrate. Be sure if you are changing out your old substrate to store the old substrate separately and use a cucumber trap to tease out any isopods that may have hijacked within the old substrate.

 

• Mold – some molds can be toxic to isopods. If you notice your isopods are not actively eating the mold then consider removing it.

We hope you found this article useful, should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us.