These screw-in air vents fit any plastic isopod tub: cut a hole, screw the vent in from the inside, and the fine mesh lets air through while keeping the isopods in. They come in two sizes, 32mm and 56mm across.
Since I started keeping isopods back in 2021, I have kept them in a variety of different environments and enclosures with variants of ventilation, heat and size.
One of the things that interests me so much about keeping isopods is that there is no single way to keep isopods and the success you have with your colonies can vary so much due to a number of factors.
I have tried tubs with no additional heating, holes cut out with organza glued over the top, drilling holes into the tubs, using a soldering iron to burn holes into the tubs. Each came with its own benefits and disadvantages. Tom Marsh, the person who got me into keeping isopods as a hobby to begin with, then got me to try his 3d printed vents.
Screw-In Air Vent Sizes
LARGE
- 56mm diameter
- 10mm depth , 8mm is the screw
- 44mm inside screw diameter
- Recommend 48mm hole saw
SMALL
- 32mm diameter
- 10mm depth ,8mm is the screw
- 25mm inside screw diameter
- Recommend 28mm hole saw
I was not too sure about these to begin with, thinking they wouldn't make much of a difference from my soldering iron made vents but I was very wrong. I noticed much more stable humidity in my enclosures as well as far fewer isopods teleporting into other tubs, due to the increase in ventilation food seemed to also not go off as quickly and my isopods seemed generally to do better.
These vents are VERY easy to install, and hole saws in both sizes are easy to buy online. When you are drilling your tubs, I recommend laying the tubs on the side and press something against the other side to stop the drill bit going through suddenly and cracking your tub. I also find not pushing too much on the drill and let the drill do the work slowly also helps. Unfortunately I have personally cracked a few tubs whilst drilling the holes out but since applying these methods my success rate of not cracking tubs has increased massively.
Once the hole is cut out, I simply pull away any loose plastic and then screw the vent to the tub from the inside.
The amount of ventilation varies between species however most of my 11l tubs have one vent on the left at the front and one on the right at the back. On my 17l and 32l tubs I usually have 2 on the left and 2 on the right.
I also find most species of isopod like to climb up onto the vents and hide inside them too, which as an added bonus makes monitoring your colony even easier.
For the thinking behind how much airflow an enclosure needs and how it works with humidity, our guide to enclosure ventilation and humidity explains why cross-ventilation is the goal.
Tom can do these in a variety of colours too so reach out to him if you want anything specific.
