Beginner Isopods for Sale

Nearly every isopod on this page is one I would hand to someone who has never kept invertebrates before. They tolerate a wide range of conditions, they breed without being coaxed, and none of them needs spraying twice a day or a species-specific substrate recipe to do well. Prices start at a couple of pounds, so a first colony is a small commitment.

If you want the short answer: start with Dairy Cows or dwarf whites. Both breed quickly enough that you will see results in weeks rather than months, and quick results are what keep a new keeper interested.

What makes an isopod beginner-friendly

Three things, and only three.

A wide tolerance for error. Some species collapse if the substrate dries out for a weekend. The species here do not. Porcellio laevis and Porcellio scaber in particular will forgive a missed misting, a warm spell or a tub left in a draught.

They breed readily. A colony that reproduces faster than it loses animals is self-correcting: it absorbs your early mistakes. Slow breeders punish them instead, which is why an expensive rare species is the worst possible first purchase, however tempting the photographs are.

A heat mat at most. The Porcellio laevis morphs and the Powders here live happily in a normally heated UK home and breed faster with a small mat on the side of the tub, on a thermostat, through winter. Dwarf whites want that gentle heat for part of the year in most homes, and the Cubaris here ask for steady warmth, which in most UK homes means a heat mat or heat cable on a thermostat through the colder months.

What to buy alongside them

A first setup is cheap. You need a ventilated tub, a few centimetres of substrate, a handful of leaf litter, a piece of cork bark to hide under and a permanent calcium source such as cuttlebone. That is the whole list.

Adding springtails to the same tub is worth doing from day one. They cost very little and graze the mould and fine debris the isopods leave behind. They help rather than cure: good ventilation and not overfeeding are what keep mould down, and my guide to mould in enclosures explains why.

The mistake almost everyone makes

Fussing. New keepers open the tub, move things about, check on the animals and mist whenever they walk past. Isopods breed and feed best when they are left alone, and a colony that is disturbed daily will stall no matter how good the setup is.

Set the conditions well, then have the patience to do nothing. My beginner's guide to keeping isopods in the UK covers the full setup, and the substrate guide explains what goes in the tub and why.

Which one should you actually pick

For a first colony that shows results fast: Dairy Cow or Giant Orange. Both are Porcellio laevis, both are prolific, and both are under four pounds.

For a bioactive vivarium cleanup crew: dwarf whites. Tiny, tolerant, out of sight of the animal living above them, and they multiply with almost no input.

For something that looks striking on a shelf: Magic Potion, the Panda King or the Penguin. All three are easy despite their looks. The Panda King is the Cubaris I most often hand to someone taking their first step into the genus, and the Penguin is just as forgiving; both are fine even as a very first isopod. The Thai Blue Angel is a Cubaris I would save for a second colony rather than a first.

Unless its listing says otherwise, every colony on this page is bred or grown on here in the UK, posted Monday to Thursday by Royal Mail Tracked 24 or Next Day with at least 20% more animals than you ordered, and covered by the live arrival guarantee. If you are not sure which to start with, ask me before you order.