Enclosures, Hides and Setup

Everything that builds the tub rather than feeds what lives in it: enclosures and ventilation, the cork and bark an animal hides under, sphagnum for a damp corner, substrate to dig into, and the few tools that make the job easier.

Most invertebrates need less equipment than people expect. A ventilated box, a few centimetres of substrate, somewhere to hide and a damp end is a complete setup for the great majority of what we sell. What matters is airflow and a moisture gradient, not kit.

Ventilation is the thing people get wrong. A sealed tub grows mould and stalls colonies faster than dry conditions do. Vents and vent plugs let you run a humid end without the still, stagnant air that causes losses, and they matter most for the drier Porcellio and for millipedes.

Cork bark and sphagnum are shelter and humidity, not food. Leaf litter and rotten wood sit with the food and supplements instead, because for a detritivore the substrate is the diet. Cork is not eaten; it is where the animals sit.

How big a tub? For most isopods a 3 litre tub is a starter, 6 to 9 litres suits a growing colony, and bigger is easier to run: more substrate holds moisture through a missed day or a hot spell, which is why we keep our own colonies in tubs of 11 litres or more. Depth matters more than footprint. Our guides to how big a tub isopods need and setting up a first isopod enclosure go through it.

In cold weather, add an invert heat pack to a livestock order to keep it warm in transit.

Packed and posted in the UK, usually the same or next working day.