Orange Granulatum 'Naranjito' Isopods (Armadillidium granulatum)

Most of the eye-catching colour in this hobby is the product of years of selective breeding, so the Orange Granulatum is a refreshing exception: this warm, spotted orange is how the animal turns up in the wild. Known in Spain as the "Naranjito", the little orange, it is an orange form of Armadillidium granulatum that Spanish keepers report from wild populations, though no source we can find names the locality it came from. No line-breeding and no isolated mutation, just a bright native woodlouse that happens to look like a premium morph. For keepers who like the idea of an authentic locality variant over a designer project, that origin is a large part of the appeal.

The look is warm orange over a granulated, faintly pebbled back, dusted with brighter yellow spotting, and no two animals carry quite the same pattern. It rides on one of the larger and hardier Armadillidium going: adults are substantial, 16 to 17 mm and up to 19 mm in Budde-Lund's 1885 measurements, and they are confident animals that spend a lot of time out in the open rather than hiding, so a settled colony is on show rather than a mystery. That pairing of a bold colour with simple, beginner-friendly care is unusual, and it is why the Naranjito has become such a well-liked Iberian colour form. It sits happily alongside the standard Granulatum, the pearlescent Magic Potion and the two-tone Jelly Bean.

A coastal animal of summer-dry shores, it wants moderate humidity on a clear gradient rather than a wet box. Aim for something around 50 to 80% across the tub: one lightly damp corner under sphagnum and leaf litter, the rest allowed to breathe and dry between mistings, with good cross-ventilation over the top. They do best between 18 and 22°C, which normal UK room temperature holds the year round, and they take seasonal ups and downs from 15 to 26°C without complaint. Like most true pill woodlice they conglobate, rolling into a tight sealed ball when startled, which on a bright orange body is a fine thing to watch.

Set a starter colony up in a five to ten litre tub with a clip-lock lid and cross-vented sides. For substrate I use a living base of flake soil, well-rotted hardwood and organic topsoil, five centimetres or so deep for burrowing. I would keep a plain coco-coir base out of it, since it holds damp but gives a substrate-grazer nothing to eat as it breaks down. Cap it with a thick layer of hardwood leaf litter, magnolia and oak both good, add cork bark for cover, and leave a calcium source such as cuttlebone or crushed eggshell in permanently for firm, clean moults.

Feeding is no bother. Leaf litter and rotting wood are the always-available base; on top of that give soft veg like courgette, squash and sweet potato a couple of times a week, lift out anything uneaten within a day, and offer a little protein such as fish flake or dried insects now and then to keep a breeding colony productive. As with all Armadillidium they will nibble soft plants and moss in a planted setup, so choose tougher greenery if you want it to last.

Our Armadillidium granulatum care guide covers the species in more detail, the Orange morph included.

Breeding looks after itself once the gradient is right. Females carry their young in a brood pouch and release live miniatures, and a group given warmth, calcium and steady food builds into a self-sustaining colony over a season, the orange colouring deepening as the youngsters mature. Pair them with a springtail culture to graze the soft mould in the damp corner, or browse the wider Armadillidium collection for more of the genus. Every order is captive-bred, boxed double-walled around a ventilated tub of damp sphagnum, and posted Monday to Thursday by Royal Mail, on Tracked 24 or Next Day, with a live-arrival guarantee and a 20% overcount as standard.