Red Panda King Isopods For Sale

Unlike most popular isopods of European origin, the Red Panda isopods originate in the Asian continent. These relatively smaller-sized isopods are gaining high popularity as pets; thus, quality red panda king isopods are in high demand these days.

Red Panda Isopods: A Glimpse

• Origin: Vietnam
• Scientific Name: Cubaris sp.
• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Size: Up to 1.2 centimeters
• Rarity: Low/ Medium
• Temperature: 70℉ to 80℉
• Humidity: 70% to 80%
• Favourite Foods: Mango, Carrot

An Overview

Red Panda king isopods are pretty rare when compared to their counterparts. These Asian native isopods are characterized by their impressive colour combinations. They are available in multiple colour options and are ideal for kids-friendly starting pets.

Being from the humid regions of Asia, they have to have a relatively high-humid enclosure. The highlight of these isopods is their fast breeding capabilities. They are ideal to be grown in both glass and plastic enclosures.

Feeding a Red Panda isopod is extremely easy as they eat anything from dried leaves to decaying softwood matter and carrots to mangoes. A moderately humid atmosphere is the best for them, and avoiding exposure to extreme weather conditions is always ideal.

Basic Care

You can use the following instructions and tips to provide the best care to the Red Panda isopods.

• Use a glass vivarium or plastic containers to house Red Panda isopods.

• Keep the temperature of the container within 65 to 85 degrees.

• It is crucial to maintain high humidity inside the enclosure.

• You can keep the ventilation holes to a minimum to avoid humidity loss.

• Avoid keeping the enclosure under direct light.

• Place moss on a part of the enclosure and ensure it always has enough moisture.

• Use dried leaves and softwood parts to feed the isopods.

• Supply suitable calcium sources such as a clacium powder or cuttlebone.

• You can also provide them with protein supplements or sprinkle eggshell powder above the isopod colony.

Red Panda Isopods: Feeding

The Red Panda isopods are primarily detritivores. That is, they like to consume dead and decaying matter. They also consume a wide variety of food items like leaf litter, rotting wood, etc. 

They usually eat pretty voraciously. Being an active group, providing them with enough healthy supplements to maintain the best health is essential. You can use supplements of vegetables, protein, calcium, etc.

One of the common mistakes that Red Panda isopod owners commit is overfeeding them. Overfeeding would be a mistake because of the highly humid conditions inside the enclosure. 

Any food left in high humid conditions will quickly rot and cause mold to grow. This could spoil the balance inside the enclosure and lead to many consequences. So, feeding only enough food that the isopods can finish in a single sitting is always advisable.

Red Panda isopods usually crave calcium food sources. You can use crushed limestone or eggshells to satisfy their calcium needs.

Red Panda Isopods: Appearance and Behaviour

• Red Panda isopods generally grow up to 1.2 cm in length.

• They come in bold colour combinations that create much visual contrast.

• The patterns are generally found in strips. There are other patterns also.

• As vibrant colours are usually not found among them, they cost much less than brighter-coloured isopods like the Rubber Ducky isopod.

• They exhibit a beautiful glow on their body when they are young. As they premature, this glow disappears gradually.

• As they don’t grow into giant worms, they are ideal for terrariums and as small pets.

• They also make great entry-level pets for children with their easy-to-care nature and small physique.

Red Panda Isopods: Habitat

Red Panda isopods prefer an overly humid habitat. So, it would be ideal if you could provide them with a humid atmosphere where little to no moisture loss happens. You can use a quality plastic container the size of a shoe box to keep the Red Panda isopod for the time being.

Once the isopod becomes familiar with the atmospheric conditions, you can shift it to a dedicated enclosure. But when in the container and the enclosure, ensure that the number of air ventilation holes is minimal. Many air holes might lead to a drop in the inside humidity and cause issues for the isopod.

Also, providing a good amount of options for them to burrow deep is preferable. They are observed to be good burrowers. They try to retain their body moisture by burrowing and taking cover deep. So, while creating an ideal habitat for them, provide enough ground cover for them to burrow deep.

An important thing to remember is that the high humidity inside the enclosure would often invite pests. So, adding some springtails into the enclosure is advisable to prevent pests. Springtails are also great at avoiding mold. 

The Red Panda isopods exhibit excellent health and breed pretty quickly if you maintain a moderate temperature between 70 to 80 Fahrenheit.

Red Panda Isopods: Substrate Mix

Choosing the right substrate mix is essential to maintain a proper habitat for the Red Panda isopods. Being humidity-loving creatures, the substrate mix needs to be supportive of that. 

A substrate mix with good water retention capabilities would be ideal for maintaining high humidity inside a Red Panda enclosure. As detritivores, they would find it helpful to have some leaf litter and softwood barks in the substrate mix.

While arranging the substrate mix inside the enclosure, add it in enough depth. As mentioned before, Red Panda isopods prefer to dig extremely deep for moisture control. So, the enclosure should have enough substrate mix to support that. 

Red Panda isopods also like to have as many hiding spots as possible. So, you can add items like coconut halves, cork bark, lotus pods, etc., in the substrate mix for hiding. Earthworm castings are another addition that you can consider for the substrate mix for extra nutritional qualities. 

Experts recommend providing a coco coir layer at the very bottom before laying the substrate mix. At the top of the substrate, you can add a thick layer of leaf litter and softwood barks at the top of the substrate. It is generally observed that the deep burrowing of Red Panda isopods replenishes the substrate mix with all the essential nutrients.