Sunset Isopods (Troglodillo sp.)

The name earns itself the moment you look: the colour on Troglodillo sp. 'Sunset' grades across a single animal the way the sky does at dusk. A bright-to-muted orange body warms into a yellow-to-orange face at one end and deepens to dark brown toward the rear, so the shift from glow to shadow plays out along one small woodlouse. The orange carries its own hues from specimen to specimen, and lifts most against a dark substrate under gentle, indirect light.

This is a striking Thai species, and one that has moved around a bit on paper. It was known in the hobby as the "Sunset Queen" and sat under Cubaris for a while before the genus was revised, so you will now find it as Troglodillo. It shares the appealing rounded face of the Rubber Ducky, though the two are built differently: Troglodillo are cave-adapted and somewhat flat-bodied, with reduced conglobation, so rather than rolling into a tight ball they wedge into crevices and cover. Adults reach a medium 12 to 20 mm. It sits alongside its genus-mate the Soil Isopods, and warm-toned display species like the Amber Firefly.

Keep the Sunset as you would a premium Cubaris. It is a tropical cave and soil relative, so it wants steady warmth of around 22 to 26°C, held away from radiators, direct sun and sharp swings, since a cave animal is used to stable conditions. Run a humidity gradient rather than a wet box: keep one end damp at roughly 75 to 85% with sphagnum and leaf litter, and let the far end sit drier so the colony can choose. Give it good cross-ventilation over the top to keep the air moving, and aim for moist, never waterlogged. Overwatering is the common way to lose a cave species, so mist to top up rather than to soak.

Underneath, build a deep substrate they can burrow into and that holds humidity at the lower levels, six to ten centimetres of organic topsoil, rotted hardwood and flake soil with plenty of crushed limestone worked through. The limestone matters twice over, mimicking their calcium-rich cave home and feeding firm, clean moults, so I leave cuttlebone or a piece of limestone in permanently as well. Cap it with a generous layer of hardwood leaf litter, magnolia leaf litter lasts especially well, and add cork bark, flat stones and crevices for cover. Plenty of hiding places is what makes them feel secure enough to feed and breed.

Feeding is straightforward. Leaf litter and rotting white wood are the always-available base, topped up with soft veg such as sweet potato, courgette and squash once or twice a week, lifted out within a day or two before it moulds. Offer a little protein a couple of times a week too, fish flake, dried shrimp or an isopod blend, which supports breeding and takes the edge off any cannibalism, and keep calcium freely on offer. Go easy on portions, since excess food turns to mould fast in the humid end.

Breeding is steady rather than quick. Females carry their young in a brood pouch and release fully formed miniatures, and a settled group given warmth, calcium and cover builds into a self-sustaining colony over time, the warm orange deepening as the youngsters mature through their moults. The early settling period can feel quiet, so give them minimal disturbance and let them establish. Pair the tub with a springtail culture to handle mould and microbial growth at a scale the isopods cannot, which is worth doing in these humid conditions and around protein food.

Every order is captive-bred, boxed double-walled around a ventilated tub of damp sphagnum and posted Monday to Thursday by tracked next-day Royal Mail, with a live-arrival guarantee and a 20% overcount as standard.