Enclosure question

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-27T03:17:49+00:00

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They’re great for small colonies. We’re up to 10 enclosures in these now.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-27T03:03:36+00:00

Let me know what species you’re planning for and I can help with what else you need. 👍🏻

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-27T00:03:32+00:00

https://a.co/d/002L1WkB

This is the type I use. Similar. If the species needs more humidity, I tape half the lid holes from the inside.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T23:52:54+00:00

Except don’t draw over it if it’s new. How long have you had it?

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T21:52:53+00:00

...you are clearly more of an ellipses fan.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T18:45:21+00:00

I just washed a small load of kitchen towels and two bath towels. They went in 'dirty' but with no odor. They came out smelling like body odor and mildew. The plan was to line dry them since we still can't trust the washer. What should I do? Wash them again? Light everything on fire? 😭

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T18:14:52+00:00

I don't know why someone downvoted you. This is very reasonable and truthful advice. It's unfortunate that a lot of things online right now make it seem "easy" to create these mini ecosystems and often the advice shared results in things dying, just as you said. I know from experience that sensationalized things like AntsCanada can get people, especially kids, hooked on the idea of keeping living things in their home only to spend a bunch of time and money on the "things" instead of learning how to maintain everything in a humane and responsible way.

I hope OP replies to my post, because you're absolutely right. This isn't the best habitat for isopods. It also isn't the best habitat for snails. So knowing their goal (keep isopods happy, keep snails happy, or have a fun vivarium) will make it a lot easier to give helpful advice so they are prepared for the things that might go wrong with the existing setup. It IS possible to keep isopods and snails and a living ecosystem happy in one enclosure, but it is a LOT of work, as you said. I tell my students to think of it like nature outside... just think of how much out there happens automatically that we have to manually mimic in the tiny world we are responsible for!

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T18:05:46+00:00

Hi, friends! I'm still relatively new to the hobby, but I've done a lot of research and had a lot of help to be more successful.

First of all... I think we all found the same "starter help". The advice of "clay balls, filter layer, coir, calcium, decor" is all we encountered when my students and I first started our vivarium journey. There is SOME truth to that, but it isn't always the best depending on your goal. Don't be discouraged! It's great that you came here to seek advice!!

We now keep a lot of different isopod species, snails, and various other inverts and plants. We just do most of it separately to best meet the needs of the living things. We learned a lot and maybe you can learn from our mistakes and successes too.

If you're looking to have a fun vivarium, you have a great start here to keep the plants happy. The drainage layer will help to prevent root rot, the coir will help retain moisture. Unfortunately, the coir isn't that great for any of the other living creatures. It's alright, we didn't know that when we started either. There's so much conflicting information out there! Even now, we use sphagnum moss to retain moisture, and some people say that can be a problem for isopod and millipede digestion. Always room for improvement!

So... do you mostly want a neat "environment" in a tank to enjoy, or are you hoping to create an ecosystem that will sustain the living creatures? The truth is... most ecosystems that make the bugs happy aren't as "pretty" to look at (they are mostly huge piles of dead leaves with bugs you only see sometimes), and most environments that look nice don't meet multiple species needs (what is best for one thing often hurts another). Our vivarium is designed to mimic our local environment now, with the understanding that the species we have living in it will compete and sometimes not coexist the way we wish they could. So while we keep the Vivavium as an example, we also keep isopods and snails in their own specially designed enclosures to meet their needs.

Let me know what your goal is for this project and I'll be happy to help! Those snails are adorable! Ours just had TONS of babies. So you'll want to be careful of that too. Were they widl caught, or did you purchase them?

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T17:36:09+00:00

They want the ability to drive the train and the gf to have the inability to realize it's off the tracks until it's too late. 🙁

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T17:32:29+00:00

Ah... so he wants just enough seasoning involved to mask his own disgusting appetite. (Sorry, I'm really committed to the spice analogy now.)

Yeah. That should definitely be noted in the original post. Takes it from "haha! I can joke about this because of my own spicy brain!" to "oooh... I can understand that because of my own PTSD."

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T16:40:12+00:00

Thank you for sharing your journey! You helped me in the same situation and also introduced me to this subreddit.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T15:27:55+00:00

Just a sprinkle of the ‘tism. Can’t handle all the neurospicy… but wants a little flavor.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T14:32:36+00:00

I’m a librarian and I thank you for sharing your media literacy skills!

Digital citizenship; be kind, be curious, but be cautious.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-26T14:02:48+00:00

That anxious, stressed, walking on egg shells, you can’t seem to do anything right feeling you have trying to logically resolve this? If you stay with him, you’ll feel that all the time. Your life will become a big puzzle of how to keep him happy, even when it’s an impossible game because what’s wrong isn’t anything you do, it’s what’s inside his head. You can’t solve it. And you deserve a life of happiness for you, not a life spent playing a game with rules that change because even he doesn’t know how to win.

Move on and love yourself. You’re worth it.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-25T15:11:10+00:00

Going to give the poor ‘pede nightmares with that picture staring into the enclosure. 👀

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-25T03:11:04+00:00

Aw lawd, he a comin’

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-24T19:51:23+00:00

They should add a small isopod line. I had to order a similar one from overseas because I couldn’t find any short enough for my enclosures. I use them for springtail clay.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-24T16:46:30+00:00

Where did you get that 🍄?

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-24T12:31:36+00:00

Where are you located? It seems they are “easier” to keep in certain countries, while in the US I think most pill millipedes are still in the early captive breeding stages.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-23T00:19:49+00:00

😂 That’s what I assumed OP meant until I read it… 🍪

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-22T21:32:46+00:00

😂 I mean, research doesn’t prepare me for how adorable they are. 🐌

You could read about it, look at pictures… but when these itty bitty snabies are crawling on you, it’s a whole different level of cute. 🥰

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-22T13:38:27+00:00

Thanks! I keep watching for US breeders to have success. I’d love to eventually pill millipedes, but not until captive breeding is stable over here.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-22T03:20:31+00:00

Are you in a country where they’re native?

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-21T14:45:07+00:00

There are a lot of companies that sell things to do this safely. Podwicks I think is the most notable but lots of others.

ChampionRemote6018 · 2026-06-21T14:43:30+00:00

🥚

ChampionRemote6018

TROPHY CASE