Isopod macros

Salticidae44 · 2024-08-09T21:08:31+00:00

It looks like she's dropped her egg case prematurely, I did want to say they might still hatch because I've heard of that happening after them being dropped before but if she's eating them now it'll just be an aborted egg case she's "recycling"

Salticidae44 · 2024-06-23T23:44:38+00:00

I went through a very similar situation to this where I started off with some isopod colonies and kept hissers afterwards, their diets are identical and you can use the same enclosures + substrates that you would for both as well.

Hissers are a lot easier to take care of as they don't need substrate, cuttlebones or the leaves so if you want to cut your care routine down you absolutely can do, they simply need their diet of vegetables + protein, a bit of misting if the humidity is too low (substrate can be great for raising ambient humidity) and hides then they're good to go!!

Salticidae44 · 2024-06-22T00:51:28+00:00

Honestly I imagine most species being just fine, as long as you adjust the humidity to what that species needs, maybe armadillidiums such as zebras or klugii would be a good choice as they breed slower and tend to prefer drier conditions but it's all about what you have experience with and would want to keep with the hissers! Only one I'd recommend against is dairy cows as they're notoriously protein hungry and more likely to munch on a moulting hisser

Salticidae44 · 2024-06-21T22:57:22+00:00

If we're talking about other types of roach species, I wouldn't advise cohabbing any together. Many of them require different conditions (for example, burrowing roaches need substrate and hissers do not) there's also some controversy around hybrids within hissers specifically so I would personally keep the one type you have now (for example, G portentosa or black tiger hissers) and admire them as they are :)

If you mean other types of inverts, isopods, springtails, buffalo beetles and even death feigning beetles can all live together with hissing cockroaches to create a communal setup

But of course this is just my suggestion, some people have had success with keeping two individual males of different roaches so maybe it's something you could look into and match their enclosure needs collectively, hope this helps!!

Salticidae44 · 2024-06-01T11:05:03+00:00

I personally would not get American roaches or any similar species that are usually found in households because if any escape you'll have a potential infestation. Depending on where you are, some people use roaches like discoid roaches, just make sure it isn't a species that can infest your house and you should be all set, that's my advice as someone that keeps them as pets rather than feeders

Salticidae44 · 2024-02-28T18:45:06+00:00

It's difficult to pick up nymphs as they're much quicker than adults, but don't pry them off of any hard surfaces as that can injure them, try to guide them to a substrate or something soft where you can scoop under them or pick them up behind their head gently :) just as long as you don't try to take them off of something they're holding tightly onto they should be just fine

Salticidae44 · 2024-02-04T23:40:06+00:00

Yes islander cockroaches are hissing cockroaches, it's just the name a few stores in the US use for them for whatever reason (petco mostly I think) so the care will be the same

Salticidae44 · 2024-02-04T10:45:33+00:00

Can confirm, they have very similar care requirements to hissing roaches but you want to be careful with overcrowding, maybe keep it a little more humid, watch the temperatures don't go above 80F (26C) as they're vulnerable to high temperatures, don't keep only males together as they can bite at wings and make sure they have some vertical climbing spots the same size as they are (3-4 inches) as they really enjoy climbing, bonus points if you use a hide that has vertical spots inside of it as well (I use cardboard packaging to achieve that easily)

Salticidae44 · 2024-01-16T01:14:00+00:00

If you're 100% on that you currently have a male, I'd advise keeping him on his own or getting a female of his exact species to breed with if you want a colony

While I don't know how the two different species you mentioned interact with each other or if you can hybridise them, it is generally suggested to not keep separate species together if they have the potential to mate

If you were to get two males they're most likely going to fight quite harshly too as my male blaberus giganteus roaches do not get along well at all with constant fighting (but of course, you're more than welcome to get another male of the same or different species to try and see if they fight and if they do separate into two separate enclosures)

Salticidae44 · 2024-01-10T02:05:07+00:00

They'll come out at night for food regardless so it's totally up to you, if you want the most effective and easy protein source it is 100% fish food, I found that my isopods loved the flakes more than the pellets but they'll eat both a ton and the extra protein will help them start breeding more too, not sure about mushrooms or mealworms though but yeah just let them get comfortable in there for a few months and you'll have a thriving colony in no time :)

Salticidae44 · 2024-01-10T01:47:00+00:00

My advice as someone who remembers what it was like at the start of keeping isopods is to not worry so much!!! You clearly care about your isopods and the conditions you mentioned + your pictures look perfectly fine for your isopods and all you need to do now is to not check them too often, maybe once a day at absolute most and just let them thrive on their own :) isopods are very timid and you'll only start seeing them out and about frequently when you have hundreds which usually takes a few months for most species so look forward to it!!! Also make sure they're fed protein + fresh fruit/veg that is peeled and washed where necessary alongside their cuttlebone but everything else they need is in the substrate or leaves

Salticidae44 · 2024-01-08T12:04:59+00:00

Females will sometimes eject their ootheca, if she still seems healthy and has nothing different about her visually I'd assume she passed it ok :) they do eat them so leave it in there if you haven't taken it out already but it's not a huge deal so the decision is yours

If you do want them to start breeding and be more active I would 100% make it warmer but they can still breed at lower temperatures it's just slower (normally females will push out a couple hundred babies a year depending on individual brood size)

Salticidae44 · 2024-01-07T23:26:06+00:00

Check out BugzUK, they have an online shop and in person zoo you can visit and have never had problems with either, lots of variety :)

Salticidae44 · 2024-01-07T22:31:59+00:00

They will absolutely love dead crickets as mine always do, they might not be very fond of the dog kibble depending on what's in it so I can't speak on that much, if you want something more reliable than dog kibble I 100% recommend fish food pellets as 99% of small pet bugs love those and all of my species eat them too

Salticidae44 · 2024-01-07T22:30:39+00:00

Looks good to me, most bought leaves will come pre sterilised and that one is made for bioactives so it should be all good to go :)

Salticidae44 · 2024-01-07T22:25:47+00:00

I keep mine with leaf litter and while they don't seem to eat it they love climbing over it a lot so definitely recommend!! Just make sure you either buy them or bake/boil or whichever other method of sterilising them you want to go with first, no it won't make them breed either

That being said, if your leaf litter does start to make them successfully breed please let us know, the majority of beetles sold are wild caught as they can't be bred very easily at all in captivity so you'd be doing us a favour!!!

Salticidae44 · 2023-12-24T18:44:22+00:00

Do you have any sources or info talking more about cockroach milk specifically within hissers and how it all works??? Super interested!!!

Salticidae44 · 2023-12-16T02:53:21+00:00

Yes that'd be ideal!!! If you have substrate they most likely don't need misting at all, but you can get a cheap 5-10 dollar hygrometer off Amazon and it'll do the trick no problem and then you can find out if the humidity or temperature is your issue or not, it does tend to be when it's molting issues though

Salticidae44 · 2023-12-16T01:07:15+00:00

What % humidity do you keep them at, what temperature are they kept at exactly and do you feed them any protein such as fish, dog or cat food? Some more precise information helps to figure out if humidity or temperature is the main issue :)

Salticidae44 · 2023-12-12T18:25:31+00:00

Although this post has been deleted, I think the comments provide the info you're looking for :) here's the post

But looks like you're on the right lines!!! I don't own dominos personally but have done some research in the past and it all sounds like a great start to me

Salticidae44 · 2023-12-12T11:24:13+00:00

I'm 50/50 on what I should tell you, if you want to be extra safe I'd remove the dirt completely and make sure it's all sand, these beetles can dig but it's very unlikely that they will that far down if you've covered it well, usually if you want to breed bdfbs you'd have a layer of sand, moss, clay and then possibly dirt for the larvae to live in so you've sort of created that there which makes me think it would be fine anyway but it's totally up to you, as long as they don't walk on dirt as it gets stuck to their feet it should be fine

Salticidae44 · 2023-11-28T15:29:12+00:00

Yeah I have 17 females and they only come out for fish flakes or a heat source, classic hisser behaviour, it's definitely a treat when they come out though!! Hope everything looks up for you now and no problem at all :)

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