I like how this video is the complete opposite of clickbate. Most people would have just posted "You won't believe these insane creepy bugs!" And I wouldn't give two craps, but this tells me what the video is about and how many of them they are to let me get exited about the video and say to myself "Hell yeah I want to meet 18 types of Isopods! Why didn't I know I wanted this before!"
So I always loved these things, but never knew the weren't called roly poly's by everyone. PewDiePie just made me look it up and I can't believe how cool it is that I grew up not knowing just how much cooler these guys were than I even realized
When you're not all that interested in all those ground crawlies, you just call all of them "bugs" or "insects". Once I started getting into learning about the small invertebrates of the world, I was really surprised to find out that Isopods are actually crustaceans!
He's selectively breeding isopods. That's so awesome. No sarcasm. I thought about it for a long time. The high yellow looks incredible. So glad somebody is doing this so I can see the result. Top exotic pets in 2024!
I think I've finally identified my Isopods I caught in my backyard thanks to this video, I'm 90% sure they're skirted Isopods. Thanks so much, been trying to find out what they were since I found them.
Katherine Venes Thank you Katherine! My understanding is that Australia has feral populations of many species that have spread around the world, like Porcellio scaber and Armadillidium vulgare, but I know nothing about Australian native slaters, or even if they exist...
Aquarimax there are some interesting Aussie species, but hardly anyone knows of them and many may be undescribed. Theres a white spikey looking one in western Australia, and brown broad-plated ones, and some black pill bugs i know of so far, ....
I have been obsessed with them since I was a kid. Got three to go In will my millipedes. I have been so amazed by the population growth. They were a good choice of pet for me
Aquarimax it was a bit vague to say the least. It was from a reptile show. The guy was German and it was very loud but he said tropical spotted. They are blue/grey with spots and super cute. They are in with my rainbows. I plan to move some in with my bumblebees soon too. I really want some of the giant ones you have they are so cute!! Really great video.
pinkyysk Thank you! They sound interesting....I would love to see a pic or video of them. A word to the wise-some people have reported that Isopods will sometimes attack recently molted millipedes. I keep a few species of millipedes myself, but I have opted to keep them separate for that reason. That said, I know some people who have successfully kept them together.
I've got a few of my own, in a small terrarium. Just collect them intermittently from under rocks. Given that they leave behind no waste whatsoever (not urinating and consuming their own feces) they make ideal low-maintenance pets!
My 5 yr daughter has been obsessed with them since 3. Before that it was spiders, which terrified my husband every time he found one she brought in the house. He was glad she got through that phase when she found some pill bugs (roly polies) She carries them around and then I make her release it "to go home" when outside time is done.
Sara Kuhn A lovely obsession to have! And more acceptable than spiders to many. 🤣 I love how you are teaching her to respect them and let them ‘go home’ when she is done. 👍
When I was e youngster living on Vancouver Island, we caught and released many pillbugs. Our pill bugs there were a glossy gray slate colour, no other colours that we could see. We also had Millipedes, nowhere as large as you count, but they were pretty cool to have as well.
Kerry Pitt We used to be (almost) neighbors then. I used to live in the a Seattle area as a child, and would visit Whidbey Island. There are some interesting inverts in the area...isopods and millipedes as you mentioned...and some very large snails...
be more chill Some of my earliest memories of invertebrates were of finding roly polices on my great-grandmother’s porch. At the time, I called them ‘potato bugs’. 😊👍
taking real isopod hours to a whole new level. also, what species do you think is gonna be best suited if you were to keep them with gargoyle geckos (nearly identical to cresties in requirements and care and the like) I've got a juvenile, and square foot of floor space, and the substrate (eco earth) is about 1.5/2 inches deep with moss and ferns on the surface. A constant food source that would also clean but not get completely eaten by my gecko would be great :). Also you should try get a giant isopod :p
Roshan Tayab 🤣 Thank you! I keep dwarf Isopods with my cresties, to ensure they do not get eaten and are able to take care of cleanup. If you would like to try a species with your gargoyle gecko that might serve as a food source and a cleanup crew, I would suggest powder blues, Porcellionides pruinosus. They breed quickly and are fast runners. Your gecko would probably catch an occasional snack, but they would have a shot at breeding quickly enough to make up for it. 👍
Are powder orange pretty much the same as powder blue but a different color morph? I got some today for that reason^ cleaning and occasional snack for my geckos.
Enjoyed this little overview of isopods. I had been looking at getting some isopods over the summer and kind of put it on the backburner. Thinking it is time to start that colony!
USNVA11 There is a public aquarium not too far away from my house that has some of the giant marine species, but yes...it would be challenging to keep those in a home aquarium. 😊👍
I love Isopods, can't wait to get my paludarium set up and have these little critters roaming around, being cute and keeping my paludarium in good health :D
Δvalon They will be a great addition! Some species do like to leap into water and drown themselves, so be sure to get a species with a little more sense. 👍
I know how you feel...I would love to be able to stop raising crickets in favor of the much easier feeder roaches, but my wife has asked that I avoid roaches of any kind.
Moofy Giant Good question-Giant saltwater isopods would be somewhat difficult to obtain and keep. I have kept (small) saltwater and freshwater aquatic isopods in the past though.
amazing video! im so happy i stumbled into it. i've always been fascinated with isopods as a kid and kept some in dirt filled buckets to watch. i had no idea there's so many species, especially colourful ones! thanks for this awesome video! definitely subscribing!
What a fantastic collection Russ, the Zebras are my favourites but those dalmations are really special. This year I am going to renovate a building in my yard, and my husband says I can keep my “things” in it, it will have power and water, so watch this space! Love your videos, thanks for all your hard work.
I love how you managed to create a new color morph with the dalmations. That was pretty cool to see. I'm tempted to try it myself once my colonies are thriving and strong lol.
kiapolo2002 Thank you! I was not the first to create that morph, although I did re-create it myself. It was fun, and I do recommend trying it for the experience. I am have Porcellio laevis ‘Dairy Cow’ and am just about to get P. laevis ‘Orange’, so I am thinking about repeating the experiment with that species, since they are larger, breed faster, and have a much more consistent pattern than P. scaber ‘Dalmatian’ does. 😊👍
Anthony Luison True, Europe has some amazing Isopods. My largest species is originally from Spain, although bred here in the US. In fact, if you’re go back far enough, I believe every species I keep is either tropical, or from Europe originally, though some have been feral in North America for hundreds of years.
This is a good video to re-watch occasionally, as I learn more about isopods. The first time I watched this video, it was like being blindfolded and listening to someone speak in an alien language. I couldn't follow the video and lost interest in trying to pay attention. Now that I am more familiar with isopods, I'm ready to pay closer attention and learn about unique isopods. I will likely randomly come back to watch this video several times over the next 12 months.
Good question! I make sure to sanitize the substrate, leaves and wood in the oven at about 200 degrees for 30 minutes or more. When I start colonies with wild-caught isopods, I also let the culture mature for a while before using the isopods in vivariums...that way, if anything unwanted were to show up, I could deal with it before it had a chance to spread.
NATES GECKOS Great question Nate! I recommend LECA or feather-lite, both are lightweight, porous, and provide lots of surface area. Marbles are much heavier and do not provide near as much surface area for microfauna. My video on Bioactive substrate explains a bit more about the drainage layer: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qwTerA83bJE.html
That grey peach pillbug was a shiny type Pokemon (ps) I've loved pillbugs since before I can remember, always gave me a smile and kept me outdoors just watching them do their little pillbug thing
Aquarimax awesome! insects creep a lot of people out but I've never had irrational fears and I enjoy the existence of all different species of critters. they are all vital parts of our wonderful ecosystem
Social Experiment Thank you! A good resource for purchasing isopods is the Isopod classifieds Facebook group. They have many sellers outside the US, you may find some near you. 👍 Good luck!
Isopods are really incredibles... Theses beauty of crustacean must be respected/loved and havind them like pet/invert colony... they're perjudicial and can be many way for use
@@Aquarimax I LOVE your channel! I'm excited to start keeping isopods as classroom pets in my elementary science classroom. I've been binge-ing your videos to learn as much as I can.
This video was awesome!!! When I kid and with my son I have captured tons of thease I was always curious as to why all the ones I caught as a kid were pill bugs and the ones we caught here were not balling up, I had no idea there was so many species and or sub species!!! Me and my kids will definitely be watching more!
True living fossils. I grew up in NYC and the species I remember the best would bend its body into a ball if you touched it. We loved them as kids, probably more so because of The Flintstones. An episode featured Fred turning one into a ball so he could play ping pong. Oddly, I can't recall what we called them. Now I live in the UK. While they have similar species, none I've seen here turn into a ball. They're referred to as woodlice in the UK.
Duncan Disorderly Ah, the species you recall was likely Armadillidium vulgare, the most common species in the US that can roll up into a ball. I’m glad you never attempted to play ping pong with the, as Fred did...🤣👍
Aquarimax Pets. LMAO! Nah! We weren't that cruel and we liked them. Anyway, they were only good as ping pong balls in The Flintstones because they were bigger. So, we never attempted it. Golf... on the other hand... =))
