Isopods - Dead Leaves Requirement?

[Myrmicinae]

Do isopods require leaf litter to be cultured successfully, or can other forms of nutrition be substituted?

Thanks in advance!

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! Isopods feed on decaying vegetable or animal matter. Safest thing to use in a vivarium environment is leaf litter . They will also consume veggies, veggie fish flakes, or even mushrooms. Problem with the those is that they also could attract mites .

[Myrmicinae]

Hello and welcome to FF! Isopods feed on decaying vegetable or animal matter. Safest thing to use in a vivarium environment is leaf litter . They will also consume veggies, veggie fish flakes, or even mushrooms. Problem with the those is that they also could attract mites .

Thanks! The reason I ask is it's difficult to get ahold of pesticide-free leaf litter here in CO. We don't really have any natural deciduous forests.

[Mentat]

Josh Frogs sells leaf litter online .

[Ash]

Isopods do not require leaf litter to be cultured. however as Carlos mentioned they do require decaying plant material for nutrition. There are complex microbiological happening occurring at several levels. With the lack of leaf litter you may use other available substrate composed of dead plant material as well as simply feeding the isopods a range of healthy nutrition to them in the form of clean (hopefully organic) vegetable matter that they will consume at various stages of decay. Bacterial action of microorganisms in the substrate material will help in breaking down cellulose in the plant material in substrate and some isopods can additionally gain nutrition from these microbes. To put it simply a varied diet consisting of dead and decaying plant material is needed and leaf litter can be part of this or you may add in plant matter that will be eaten as it is broken down.

[Myrmicinae]

So they could subsist off of say decayed spinach leaves, as long as a bit of variety is added occasionally?

[Ash]

I woulkd caution against allowing them to subsist on spinach leaves as the oxalates in spinach and beet or sweet potato will bind calcium that isopods need. In general they may be fed a varied diet consisting of vegetable matter like carrots and cabbage, mine are fond of zucchini The substrate should contain food for them in the form of dead material and to populate and reproduce they need optimal nutrition that you provided. The bacteria in the food as it decays will along with other microbes perform a beneficial function and help the isopods to digest and assimilate tannins or other toxic compounds. If you can get your hands on some clean maple leaves all the better but not necessary if you provide additional nutrients in the form of supplemental veggies and keep the substrate at the right conditions for sustaining their life..

[Myrmicinae]

When you say the substrate should contain dead material, what would you recommend for this?

[Ash]

Oh I just mean whatever substrate you use, such as eco earth/soil should also have some dead material. woody or pulpy in nature. In nature you will find isopods under dead rotting wood or logs, fenceposts and around compost so a piece of dead wood, some bark, twigs or even cardboard will serve as food (do not use cedar), With enough dead material in the substrate they "Subsist" The food that was live vegetation and still in process of decay will give superior nutrition as a supplement. I make a substrate from fir bark, sphagnum moss, fern fibers, crushed charcoal and leaf litter

[Myrmicinae]

That makes sense. I appreciate your help!