Baby Woodlice!!

Miss Lily

Miss Lily

Chameleon Enthusiast
Whooppee!!! Just found some tiny baby woodlice in one of my tubs! :eek: Soooo excited, lol! :D

Baby.jpg


Babies1.jpg
 
Yes, these are isopods. We have these which are known as woodlice in the UK, and we also have Roly Polies (Pill Bugs) that roll up. I chose to breed the normal woodlice rather than roly polies as Monty prefers them.
 
Thats great news! I remember you asking about breeding these for Monty. Is it difficult? What do you feed them? I ask as Im considering using these as an alternative feeder for babies due to the small size of them and the calcium content. Baby crix and flies must get boring after 3-4 months of eating them day in day out! lol
 
Yes, I think it is poo! The babies are so tiny! I hadn't expected to see any just yet, but from what I have researched it is right in the breeding season at the moment! I think I chose a good time to start my culture! Only thing is, I have read that it can take up to 15 months for the babies to become adults! :eek: Monty has a while to wait yet, lol!
 
Miss Lily said:
They are actually crustaceans rather than insects and have a good calcium content. Here's a link to sandrachameleon's blog about them - it's easier to link than remember it all, lol! https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/196-terrestrial-isopods-porcellio-pillbugs-wood-sow-rollie-pollie.html
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But of course sandra has a blog on them! Lol another interesting.one at that. I may have to give breeding them a shot. How long did it take for babies to start appearing?
 
Sorry, if I wasnt being lazy I would have clicked the link you provided before asking too questions as all the info I need is right there. Thanks Miss Lily. :D
 
Benton1576 said:
Thats great news! I remember you asking about breeding these for Monty. Is it difficult? What do you feed them? I ask as Im considering using these as an alternative feeder for babies due to the small size of them and the calcium content. Baby crix and flies must get boring after 3-4 months of eating them day in day out! lol
Click to expand...

I followed the info in sandrachameleon's blog - link attached further up in the thread. It hasn't been difficult no, as it is their breeding season right now and I have a lot of females with brood pouches! I also have a plentiful supply of pansy petals for them to eat too! They also eat mealworm moults and roach moults too!
 
reptilover said:
But of course sandra has a blog on them! Lol another interesting.one at that. I may have to give breeding them a shot. How long did it take for babies to start appearing?
Click to expand...

I can't remember when I started collecting them, but it has taken a couple of months at least. I am careful now to check them before I give Monty a treat - I won't let him eat any females!:D
 
Thanks for your very informative blog Sandra! :D It will be nice to feed him more of them as he loves these more than anything else. Nothing gets his attention quite like a woodlouse, lol! I read that it can take up to 15 months for them to mature.
 
I thought it was a year to maturity, but it could be 15 months. They live up to 5 years. And dont clean out all the poop - they eat it (to get back trace minerals, like copper)
 
Ok, thanks for that tip! I have some cardboard in the tubs and it is covered in poop, so I'l just switch out half to a new piece so they can still have their poopy yumyums! Bleurgh! Some of the poop is bigger than the babies! Any idea how long they stay white for? Sorry for all the questions, but it seems that you are the lady to ask! I find them quite fascinating and love that you can tell males from females! :D
 
Miss Lily said:
Ok, thanks for that tip! I have some cardboard in the tubs and it is covered in poop, so I'l just switch out half to a new piece so they can still have their poopy yumyums! Bleurgh! Some of the poop is bigger than the babies! Any idea how long they stay white for? Sorry for all the questions, but it seems that you are the lady to ask! I find them quite fascinating and love that you can tell males from females! :D
Click to expand...

They dont stay white long. About two weeks I think.
 
Update!

Well, it appears that once they start breeding they are super productive! :eek: I have what seems like hundreds of babies that I try to move into a separate tub from the colony. They are so small that I have to use a cocktail stick (toothpick type thing) to transfer them! Very time consuming but they are already growing and I have seen some signs of shedding taking place too! Monty is going to be sooooo happy in a few months time! :D
 
I wonder if keeping them inside with a constant temp will mean they breed all year round? As they must not breed in the winter due to the weather over here.
 
I don't know! I might try it and see! I will definitely be keeping my tub of babies over winter, but might move them to the porch as it doesn't get so cold out there.
 
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