Isopods? Best kind and where to buy.

[cyberlocc]

Hey guys so I am looking for advice for the fastest breeding and best cham loved Isopods (For feeders) and where to buy some thanks .

 

[Theveiled]

I found some (rolly pollys) and have successfully bred them myself. Not positive but I think chams can eat them

 

[cyberlocc]

Yes chams can eat them. But local ones are small, way to small for a cham I was thinking like Giant oranges or something they get like an inch long.

 

[Andee]

There are Giant Canyon isopods, but from what I've heard about them they breed rather slowly, but they I think, are the largest species.

 

[cyberlocc]

There are Giant Canyon isopods, but from what I've heard about them they breed rather slowly, but they I think, are the largest species.

Cool thanks, from what I can find they breed well, just take along time to hit adult hood (They live for 3 years)

 

[Andee]

Ahhh ok, that would make sense as to why it takes a while for babies to appear. They feed on normal isopod stuff so it shouldn't be a problem keeping them... Skirted isopods supposedly have the possibility of getting bigger but Great Canyon Isopods hit larger measurements more regularly. There is a place that sells them that I regularly buy roaches from and such, but I usually only buy from them if I need a small amount. They are expensive.But they have tons of different kinds of invertebrates.

 

[KLowery88]

They don't have the larger ones you're wanting, but they do sell ispods here: http://www.neherpetoculture.com/store

Looks like they sell them here though: http://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Isopods_c15.htm

 

[cyberlocc]

They don't have the larger ones you're wanting, but they do sell ispods here: http://www.neherpetoculture.com/store

Looks like they sell them here though: http://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Isopods_c15.htm

Nice thanks, sadly both those sites are out of stock on the ones I want .

 

[Andee]

http://www.roachcrossing.com/

This was the site I was talking about, not sure if he's out of stock or not.

 

[niels99]

Hey. Im not judging anything written above ill just give my advice.

What are u gonna feed em. If for an adult chameleon. Theyre kind of small. I feed them my two bearded pugmees. I feed em 70% isopod and 30% mini crickets. Ive just started a colony with the ones i found outside my house. You will be looking for the flat ones that do not transform into a ball when u touch them. Since the flat ones breed faster. I put some soil in a big icecream box some apple and potato and about 30-40 isopods. I put some pieces of rotten bark on them en i make little holes in the box. I moist them and let them sit. Thats all. After two months. You will have about 150+ full grown ones. Depends on where you live (+100 other reasons) and like 500+ non adult ones includomg the white spots in the soil. (Babies).

I currently jave 5 boxes. And i have plenty isopods. They dont need the stuff other feeders do need. Like place. Time. Temperature. Food.

 

[Andee]

Great Canyon Isopods grow to be an inch long sometimes a little bit bigger and sometimes a little bit smaller. They are big enough to feed off most of the time.

 

[Lathis]

Great Canyon Isopods grow to be an inch long sometimes a little bit bigger and sometimes a little bit smaller. They are big enough to feed off most of the time.

I agree, GCIs are big enough to feed to most chameleons. I think even veileds would readily take them.

To get them to grow to that size, you do have to separate them into smaller colonies. I keep my GCIs all in one tank and when together, they get to about 1/2" to 3/4" max. They are fast, too, so it's good for hunting and enrichment. They were slow to get started and (very!) expensive for a starter colony, but they are prolific breeders and will eat just about anything.

Keep them in about 4" of top soil (they burrow) with some broken pottery or bark chunks for hiding and mist them really well every day. They will readily eat oranges, bell peppers, acorn squash, any leafy greens, carrots, sweet potato cut thin, and almost any other veggies. I have found they do not prefer most fruits except maybe apples and persimmon.

 

[Lathis]

I had a colony of Spanish orange isopods a few years back - I kept them the exact same way. They were smaller and I felt like they bred a bit slower, too, but the orange was very cool looking.

 

[cyberlocc]

Ya I am with Andee, Giant Canyons get pretty big they got more meat on them then crickets that are longer. They are also great feeders from an enrichment standpoint, I am not looking at them as a staple(or highly offered I should say) but as variety (maybe 10% of the diet, or 5%).

Edit: and with Lathis, 3/4 of an inch is enough to get an adult chams attention I would think right?

The babies are small too, so baby chams would love them as well .

 

[Andee]

I am thinking about starting a colony of them too. Do they need heat at all Lathis?

 

[Lathis]

Ya I am with Andee, Giant Canyons get pretty big they got more meat on them then crickets that are longer. They are also great feeders from an enrichment standpoint, I am not looking at them as a staple(or highly offered I should say) but as variety (maybe 10% of the diet, or 5%).

Edit: and with Lathis, 3/4 of an inch is enough to get an adult chams attention I would think right?

The babies are small too, so baby chams would love them as well .

One of the great things about them is how readily and consistently you have feeders in all sizes.

 

[Lathis]

I am thinking about starting a colony of them too. Do they need heat at all Lathis?

I keep them at room temperature with no issues at all, but they might breed faster with slightly higher temps.

 

[Andee]

ok I might test out a starter colony with a small heat pad or something... but of course I have to save up the money and make a bin for them.

 

[Andee]

So when I get my Isopods I will have them on on a small heat pad on a thermostat because I keep most of my insects in my garage. I will be keeping them like my green banana roaches, which I keep at 82 degrees with lots of moisture but a ventilated top. Though isopods eat mold I would prefer to keep it out of their enclosure because it would get in their intestinal tract and imagine it would be bad for the chameleon?