# New Isopod Reproduction Findings...



## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

So, I've been breeding several different types of terrestrial isopods for over a year now (oh, I know, whoopdee doo!) and I've been keeping fairly detailed notes. I've tried this method 3 times now, and each time has yielded the same result--an isopod boom.

What might this "method" be?

Dry outs! In each of 3 different isopod species I've tried this with, I've observed an obvious boom. I'll dry out the culture for about 2 weeks (though be sure that there is SOME moisture somewhere), and then mist it thoroughly. I tend to notice a large increase in neonates before I go to spray. This is probably a natural adaptative strategy; when things start to dry out, the isopods reproduce en mass, allocating for the many deaths that will occur due to dessication. Remember, isopods respire through gills. 

The drying out occurs over about a month. I usually mist once a week or so. What I did was I misted fairly heavily for 3 straight weeks, raising the humidity much higher than it normally is. I then cut off all moisture until I could feel that the top half of the substrate was relatively dry (none stuck to my finger). I then left the cultures like this for two weeks, and came back and misted again. 

These times varied slightly from culture to culture. For instance, I have a culture of small, slender, swift isopods that weren't swarming with neonates until 3 weeks of being dry. I believe that these times are all temperature dependant. You must keep in mind that a) they breathe through gills and need moisture to respire and b) they cannot molt properly without highish humidity (species dependant). You may end up with 100's of little isopods running around in your culture, but if you don't mist soon enough, they won't be able to molt and they'll die. 

Hopefully this made some sense and will open up some insightful discussion from others who have experiences similar or converse results.


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## Ryan (Feb 18, 2004)

Bump...although im paranoid to try...lol


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## Ben_C (Jun 25, 2004)

Which 3 species are you working with?
~B


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