Allpet Roaches

I suggest no panic.

There is an article, called Terrestrial Isopods, in the Sept. 2004 Invertebrates-Magazine (pages 9-12) about keeping isopods as pets in the United States. The orange form of Porcellio scaber is featured (2004 cover posted here), but the article also discusses the 'calico' form of the same species, white micropods, a few normal species and the iridovirus. The article conclusion: "Terrestrial Isopods have grown common as 'cleanup crew' and are gaining popularity as feeders for certain animals. However, unless someone finds a large species or can figure out how to grow them to 2" (even 1" would be great), they'll never become a popular pet. Still, there are some interesting species and the orange and blue forms are attractive." The same article was greatly expanded and added to for the isopod section in the 2011 book, Invertebrates for Exhibition. The same person wrote the 2004 article, the 2011 I4E chapter, the small paperback Isopods in Captivity early 2013, and the large Isopod hardcover book published late 2013.

Someone in the USA wrote a book about the isopod hobby 5 years ago. There is evidence the isopod hobby started in the late 1990's in the United States with a hobbyist who isolated orange Porcellio from Spain and offered them for terrarium keepers regularly in the US arthropod hobby circuit, but there really was no hobby before the 2013 Isopods in Captivity book.

They are good food for the large African assassins, certain turtles, and large monitors.

Glad there are resources these days.

Isopods are very different from roaches because an adult continues to grow after sexual maturity; there is no ultimate molt.

Have you tried offering ootheca shells to isopods and other things to see what might chew on them?

No, it is not sexed linked in this stock. The calico stock has very few gray individuals and never a solid gray one. Sometimes it throws clears and yellows.

You should try the 1997 calico stock for unique variability. The lottery ticket is the old 1997 orange stock crossed with the 2012 dalmatian stock though I have no idea if the gray are an off product of the two or were thrown in with them?

I used it as a substrate a long time ago and had no problems EXCEPT it stuck to the exoskeletons and made them look dirty.

I have not seen the E. javanica die off, but getting them to produce young in quantity is difficult, if even possible, at room temperature.

Fantastic work and photos!

Very neat, where were the original specimens collected? Any interesting habitat info?

Stagnant humidity will result in somewhat slow die-off. It is a very hardy species so I'm not sure what your problem could be.

They hatch when they are warmed up, usually about three weeks but faster or slower depending on the age of the ootheca and the specific "warm" and "cold." Just makes sure you have some fruit fly cultures thriving and a good cage design. On that note that caging and misting may be a little different in the spring than winter because the moisture in the air is higher (in spring).