Isopod food is as varied as it is weird.
As Nature’s great recyclers, it’s their job to consume any and all plant/animal waste.
Fallen leaves, rotting wood, leftover sandwich crusts – anything is fair game.
If not for their diverse (and peculiar) appetite for decaying organic matter, the nutrient cycle would break down and our wonderful plant world wouldn’t grow.
Thankfully, isopods perform the same function in a bioactive terrarium ecosystem. Which is what makes them such a great cleanup crew.
So, how do we best keep them fed and healthy – either in an isolated culture or vivarium ecosystem – and what supplemental foods do they like?
Let’s find out.
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What Are the Best Isopod Foods?
Generally speaking, the best
Of course, they’ll all have their slight preferences and differences in appetite, but a one-size fits all approach does work by and large.
The Staple Diet
In an
Conveniently for us, these are typically what we’d use as substrate and hardscape in a terrarium anyway.
I love it when a plan comes together!
Seemingly, any leaf litter will do. It’s worth sterilizing any that you collect yourself (30 mins at 200°F is the usual recommendation), or you can buy it in ready to go
This will need topping up over time. You’ll see when the leaves have literally been nibbled into stalks…
On the wood front, you’re looking for softwoods. Cork bark is the most common choice for isopods for various reasons (though it’s technically a bark), but you can also use the likes of Cholla Wood.
👉 I’d recommend checking out EZBotanicals on Etsy for all of your leaf litter and softwood needs. There’s a huge amount of variety on offer, so your isopods will thank you for it!
Finally, most bioactive substrates are going to contain some form of organic compost. It’s designed mostly for plants, but you bet your isopods are going to love it too. See my guide to isopod substrate for a deep dive into this.
In the classic ABG mix, that would be the peat moss component, but I prefer to use (the more renewable) earthworm castings. It’s literally the waste of worms, you can’t get closer to nature than that…
Plant-based Isopod Food Recipes
Just like us, isopods do better with a balanced diet.
Not only do they simply enjoy a variety of foods (variety is the spice of life, after all) but it also tends to lead to faster breeding and healthier populations.
So, it really is worth supplementing their diets where possible.
In the wild, isopods would naturally consume any vegetables or fruit that they encounter on the ground. Anything goes, right? That means they’ll readily eat just about any that we eat too.
I’ve heard keepers using, carrots, sweet potato, watermelon, zuchini, cucumber, apple… The list goes on.
You’ve probably already washed or peeled anything from the chopping board, but it’s worth doing to get rid of any potential pesticides.
Personally, I’d avoid fruit too. The high moisture and sugar content tends to lead to mold and sometimes unwanted pests (e.g. fruit flys or fungus gnats).
For the same reason you’ll want to provide supplementary food little and often. Any uneaten food is just a potential problem.
Dedicated
Protein for Isopods – Needs and Sources
As part of their natural diets, isopods will also be devouring animal carcasses.
Probably more likely beetles and insects than buffalo, but you get the idea.
So, naturally we need to be able to provide the same in a cultured environment. It wouldn’t make up the bulk of their diet in nature – so we don’t need to provide protein in every meal – but it helps to have a somewhat consistent source.
Good protein source options:
- Fish food – Dried fish flakes or pellets are super easy to source and store, so it’s worth having some on hand. Add a few at a time and watch them go nuts. You’ll want a premium blend with natural protein sources rather than generic stuff full of filler. This brand on Etsy has a wide range of “gourmet blends.”
- Dried shrimp and fish – Whole animal sources like this provide a huge chunk of protein and a wide variety of minerals. Plus, dried foods have the advantage of holding up better against mold in humid enclosures. The shop above sells various packs of dried fish, like this freeze dried red shrimp.
- Yeast – Brewers yeast is another convenient food that you can easily stock up on. It’s full of protein and contains lots of vitamins and minerals. Not sure if the latter are good for isopods, but they are for us!
Isopod Food Discount Bundle Pack (Buy 4 Get 1 Free) The Isopod Bundle Pack contains all 5 of the desired supplements your isopods need to help build healthy and vibrant colonies.
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- Bee Nectar Pod Protector © (RAW American Bee Pollen)
- Out The A** Insect Frass © (100% Bio-Active Frass)
- Pea Pods For Isopods © (Greens + Fiber + Proteins)
- Pod Beast Yeast Feast © (Golden Nutritional Flakes)
- The Real Deal Crab Meal © (100% American Crustacean Meal)
- Vivarium animal waste – In a bioactive vivarium, the waste of any pet (e.g. snakes, lizards or frogs) makes an effective, free and renewable food source. Just note, a large pet will need a lot of isopods to effectively manage it… and they may get eaten themselves.
With protein, a little bit every week or so should do it. Only enough that they can completely consume in one sitting, as meat and the like will quickly spoil… and stink.
How to Give Isopods Calcium
Isopods might not have pearly white teeth (or backbones for that matter), but they do have an exoskeleton that needs some support from calcium.
This is one requirement that does seem to differ a fair bit between species.
With soft-shelled varieties like Porcellionides pruinosus not needing as much as the larger hard-shelled varieties like the Dairy Cow Isopods.
Regardless, calcium supplementation is still one of the more minor concerns, and it’s easily addressed.
The easiest and most readily available calcium source is going to be egg shells.
Crush em up, and add a little pile to the enclosure every now and again. They might not seem appetizing but you’d be surprised!
Alternatively, people also use cuttlebone (not actually a bone, but the internal shell of a cuttlefish – who knew?) which can be bought from most pet stores. Birds like it I think?
Finally, shrimp and other crustaceans are a reasonable source of calcium too. So you might find that’s enough if you’re using shrimp as a regular protein source (shell on ideally).
Isopod Food for Sale
When it comes to dedicated
Each has their own unique formulation, but if you stick with one from the experts then you know it’s been tried and tested with a variety of species. That’s why I recommend the one from our partners, Rubber Ducky Isopods.
Isopod & Springtail Breeding Super-Food This handmade Isopod Super-Food was created to provide optimum nutrition & promote quality reproduction for all of your isopod & springtail needs.
From our partners, Rubber Ducky Isopods - Shipping included.
Over to You
What’s your favorite
Do you have your own unique
Share it with us in the comments!
Next, why not check out our complete guide: What Are Isopods?
These were really helpful and my pet giant isopod is living peacefully without lacking any nutrition.
This really helped with my isopods. Thanks!