Meet the Super Cute (and Super Rare) Rubber Ducky Isopod!

These days, the Rubber Ducky Isopod is the darling of the bioactive terrarium world, and for good reason.

I mean, just look at them…

With their cute yellow duck faces and painted tails, they bring so much character (and usefulness to a terrarium).

Only recently discovered in Thailand, the new species – Cubaris sp. Rubber Ducky – was found in limestone cave areas so they have some unique care requirements compared to other isopods.

Find out where to find these beautiful creatures for yourself and how to care for them!

Terrarium Tribe is reader-supported. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission (at no further cost to you). 💜

Part of what makes these critters so rare is that they’ve been quite challenging to breed in captivity. They can take a fair few months to reach maturity, so it can take a while to produce enough for breeders to sell.

These cuties will grow a little bigger than the typical terrarium dwarf isopods, but they should max out around 2cm long so they’re still suitable for most reasonably sized terrariums/culture bins.

They also seem to be quite shy, and there are plenty of worried Redditors asking if their broods are okay because they haven’t seen them much in weeks!

Thankfully, Rubber Ducky Isopods reportedly can live for years with good care. Though, with them only discovered in 2017, that doesn’t give us a lot of lifespan data to work with…

Well, here’s the real question…

While Rubber Ducky Isopods have been hard to find historically, the expert breeders at Rubberduckyisopods.com specialize in them (as you might expect by the name).

Because they’ve been doing this for years, they’re one of the few suppliers that consistently have stock.

So, we’ve teamed up with them to sell them directly on our store – because they take their time to breed, we exclusively sell adults to speed up the process for you!

👉 Shop Rubber Ducky Isopods.

Other Cubaris Isopods for Sale

Interestingly, there’s a wide variety of new Cubaris species being discovered. In fact, the Rubber Ducky Isopod hasn’t even been officially classified yet.

So, if you’re curious here are a few other cool (and less expensive) species you can check out too.

• Cubaris sp. ‘Panda King’
• Cubaris sp. ‘Red Tiger’
• Cubaris sp. ‘Papaya’
• Cubaris sp. ‘Amber’

With Cubaris sp. Rubber Ducky being a relatively new species, people have been experimenting a lot to find the best conditions to care for them.

These orange-faced beasties tend to prefer damper conditions, moderate temperatures of 70-80°F (21-27°C), and higher humidity – which arguably makes them an excellent fit for tropical terrariums.

Though granted, they’re typically kept as an isopod pet rather than a bioactive custodian.

The following recommendations are a curated mix of supplies, foods, and substrates that expert isopod owners and shops have found success with.

Food

Rubber Ducky Isopods reportedly like/need quite a varied diet.

Though out of all the species I’ve owned, these guys never seem to appreciate veggie scraps.

As with all isopod species, decaying wood and leaf litter are their primary source of food, but you’ll still need to supplement their diet with a protein source and, ideally, some limestone (more on that last one later).

👉 Shop organic oak leaf litter on our shop.

For protein, some people like to add dried fish, either whole (small ones like minnows) or in a flake form. It’s worth experimenting to see what they like. Just start small, as you don’t want your terrarium full of rotting food.

👉 Our isopod food concentrate is a complete nutritional supplement and a convenient way to tick all those boxes in one go.

Substrate

Substrate recommendations mostly fall in line with typical terrarium mixes but with a few added supplements. Here are some personal recommendations from experienced isopod owners.

“25% coco fiber, 40% chunked rotting wood, 15% leaves, and, 10% dried sphagnum moss, and finally about 10% pulverized limestone.”

@Derposour on Reddit

The coco fiber and sphagnum moss will help to maintain the higher level of moisture they prefer, and the wood and leaves are their primary food source.

The limestone is an interesting one, though.

In order to accurately recreate their natural environment, people have been adding limestone to the substrate mix with great results.

Limestone is a sedimentary rock that’s made up primarily of calcium carbonate, which they use to build their exoskeletons. Thankfully for us, calcium carbonate is actually a common gardening supplement that often goes by the name of “Garden Lime.”

It’s typically used as a soil supplement to increase the pH for plants, but it’ll work a treat here.

Finally, with their shy nature, rubber ducky isopods seem to like a deeper substrate layer that they can burrow into.

Have you been one of the lucky few to get your hands on the Rubber Ducky Isopod?

Let us know how you’re getting on in the comments!

Or, for more funky isopod inspiration, check out my Isopod Species Guide.