Porcellio ornatus

Behavior:

Porcellio ornatus is a very active species of isopod that is happy to show off and should not be missing from any collection. They tend to be found individually in breeding tanks. Nevertheless, it is a very active species that can be found both during the day and at night.

There should also be a climbing area in the tank. Due to their activity, they also like to climb around the whole box and make use of any free space, even upwards.

I simply place a branch with some lichen diagonally in the box. Incidentally, lichen is often found on fruit trees, so it’s sometimes worth taking a walk through allotments in the fall.

Breeding:

As this species is very cannibalistic, they like to eat their own young, especially during the moulting phase. The animals breed and develop relatively quickly.

Special features:

The nominate form has a gray basic coloration with yellow spots on the rear half of the body. We have bred out stable color mutations with a high and very high proportion of yellow. Porcellio ornatus are not very picky about the food they are offered and are therefore also very suitable as ground police.

Tip: Offer plenty of cuttlefish so that they can cover their high calcium requirement. We were able to significantly increase our breeding success by adding another isopod species to the breeding tank. This has reduced intra-species cannibalism and they eat the young of the other species first. They should be offered sufficient hiding places. The habitat should be kept rather dry and only one corner should be kept moist, preferably with a watering can.

More information will follow!