Armadillidium maculatum “Champagne”

Brief description:

Armadillidium maculatum “Champagne” is a bred-out color mutation. The animals we offer have been selected by ourselves. Instead of the basic black coloration, this color variant has a brown to beige coloration. This results in a relatively “colorful bunch”, as you can see in the product picture. The young isopods are born relatively dark brown and lighten in color as they grow. Armadillidium maculatum “Paradox Champagne” is also frequently found in this breeding group. We are still breeding these out. The attitude, size and reproduction rate still correspond to the wild-colored Armadillidium maculatum.

Armadillidium maculatum, also known as the zebra woodlouse, is a medium-sized isopod species from the Mediterranean region and southern France. The animals grow up to 1.8 cm in size and owe their name to their appearance. It takes about 6 months from juvenile to adult. This species is robust and easy to breed. A female can give birth to up to 4 litters of up to 300 young isopods per year. The species is quite showy, but in a large tank you should choose a correspondingly higher initial stocking to be able to observe the animals. Like all woodlice, Armadillidium maculatum “Champagne” can curl up into a closed ball when in danger.

It is possible to keep a group of Armadillidium maculatum “Champagne” in containers with a capacity of 5 liters or more. It is important to know that this isopod species will not reproduce if there is not enough space. As the natural habitat of the zebra woodlouse is the litter layer in deciduous forests, particular attention should be paid to this. If you want to create a terrarium that is close to nature, choose a 10 cm high layer of deciduous forest humus, leaves and white rotten wood as the substrate. Moss, pieces of bark and leaves should be spread over this layer of substrate. On the one hand, these things serve as shelter, on the other hand as food and to keep the humidity in the tank. The tank for Armadillidium maculatum “Champagne” should always be kept moist. However, waterlogging should be avoided at all costs. A humidity level of 60-80 % will normally stabilize quickly by itself with regular spraying. The temperature in the tank should be between 22 and 26°C. The animals need lime to build up their shell, which can be given in the form of cuttlefish, crushed eggshells or similar. White rotten wood and leaves in the substrate serve as food. Vegetables, fruit, flowers and isopod food are also readily accepted.