Armadillidium klugii “Montenegro Clown”
Armadillidium klugii "Montenegro" isopods for sale!
More commonly known as the "Clown Isopod". Armadillidium klugii are some of the great examples of how vibrant and beautiful natural coloring can be and are very sought after due to their unique coloration. They are fairly shy and can move very quickly when disturbed. They can be slow to get started in a fresh environment but once established, will breed at a moderate rate and are great for beginners. They're a mid size pod that reached about a half an inch at adulthood. Klugii do best in arid to semi-arid environments with good amounts of cross ventilation and thrive with a consistent calicium source and additionaly protein feedings. Please note that they will snack of soft bodied plants so they may not make the best clean up crew for bioactives with live plants.
The Montenegro locale comes from individuals originally collected from the Montenegro region of the Balkans. This locale can develop three rows of white or yellow spots or yellow spots down the center outlined by two rows of white but have the dark base and red skirting like other locales and is the most popular locale that is distributed within the hobby. This locale has developed a couple mutations such as Orange Clown and Pudding variations.
Origin: Montenegro region of the Balkans
Humidity: Arid to semi arid
Ventilation: Moderate (See our ventilation guide in the isopod care sheet under the "Care Sheets" tab.
Housing and Care: A 6 quart shoe box or similar is sufficient to start a 10 count culture in and get established, and then will need to be moved to a larger enclosure once their population outgrows it. Provide a moisture gradient of about 40% moist and 60% dry. Use sphagnum moss on one end of the enclosure to help retain moisture between spraying (frequency of spraying will depend on amount of ventilation you provide and atmospheric conditions, just as long as the moss is always kept moist. Aim to spray down the sizes and make sure the water is reaching the bottom layer to make it last longer), a couple inches of substrate is sufficient, add a good amount of leaf litter, a hide such as cork bark or edible hardwood bark or both, a calcium source such as a cuttlefish bone, eggshell or calcium powder is a healthy addition for all isopod species but this species especially does better. Rotting wood is also highly encouraged as well. You can supplementally feed them once a week with a small piece of sweet potato, carrot or squash and a protein source such as our own Bug Buffet Haus Blend, fish flakes, freeze dried shrimp/minnows or other commercialized isopod diet (small enough amount that they can consume it within 2 days to help minimize mites and mold.