Armadillidium sp. Spotted Albania

Armadillidium sp. Spotted Albania isopods for sale!

An unidentified species native to Europe.  They behave similar to Armadillidium vulgare but are not classified in that specific genus.  Their coloring and patterning can be rather variable ranging anywhere from a charcoal gray to a dark chocolate red with variable amounts of patterning of bright yellow and/or white spotting and swirlies.  They are a beautiful, easy to keep pod.  They are slow to get established, but once they are, they breed regularly.  It has been noted that these may be sexually dimorphic with the males being the darker gray and the females the darker brownish red color.  Certainly, many are easily identified but some of the inbetweeners are hard to tell.  They should be offered a dry area, a hide to climb on to encourage healthy molting and they only need about 2" of substrate as they are not a heavy burrowing species.

Origin: Europe

Humidity: 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 40-50% moist and 50-60% 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. 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.