By gretchenellie

I dont know how many of you feed pill bugs to your pygmies or how many of your pygmy's actually accept them as feeders.

But, i thought that i would post a "how to" guide to culturing this bug seeing as how they make great calcium rich food alternatives for hatchlings.

To start your culture you will need:

1 - small sterilite container
(2) inches of coco fiber or peat moss. ( sphagnum moss does not work well, imo ).
1-2 containers of different varieties of fish flakes.. you can also use baby cereal high in fiber.
3-4 cut up pieces of egg carton or corregated card board.
10-15 wood louse ( collected from pesticide free areas )

Step 1.)

set up your sterilite container. you will need to punch some small holes into the top to allow for ventilation. i have cut a single row of small holes in the lid over one end. this will be the end that has the most moisture..

picture:

Step 2.)

place your 1-2 inches of coco fiber or peat moss into the container. spray down the substrate until it is very moist... ( to test, take a sample in the palm of your hand and squeeze. if a FEW drops of water are able to be extracted, the medium is set to go.

Step 3.)

place your card board or egg carton pieces into the substrate. ( these pieces will need to be replaced after a few months due to them breaking down from all of the water ).

picture:

Step 4.)

place your collected wood louse into your container. ( note - before any of them are introduced, i would advise spraying them off with some clean tap water ).

picture(s):

(garden variety wood louse)

Step 5.)

take your fish flakes and shake some out onto the substrate top.

picture(s):

( i usually opt for the 3 in one can of flakes )

Step 6.)

to soften the flakes i will usually give the substrate one or two sprays from a designated spray water bottle.
then replace the lid.

It will take about 1 - 2 months to develop a strong enough culture to feed from without losing too many bugs..

the lid will need to be lifted 1-2 times per week to allow for adequate air exchange and to mist and feed.

make sure that the substrate stays moist and does not dry out.

every month or so, i will go out and collect 5-10 more wood louse to add to the culture.

i place my containers onto a shelf with no additional heat ( just room temp, mid 70's) and no additional light source.

This Page Will Get Updated As And When The Information Is Collected And Agreed.