Saturday, December 10, 2016

Collecting Success and Enclosure Switches

Hey Peeps!(gotta throw in a new intro sometimes) ;)
Well, I've been meaning to make this post for a while, but just never ended up getting to it, please excuse my laziness. LOL A couple weeks ago, I took a trip to this nature preserve that I had only been to once before(before I was seriously into inverts)to look for some rotten wood for a friend of mine. It was a little after four, but since it's winter, it was already pretty dark by that time. I got out my trusty headlamp and went over to the log closest to our car and lifted it up. To my surprise, I had uncovered a nice amount of large, flat, and beautifully-patterned isopods! I collected almost all of the individuals that I saw that day and returned a couple more times ending up with a total of about eighty! During the several trips I made, I also collected about four P.scaber, which despite supposedly being one of the most common isopods in the U.S, are my first individuals that I have ever found, and trust me, I've looked! Although they are very common in the hobby, I loved finally getting my hands on this classic species.
I had originally tentatively identified the isopods that I had found as Oniscus asellus, but fortunately I was given the correct I.D by Alan Jeon. He said that they were actually Porcellio spinicornis, a lovely species that I had been wanting to get a hold of for awhile now! Also, I forgot to mention that out of the eighty or so P.spinicornis that I found, there were a couple very light colored individuals and some unusually large ones too!
Firstly, I'm currently keeping the normal P.spinicornis in a medium-sized, plastic Zip Lock container with twelve ventilation holes in each end. I'm using a substrate mix of coconut fiber and rotten wood with some dead leaves on top. I also have a piece of egg crate in there for them to hide under.
Here's some pics!




P.spinicornis


P.spinicornis enclosure
Secondly, I'm keeping my four P.spinicornis "White"(I call them this, but they do still have some of their markings) in a small, plastic container with a highly ventilated lid(my A .maculatums' old enclosure)where I will try to isolate the trait. I'm keeping them with the same substrate as the normal ones. Additionally, I have a small piece of cork bark in the enclosure for them to hide under.
Here's a few photos!




P.spinicornis "White"


P.spinicornis "White" enclosure
Thirdly, I am currently keeping my ten or so P.spinicornis "Giant" in a medium sized(although larger than the normal P.spinicornis enclosure)plastic Sterilite container with seven ventilation holes on each end and twenty ventilation holes on each side. I'm using the same substrate for these guys as with the normal and "White" P.spinicornis. I also have a couple pieces of cork bark and a piece of egg crate in there to serve as hides.
Here some more pics!




P.spiicornis "Giant"


P.spinicornis "Giant" enclosure
As I said, I originally though that these guys were O.asellus, which I wanted to try an create a stable population of  "Giant" individuals with, so that was the main reason for setting up the largest ones in a separate, low-isolation enclosure. However, since these guys obviously don't have the same size potential as O.asellus, I think I may just make this the normal P.spinicornis enclosure.
I also mentioned that I collected four P.scaber, which I am currently keeping in a two-ounce, plastic deli-cup. I'm keeping these guys on the same substrate as the P.spinicornis(and all my other isopods) with a small piece of egg crate for them to hide under.
I figured I wouldn't show any pictures of their container, since it's so simple, but here's some pics of them!


P.scaber
A last couple things I was going to share with you guys today were a couple enclosure switches. Since I bought a two-pack of the medium-sized Zip Lock containers, after using one for the normal P.spinicornis, I still had one left. I decided to us it for one of my favorite species, my P.pruinosus! So I them, their substrate, and hides into the new, larger enclosure. I was left with their old enclosure, which I then transferred my A.maculatum into in order to make room for the P.spinicornis"White" which took the A.macultums' enclosure. Pretty complicated right? LOL
Here's some pics of the powder blues' and the zebras' new set-ups!

New P.pruinosus enclosure


New A.maculatum enclosure
By the way, just in case you were wondering, I have the same amount of ventilation holes in the new P.pruinosus enclosure as in the P.spinicornis enclosure.
Thank you all for reading another one of my very long posts and have a good night guys! :)

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