How to Create Your Own Isopod Substrate

Substrate is the word used for your habitat’s soil, compost, or whichever materials you use. It is among the most essential ingredients of a healthy isopod habitat, but thankfully, it isn’t difficult to get right.

The following are typical ingredients you will need for most isopod setups.

• Top soil: Top soil is an excellent option for adding bulk to your substrate. Where possible, it is best to use topsoil that comes from the same area as your isopod’s natural habitat to mimic their natural environment as closely as possible.

• Commercial potting soil: Commercial potting soil is typically filled with nutrients for plants that will also keep your isopods healthy. Look out for options that contain mycelium, which can be especially beneficial for your pods.

• Vermicompost: Also known as Vermicast, this material is made from 100% warm castings. It is packed full of nutrition for your isopods and any plant life living in the habitat.

• Sphagnum Moss: Sphagnum moss is famed throughout the isopod keeping hobby, thanks to its impressive moisture-retention properties. This moss works superbly on the surface, where it helps maintain moisture, while it can also be used to help retain moisture in the

  substrate.

• Calcium: Isopods need a source of calcium for healthy shells and other bodily functions. One of the best sources of this calcium is cuttlefish bone, which can be given either whole or crushed and mixed in with the substrate. Snail shells and limestone are other sources of calcium which can also add to the aesthetics of your habitat.

• Cocopeat/coir: The use of this material for isopod substrate is debatable because it contains very little nutrition. However, it also offers other properties, such as excellent absorbency, which helps moist cocopeat maintain the integrity of tunnels, making it ideal for burrowing animals. For this reason, we add approximately 15% cocopeat to our substrate, but ensure that other ingredients are loaded with nutrition.

Charcoal and perlite are other fairly common ingredients, but are considered to be unnecessary by many.

• Charcoal: Charcoal is often used for its excellent filtration properties, which help to keep the habitat clean and fresh. However, it’s doubtful that adding charcoal offers a significant benefit, so most people omit it from the habitat. However, should you prefer to use some charcoal, then it will do no harm. You will also find that some isopod species like to have some charcoal in their environment, provided they still have plentiful nutrition.

• Perlite and  Leca: Perlite and leca (clay balls) are other ingredients you are likely to encounter and it is often found in commercial potting soil. Perlite and Leca are beneficial to plants because they help to keep the soil aerated and prevent clumping. They are not usually considered worth adding to isopod substrate, but both are harmless to isopods if some is included.

Creating your Substrate

With your ingredients selected, you now need to mix them together in appropriate proportions. Most substrates consist mostly of topsoil, potting soil, and compost leaves for plenty of bulk and nutrition. Just make sure your mix offers plenty of nutrition and can be burrowed into and you will be fine.

Mix your ingredients in a large bowl and take note of which ingredients you used and how much. This information will help you adjust your substrate so it meets the needs of different species.

Sterilisation

There is something we haven’t mentioned yet, which is arguably the most important step of all: sterilisation. The problem is that any substrate can be full of unwelcome stowaways like centipedes, snails and even unwelcome isopods. While the risk is clearly higher when using topsoil taken directly from natural sources, you should also be cautious of commercially supplied products.

As such, it is a very good idea to sterilise your substrate before you use it, even if the supplier claims to have sterilised it already. Afterall, unwanted intruders can result in a time-consuming task of removing pests or replacing your substrate altogether. At worst, not sterilising your substrate can have catastrophic consequences for your colony.

How to Sterilise Your Substrate

You have several sterilisation options available to you, the most accessible of which are freezing, baking, microwaving, and steaming:

• Freezing: Freezing is a popular method because it's easy. Just fill a bag with your substrate, put it in the freezer overnight, and the job’s done. This is also a popular option because it is generally accepted as the most humane way to kill insects living in the substrate.

• Microwaving: Microwaving is fairly straightforward and fast, except most microwaves have a limited capacity. As such, this is probably the best choice for smaller habitats, but not so ideal for larger batches.

• Baking: Baking is similar to microwaving, and conventional ovens typically have a much greater capacity than microwaves. This makes them a good choice for people who want to prepare larger batches of substrate.

• Steaming: Steaming is another popular and effective option. Something like a wicker basket will be ideal for holding your substrate because it will hold the heat in enough to kill anything living in there. A lid of sorts is also advised to help keep the heat in. Steaming for around 20 minutes should be plenty, and your substrate should be too hot to touch.

All the sterilisation methods mentioned require high temperatures to kill unwelcome pests. You should absolutely ensure your substrate is allowed to cool to room temperature before using it in any way.

No matter how thoroughly sterilised your substrate is, it can easily be decontaminated, so be sure to keep it stored in a sealed container before use. You can use dry silicone packets to help limit moisture and mould, while you can also try adding some springtails to help keep your substrate mould-free and ready to use.

Observe Your Isopods

Last but not least is the process of overserving your substrate and how your isopods interact with it. They appear to make a beeline for any particular ingredient, then make a note so you know to add plenty of it in the future. Include the species in your notes because different species of isopod have different preferences.