Leaf Litter: The Main Diet
Dried, decaying leaf litter should always be available - it's both food and shelter, and isopods graze on it continuously as it breaks down. Keep a generous layer on the substrate surface at all times and top it up as the colony grazes through it.
Safe Vegetables
Cucumber, carrot, zucchini, pumpkin and sweet potato are all safe and well accepted. Offer thin slices 2-3 times a week, and remove anything uneaten within 24 hours to prevent mould and mites. Avoid anything oily, salty or spiced - plain, raw vegetable only.
Protein Sources
Fish flakes, dried shrimp, a small piece of boiled egg or a commercial isopod food once or twice a week supports faster breeding and healthier moults. Don't overdo protein - it's a supplement, not a staple, and leftovers attract mites quickly.
Calcium
A calcium block or crushed cuttlebone should be available at all times. Isopods need calcium to rebuild their exoskeleton after every moult - without it, moults fail and colonies stall even when everything else is right.
Foods to Avoid
Skip anything cooked, salted, spiced or oily, citrus fruits (too acidic), onion and garlic, and any pesticide-treated produce or leaves collected from roadside trees. When in doubt, leave it out.
Feeding Schedule
Leaf litter: always available. Vegetables: 2-3 times a week, removed after 24 hours. Calcium: always available. Protein: once or twice a week. This simple rotation covers every nutritional need for a healthy, breeding colony.