Just wondering how big orange isopods get?
I measured my biggest ones at a whopping 5/8"! That is the body length, NOT including the antennae. She was dressed in a Barbie business pant suit at the time.Just wondering how big orange isopods get?
Dude you bust me up! I laughed out loud at that!I have read from multiple sources up to 3/8" with a couple of beasts going to 1/2."
You can always PM Doug (Pumilo) and ask him to break out his micrometer and measure a bunch from his parent colony culture. He has some monsters that he likes to dress up in Barbie clothes.![]()
Just payback for you getting me hooked on bugs. I spent 70.00 on BSS (bug support sytems and media) yesterday. I put the hurt on the Zip Loc containers at Wally world.I measured my biggest ones at a whopping 5/8"! That is the body length, NOT including the antennae. She was dressed in a Barbie business pant suit at the time.
Dude you bust me up! I laughed out loud at that!
But, how did you know 'it' was a she? Were there eggs underneath or bug balls?I measured my biggest ones at a whopping 5/8"! That is the body length, NOT including the antennae. She was dressed in a Barbie business pant suit at the time
uhh it was wearing a woman's business pant suit duh! hahahaBut, how did you know 'it' was a she? Were there eggs underneath or bug balls?![]()
Ehhh, I don't know if what he finds there would do well in a viv. The rainforests are sub-tropical...As I understand, Australia has the oldest rain forest on Earth. I'm sure you mus have some really amazing isopods/microfauna crawling around =]
I have a small culture of P. scaber that i started from a couple i got out of the garden. Just using a chinese container with cocopeat and magnolia leaves but they are doing quite well and increasing numbers steadily. I cant see why tropical or subtropical species would not thrive in a viv. I am doing my vivs to emulate an aussie rainforest so they should do well.OK I wasn't sure of the name before, but I looked it up: Daintree Rainforest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The wiki says that it is tropical, and a good portion of Australia actually lies in the tropics (including where this rainforest is in).
Also, as I understand giant oranges are really just a morph of Porcellio scaber, aka the common European woodlouse. Here is a paper I found for your reading pleasurehttp://labs.csb.utoronto.ca/larsen/pdf/Sowbug.pdf.
There is even a "dalmatian" morph!:
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This is not a tropical species, but they seem to do pretty well in vivs. And according to Porcellio scaber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Porcellio scaber is the most common species of woodlice found in Australian gardens.
So although I have no idea what the local microfauna is like, I'm confident that there would be some suitable candidates lying around.
Another aspect worth considering however, is the introduction on novel pathogens to the frogs. South America and Australia haven't seen each other since the time of Gondwana, so there might be some pathogens that he might now want to introduce maybe?
It means that if you have a frog from, say, Costa Rica, and you put in a bug from Australia, you could be introducing a pest or disease that the frog has no natural defense against.I have a small culture of P. scaber that i started from a couple i got out of the garden. Just using a chinese container with cocopeat and magnolia leaves but they are doing quite well and increasing numbers steadily. I cant see why tropical or subtropical species would not thrive in a viv. I am doing my vivs to emulate an aussie rainforest so they should do well.
What do you mean by novel introduction of pathogens? Also most of my vivs will be made for plant only, inverts or reptiles, all with added microfauna to aid in decomposition of deal plant matter and food for the inhabitants.
Cheers. Doesnt really affect me, the only fauna living in the tank will be native or naturalised australian speciesIt means that if you have a frog from, say, Costa Rica, and you put in a bug from Australia, you could be introducing a pest or disease that the frog has no natural defense against.
Of course, didn't we all take that same chance when we introduced bugs from USA or Europe?
The entire hobby is a risk and you just have to weigh and minimize the risks.