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What is Armadillidium?
Armadillidium is a genus of terrestrial isopods, the true pill bugs: when they feel threatened they roll up into a tight ball. Like all isopods, they are not insects but crustaceans, with a shell made of calcium carbonate. They are sturdy, adapt well to captivity and come in many morphs of different colours, which is why this is one of the genera most prized by hobbyists.
In a bioactive terrarium, Armadillidium break down dry leaves, plant debris, wood and even droppings, and help keep the substrate clean and aerated. They need a deep substrate with clearly separate damp and dry areas, hides, dry leaves and calcium always available. General care for all isopods is covered in the isopods collection.
What Armadillidium species are there?
Armadillidium species differ mainly in colour, and most are easy to keep and breed. These are the ones in the collection:
- Armadillidium granulatum «Naranjito»: bright orange, very active and easy to breed; ideal for beginners.
- Armadillidium peraccae «Silver»: silvery grey, very prolific, a good source of live food and clean-up.
- Armadillidium vulgare «Magic Potion»: white with yellow, black and blue tones. The vulgare species is the hardiest.
- Armadillidium maculatum «Chocolate» and «Yellow»: brown with white lines or yellow bands.
- Armadillidium klugii «Montenegro»: white spots on black with an orange-tinted edge.
- Armadillidium germanicum: yellow dots on a dark background, an uncommon collector species.
The availability of each morph is shown on its product page.
Can you mix Armadillidium species?
Mixing Armadillidium species or morphs is not recommended if you want to keep pure colonies, because they can interbreed or compete with each other. The usual approach is to keep each variety in its own breeding box. For example, Armadillidium granulatum carrying the ‘Naranjito’ gene look like the wild form, but when they breed they are very likely to produce orange offspring: this is the basis of selective morph breeding.
On the other hand, in a bioactive terrarium with a reptile or amphibian, where their job is to clean rather than to breed a particular line, you can use several species together. The best ones for this are the most prolific and hardy, such as Armadillidium peraccae ‘Silver’ or vulgare. Isopods of the same species live happily in groups and the colony grows by itself if it has food, calcium and a damp area.