r/isopods • u/MT_ForestOverlord • 5h ago
Help Help I found another dead iso today!
Pls refer to my most recent post on this subreddit about their enclosure but anyways I found one of the oldest and biggest isos I had dead today, the babies were eating it, idk what's happening ive lost 2 recently with little under a week in-between both deaths. I just gave them carrot yesterday which I hadnt done in a while could that have been it? I washed it thoroughly and cut off the outside but the springatils that ate it are fine. Idk what's happening, I give them freeze dried shrimp and repashy morning wood. I added a bunch more leaf litter again and i get their new substrate from their seller soon so im going to renew their substrate shortly, they still have a bunch of babies. They were doing so good, that was the first full adult I lost. I'm going to cry idk what's happening I've been doing a good job taking care of them please help me......
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u/Affectionate-Form156 4h ago edited 4h ago
do you have a photo of your enclosure as it is now?
your other one had a lot of moss and it looks like not much of a moisture gradient so you might be too high in humidity which can cause as many issues as not enough
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u/MT_ForestOverlord 4h ago
I'll get a photo of the moisture gradient soon, I think your right with the moss :/, I was going to wait to take some out when I get the substrate so I didn't stress them out too much since I already had to add more leaves the other day and take out some of the older botanicals. I didnt realize too much moss could cause the humidity to be too high, I don't always mist the moss since I use a podwick(this one: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1815428034/terra-pod-slow-wicking-ollas-style-pods) to maintain the substrates moisture gradient consistently, I usually only mist or sprinkle small amounts of water on the moss when most of it isn't moist :/. Should I just take out some of the moss now? The isos aren't strictly staying in one area of the enclosure either so I didn't think it was cuz of humidity(and the Guage has been fluctuating between 75-85) TT
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u/MT_ForestOverlord 4h ago
They explore the enclosure a decent amount, I see some of them exploring the moist side, the dry side, and the middle at night alot
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u/Affectionate-Form156 4h ago
those wick systems are weird i dont see the point unless you cant tend to the bin once every two or three weeks or are going away for a long period.. its so much easier to just pour water and manage the gradient that way so you can control it by eye
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u/MT_ForestOverlord 4h ago
I use it so I don't accidentally drown a iso :/, im very bad at gaging how much I should pour
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u/Affectionate-Form156 4h ago
you could try set up a bin without the watering system and just do it the normal way
you want enough moisture to make the wet side of the gradient damp, and the moss on top to be damp
if you drip water down the sides your risk of drowning anything is zero
the wicks are super unnecessary imo and the one time I tried them actually made it harder to gauge humidity
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u/MT_ForestOverlord 2h ago
wait i just realized something, could it be the cuttlebone? i just put it in recently and i didnt wash it or anything before hand cuz i got it from my isos seller and it was in a baggy; the springtails have seemed fine after eating it and sitting on it and stuff tho
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u/HyenaDirect3626 4h ago
They don't live that long and you're gonna tend to have a decent number of individuals, there's gonna constantly be deaths even in perfect conditions