Common pill woodlouse

Armadillidium vulgare can roll into a ball, but several woodlouse species share that ability. Colour or a captive morph name is not enough to confirm identity. BMIG’s distribution and Least Concern descriptions apply to Britain, rather than certifying a purchased colony’s global status or origin.

Published accounts describe individual lives averaging around a year and a half, sometimes several years. A breeding colony can continue much longer. Plan space, surplus management and holiday checks rather than treating it as a short-lived enclosure accessory.

Use secure ground-level housing with soil, decomposing leaves and several low shelters. Keep a moist refuge and a less damp area. No single welfare-tested box size is established here; expand the habitat before population growth removes those choices.

A study maintained colonies around 20°C, which is a laboratory condition rather than a proven pet optimum. Measure your culture before adding heat. Protect it from direct sun and keep the damp refuge from drying through.

Ordinary room light with a day-night cycle supports observation. Preserve shaded shelters. No species-specific UVI requirement is established in this review, so a reptile basking lamp is not a default culture need.

Check soil beneath the damp shelter directly. Keep it moist without flooding the whole container and leave less damp litter elsewhere. Condensation on the lid cannot show whether the refuge is usable.

Decomposing leaves are the continuing food foundation. Provide calcium and modest supplementary food, checking consumption before adding more. Remove spoiled extras and renew depleted litter in portions. A colony does not replace cleaning in another animal’s enclosure.

Inspect one shelter instead of turning over every refuge. Do not repeatedly prod animals into rolling or force a rolled animal open. Transfer them gently on cover or in a small container; newly moulted animals and young are fragile.

This species reproduces sexually, with females brooding their young. Do not apply a general claim that all woodlice reproduce without males. Repeated deaths or persistent decline need a review of moisture, contamination, food and recent additions with an experienced keeper.

Choose identified captive stock and label morph names separately. Keep acquisition and transfer records. Never release captive woodlice or substrate, even where similar animals live outside. Isopods are excluded from the ordinary pet-invertebrate import note; ask APHA before an import.

Before arrival, provide decaying leaves, damp shelter and room for growth. Check moisture, food use and losses regularly. Top up the leaves and other food as the colony grows, and record new additions. Preserve undisturbed habitat for the smallest animals during maintenance.