Creating a terrarium for Dairy Cow Isopods (Full unboxing and step by step tutorial)

[@msbranen6261]

Roly Polies here in Oklahoma USA. A favorite childhood story is of my brother, who spent the day hunting for roly polies and filling his pockets. While doing laundry, my mother flipped his pockets wrong side out, sending roly polies everywhere in the room. 😊 She was startled, but recovered quickly, as she was used to having a bug-loving little boy!

[@GSG-lc5zm]

😂 sounds like my sister

[@FishShopMatt]

Oh my word best story ever hahaha I can't wait for Quinn to do this to me.

[@Lisa.Sparkman]

My brother used to put his bugs and worms in the produce drawer of the refrigerator mom just loved that😂😂

[@ReginaK2]

I was a lil kid in New Mexico and played with roly polys too!😂

[@vaffel81]

In Norway we call wood louse "skrukketroll" which translates as wrinkly trolls.

[@mrgesso1578]

Oh please get into the terrarium game as well! Imagine a channel that does it all, aquariums, paludariums, terrariums. It would be so nice. Either way, great video, LOVED IT!

[@mrgesso1578]

@@ROBST3RR That's true now that I think about it. xD

[@FishShopMatt]

Yeah serpa has been doing it for years, I certainly will do more as I enjoy all aspects of it and want to show people the calm and joy it can bring.

[@mrgesso1578]

@@FishShopMatt Oh great, can't wait to see what you do.

[@susanvasquez3625]

What are we going to call you now?! Fish Shop Matt, who doesn't work at the fish shop, and doesn't just play with fish! Tank Man Matt? :D @@FishShopMatt

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

Agree totally

[@marienixon148]

Woodlice! I want some rubber duckies but those are really nice!

[@Wygruce]

Posting an isopod set-up video at the same time as Serpa Design posts one - a bold move Matt! 😊

[@FishShopMatt]

It was funny as I was out shopping when his video popped up on my feed and I was laughing that the video I had set up ready for release today was a similar topic. Oh well great minds think alike

[@TheSpiderdawn]

I hope you'll revisit this in a few months so we can all see how the different plants have faired. I'm looking forward to seeing which plants have done the best.

[@FishShopMatt]

That's the plan!

[@doheas]

OMG! Now I can keep Venus Fly Traps and Pitcher Plants! I can't wait to get one! Thank you Matt!

[@lburgess3098]

The look on your doggo’s face! (4:21) Hilarious. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@FishShopMatt]

What on earth is he making now!!! Hahaha

[@barryjames3747]

@@FishShopMatt More like " What the F are you doing now, c'mon, was there really any need to go touching my head?.... I'm awake now, there'd better be a treat"

[@Babyluthi]

Here in New Zealand, South Island they are called slaters. Beautiful build Matt🙂💙🐟🐠🐡

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you!

[@user-pl8sl1bc4b]

that makes sense because there’s a type of aquatic isopods (they basically look like woodlice - or slaters - that live underwater) and they are called water slaters

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

Saved me replying, same in Auckland where I grew up.

[@sarahgowen3692]

We also call them slaters in Northern Ireland! Interesting that we use the same term on the opposite side of the world when I've had people as close as England look at me like I'm talking a foreign language when I use the term!

[@doloresmanning9619]

Agree that terrarium videos would be amazing addition!

[@GodisTruth914]

Rolly polies here in Texas, USA!!!!!😊😊😊

[@jessicab391]

I have always lived in the Pacific Northwest of the US and we always called them potato bugs. I love that they have different names per region.

[@rhondafitzpatrick1646]

North East, Central NY, potatoe bugs for us too😊

[@hannahhowden8980]

They’re potato bugs in Canada too 😊 sorry Matt but wood louse sounds so gross 😅

[@aprilvanveghel3790]

Minnesota ( USA)- we always called them rolly pollys when we were kids. I still do but when my daughter started her terrarium, we did start saying isopods more. 😁

[@suewestby824]

Now I want a 'herd' of my own! 😊

[@thejoeyjoey]

I was skeptical with the shape of this tank but wow when you added everything and all the plants. It's freaking amazing 😮

[@thegrizz446]

Been looking online for information on floating plants and what's all out there didn't know if any of you guys have suggestions this channel made me want to get more into planted aquariums and I thought floating plants were a good start. Matt thanks for all the great videos you do for us all!

[@DarrenBrynly]

This is mad! I’ve had my biorb air with my giant orange and diary cow isopods in for years!

[@sandglowpets]

Rolley poleys in Virginia, USA! Very cool Matt, I've been side eyeing these orbs for awhile now but didn't have the room to really set one up. You've got me thinking about anubius growing emersed now, lol! Great job, fun vid, I giggled out loud a few times 😊 can't wait to see a follow up!

[@CullenKawano]

I love that you call them wood pigs!!! we ususally call them isopods or "rolly pollys" here in Hawaii. Love your vids keep it up and stay awesome!! love and lots of pets for your doggos!!!

[@sallygrigson669]

Great video Matt had a kind of David Bellamy vibe at the end 😉

[@FishShopMatt]

I'm not sure I would go that far, those are some mighty shoes to try and fill hahaha

[@SubmergedDesignzStudio]

I love seeing your puppers in the videos! My little chiweenie Tiberius feels the need to be in my arms like a purse puppy when I'm scaping. It can make it difficult at times.

[@FishShopMatt]

In glad my two don't want to be in my arms when scaping hahaha

[@ItsDrMcQuack]

I'm suddenly seeing everyone starting to create isopod videos, it's a little wild. I'm sure it's the baader-meinhoff illusion at play, but it's still cool as it coincides with my own interest in keeping them as more than just part of the crawlies I bring home from the forest. I just got my first exotic-ish isopods two weeks ago, a little colony of dairy cows. They are absolutely adorable! 😊

[@Eric_Allen]

dude i've noticed the same thing. Ever since i started watching AntsCanada and went down the terrarium/vivarium rabbit hole. It's awesome to see Matt doing this too. Perfect timing.

[@FishShopMatt]

That's the KZbin algorithm at work hahaha. I've always enjoyed watching people create habitat for them too.

[@Eric_Allen]

@@FishShopMatt The deeper question is this. Do we influence the algorithm, or does the algorithm influence us? 🤔

[@savagecritters3333]

They have gained a lot of traction not only for plant only terrariums but because of the advancement of bio active reptile enclosures. Which is how I began collecting and breeding isopods

[@Raszagil]

Dairy Cow Isopods are awesome, one of the more active species, I see mine out and about all day, doing their woodsy business! Awesome video!

[@Snailyandwhaley]

Saw this pop up, thought meh bugs...not that bothered. came back to watch it... love the look of it, mind changed! Cheers Matt, very enjoyable to watch it come together 🌿 looking forward to the update 😃

[@PureAndShrimple]

So now I want woodlice. Thanks Matt. Thanks a lot.

[@FishShopMatt]

So sorry hahaha

[@kzookid2051]

It's an amazing terrarium, and the dairy cow isopods are perfect for it. When I was very young in Michigan, we called them pill bugs. When I moved to southern California they were called rolyly pollies. Now that I'm back in Michigan, considerably older, I call them isopods. But no matterwhat the name, they're marvelous to watch and one of the best ways to teach kids about how the ecology of our world works. I love this. And a big thanks for putting the names of the plants in so we don't have to try to remember them. You rock, Matt.

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you so much!!!

[@TerrariumDesigns]

Cool terrarium Matt!

[@MrAaroncissell]

When I was growing up in California they fell into three names. Small little ones were Rolly Polie, larger were Pill Bugs then Sow bugs with the older population. In Oklahoma they retained the prior names but darker ones were also referred to as Potato Bugs and lighter colored were Tomato Bugs. Now here in St Louis Missouri you get all the prior names but also add Doodle Bug on occasion. I don't plan on moving any further East so I am not sure how it changes or if any other names add in. That is a cool idea and it is awesome that someone did it in a sphere looks good.

[@Melissa.1989]

When you said TERRARIUM I was like helll yessssss!!!!!! Love the expansion ❤ keep growing ! Trying new things! Love it !!!!!

[@JeffBandelin-v9t]

Where I grew up in Ohio most people called them Pillbugs, and you could find them pretty much anywhere outdoors regardless of where you were. We'd make mini terrariums for them out of Tupperware containers with holes poked in the top and fill them with soil and botanicals from around the woods.

[@Jessica_Crease87]

I live in America in New Hampshire it is cold longer than warm here and all winter it is grey! When the sun finally shows everyone gets excited!

[@GodisTruth914]

Wow! You did an amazing job! Its breathtaking!!!😊😊😊

[@moewhocooper]

tie some string around the rock when putting it in for a handle should help anyone else thinking of doing bigger things with out much hand space

[@FishShopMatt]

That's a good idea.

[@VixinatorsVideos]

Dairy Cows are my favorite! I keep them myself. and use them in my reptile enclosures as a clean up crew. In the US we often call them pill bugs and rolli pollies. At the reptile shop I work at we call them isopods.

[@sleepysobTF]

He likes Isopods too?!?! I love this guy. Found Matt a good bit ago on MD fish tank videos but never ended up subscribing to it. So glad Matt has his own channel subscribing to this one lol sorry i just like Matt more.

[@shirleyvidito9676]

Oregon,we call them potato bugs! They’re cool when they curl up into a ball

[@Winchesterly]

we always called them roly polies as kids (northwest Indiana-basically very near chicago, USA), but now as an adult that's been into fish and inverts and has grown into a big nerd, I call them isopods lol.

[@cherylharless281]

I'm in Southern California, those we call Sow Bugs, they don't roll into proper balls so they are not rollie-pollies, but are closely related. When I was about 2.5 - 3 years old my mom and I went to Montery to visit a friend. I started picking up Sow Bugs and when I was showing them to my mom, the one in my hand started giving birth. It was a shock when we discovered the little white things coming out of her were not eggs, but tiny live babies!!! Live bearers! Who knew?

[@mrs.e3527]

This is hilarious timing! I just built a mini terrarium last week😂 No critters, though, just moss, a lichen and moss covered stick, and dirt.

[@copingwithcrazy]

Terrariums and vivariums are my other hobby I dabble in so this video was a cool bonus for me

[@mattknowlton5983]

In my area, West Virginia, US, my mom and i call wood louse rolly polleys

[@sukaira6465]

No worries about the dairy cows hiding forever, they are a really bold species that are not afraid to come out 😄

[@IncredibleInvertsOtherAnimals]

Always nice to see someone else get into isopods and to see a fish Keepers take on setting them up, looks beautiful the only thing I would do differently is the substrate, dairy cows will do OK on coir if given enough rotted leaves and white wood plus protein sources. If you're interested in other species of isopod then i recommend not to use coir instead use top soil or organic compost. I love watching these sort of videos as gives me more ideas for my Invertebrate collection

[@lynnrobertson4657]

In Australia 🇦🇺we call these slaters ❤ the video.

[@littlecally]

I JUST found out about these isopods yesterday, I’ve been researching what they need as now I need them 😂 so this video was perfect timing for me!

[@j12barron]

I’d love to see some rubber ducky isopods 🧡 added in this terrarium

[@jstoeck784]

In Tennessee we call them rollie pollies or sow bugs. Like the scape.

[@pink_alchemist]

I grew up in Georgia, USA and we called them roly-poly or pill bugs. Ours were the much smaller guys and I used to love playing with them.

[@DaffCookie]

We always call them chucky pegs. Scape looks cool :D Dogs gorge as always.

[@SouthAfricanWanderer]

Hi Matt, please also do a quick video of how you store your plants.

[@bob21345]

I love dairy cow isopods I have had them for 2 years and now have hundred of them

[@danforsythe5869]

Definitely need to see a follow up in 3 or 4 weeks. If the plants work I am definitely going to try one.

[@moodymystic4354]

in NS, Canada we always called them potato bugs growing up!

[@stevehitchman9591]

That does look a lovely home that you've built for your cheese logs! That's what we call them and my son kept one as a pet once....called cheesie!

[@bishop999]

Great video Matt, can’t wait for the garage conversion. I have an idea for you. Make a big sump to support all your tanks.

[@KandKAquatics]

It turned out amazing! Well done! Definitely would love to see some terrarium stuff, maybe some bearded dragons or crested geckos!

[@hollywilliams5301]

Roly polies or pill bugs here in Texas. Isopods is what I call them in the hobby. 😉

[@megmills4798]

Matt warm water breaking it up helps i used to use it for my snakes,then my friend who is a guru in snakes reptiles of sorts salt water tanks said stop using for my snakes,but i love that substrate💯‼️

[@NinoMarcantonio-ry6mh]

That looks really nice just like a tropical jungle great job.

[@BGN_Aquariums]

Well, thats awoke an interest that my pocket will feel. Looks awesome 🫶

[@msbranen6261]

Right! I checked Amazon while watching the video.

[@FishShopMatt]

Sorry hahaha and you're welcome

[@garageaquatics2023]

Roly pollies, sow bugs and pill bugs here in Southern California. And as I remember, there was a difference - some roll into a ball and others fold in half when threatened. Can't remember which was which, though. Turned into a really beautiful project, Matt. Nicely done. Cheers, Mate! ~Ron

[@jasonwoods4811]

Thank you Matt I got the Chilli rasbora's, and you are right about them, awesome fish

[@nakikiish]

Puppy supervision 🎉

[@alicecowan3499]

That is the coolest terrarium ever! We call those lil bugs Rolie Polies here in Washington state ❤😂

[@nanoreaper5002]

Growing up in Texas we called them pill bugs, or rollie pollies

[@thehairywoodsman5644]

doodlebugs

[@FishShopMatt]

I like the Rollie pollie name!

[@chhhlllooe]

Was just thinking about setting up a bowl for rubber duckys, great timing! 😂

[@FishShopMatt]

Go for it!

[@iamhueyjohn]

Happy for you Matt. More Paludariums, terrariums and aquariums. Like a combination of MD, AntsCanada and SerpaDesign. Edit: Still waiting for a pond build too :D

[@doloresmanning9619]

Rolly Pollie's in Florida, US. Yes, definitely a childhood pet.

[@ArlieVart]

In Queensland Australia we call them Grey Slaters. Thanks for the grate vid also.

[@BSCross]

Real name I would call it an isopod but for my friends who nothing about them I’d call them Roly Polies. Love the scape! The dairy cows are adorable.

[@BlackNoteStudios]

I was so hoping we were in your garage. Looks great Matt. Curious for future updates and how it's holding up. Cheers!

[@oreosryumme]

Build is amazing! Not a fan of the bugs though lol would love to see an update on the tank in a few weeks though! It really is so well scaped!

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you, a definite update will be up at some point.

[@neilvee451]

I'm amazed that all that stuff went into that bowl 😮 it's like a TARDIS 😅 great work Matt 👌🥂

Rolly Polies here in northeast TN, US. Also called them pill bugs.

[@cindystimson3632]

Very nice terrarium Matt. You would never know it is your first. The isopods did come out. How cool.

[@nicolaifr4905]

In Norway we also have a bunch of names for them but the most comon are: skruketroll skoppetroll, benkebitere, tusseluss, kaffedyr or munkelus

[@Shaden0040]

if you want to give the wood louses place I suppose places to hide underneath add a couple of pieces of Cork Park and they will love you for it.

[@scoobyben1979]

I've always known them as Woodlouse. But in South Wales where I live now they're Granny Greys

[@elc2468]

I am from Iowa, USA and we have always called wood louse Roly Polys.

[@saltykraken9471]

Des Moines

[@sharleanebailey2795]

I’ve always wanted to create a terrarium. It’s gorgeous! I’ve always called them rolly polleys.

[@FishShopMatt]

Go for it!

[@Corvus31]

Love the soft-core, skin flick music played during the cinematic portion. 😂

[@richiep430]

Really interesting and different video Matt. I’ve always called the little critters Chiggy Pigs!😂

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you and I love the name.

[@richardgutierrez9223]

Nice dry start Matt can’t wait to see the fish go in 😂😂😂

[@Kipsyz]

Those doggos :D, need some dedicated playtime videos with them..

[@domtidom8912]

In eldercare we use that blue thing for cleaning out the earbits for heardivice

[@dlj529]

This is so cool!! I've always called them rolly pollies

[@rayp4008]

Was waiting for you to fill a "pot", then pour in the lion's share, like a fish release. But a few hand delivered made for a nice visual.

[@Cozy-1049]

Nailed it again 😀. Lovely looking scape. Agree with other comments about getting some bigger critters.

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you! Yeah definitely going to look into it.

[@rebeccaampuero2347]

Rolie-polies or pill bugs usually. Occasionally isopods. All over the Southeastern United States. Beautiful scape. I wish you luck with growing the assorted plants in these conditions! ❤

[@lindawynn9042]

this really makes me want to set one up! I think I would go out into the yard and get some native roly-poly's so that if I needed to tear down the system, I could turn them loose and not worry about them being invasive species where I live.

[@FishShopMatt]

That would be cool! I've always thought about doing an outside terrarium in the summer with stuff I find round my garden

[@lindawynn9042]

@@FishShopMatt an outdoor terrarium would be very interesting in North Central Texas where it is well over 100° much of the summer, so I think I'd have a hard time keeping a terrarium viable. I love your videos, thank you!

[@jayenh2023]

You neeeeed some Phelsuma Klemmeri in there, would be absolutely perfect envirobment for them and they will breed too.

[@greeneileen]

I skipped to the end for the isopods cruising to sexy jazz b-roll. Fabulous ;)

[@FishShopMatt]

Who doesn't want jazzy b roll with wood pigs running about hahaha

[@sebreeze]

I’ve kept isopods for years! I’m so excited to see you do this. All the different isopods are so fun to keep. I also started with dairy cows. The porcellio legs freak me out though. Good luck!

[@FishShopMatt]

That's awesome! Yeah I certainly will expand in the future.

[@Grace-er9ep]

I'm going to need more jazzy isopods please and thank you

[@Zilldian1]

definitely Rolley Pollies here in upstate NY my friend. hahaha.

[@beverlyjensen443]

Sweet globe, Matt, I love it.

[@Jen-w1i]

Roly Polies here in Michigan, USA. Interesting video. Updates, we need updates!

[@sbodi4d]

In Texas we call them doodle bugs! Not sure why, but that's what I've always called them. Great video! Love the different kind of species. Can't wait till you start getting into reptiles!!! Too many plants! MD had a bad influence on you!!! Lol...

[@Jayzha7]

somethig different i like it. these are cool little creatures

[@MandyJane123700]

I always called them roly polys. I love that terrarium, the aquarium plants should do great in it.