Which Isopod to choose for my Crested Gecko or Leopard Gecko Enclosure

You have a Crested Gecko (tropical) or Leopard Gecko (Arid) and need to setup up their enclosure as a bio active. You need to choose the clean up crew - isopods that best fits their needs to your enclosure.
There are several factors to take into consideration. In this video, I cover the BEST isopods to select for a tropical enclosure or for an arid enclosure.
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[@SupremeGecko]

Help support Supreme Gecko through Buy Me A Coffee (through membership AND donations). www.buymeacoffee.com/SupremeGecko

[@vberry4613]

I was waiting for a video like this! Thank THANK you for doing this:)

[@SupremeGecko]

Those lenses are cool but..... they are a time suck for trying to get the BEST photos.

[@emilywilson3963]

Great information Wally

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you Emily.

[@santosleeli]

Thanks for this! Great content. I'm about to set up an arid bioactive for Schneider skinks so this was very timely as well!

[@SupremeGecko]

Perfect! Glad to help and good luck.

[@coldbloodedscience]

Great video as always! Love the content you put out, much needed

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you very much Christian.

[@nihil8131]

Very informative video. Appreciate the effort you put in to spread your knowledge.

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you. I love doing these videos and hope people can learn from them. Thanks again!

[@sarahgroves8477]

Excellent content as always. Thanks!

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you Sarah.

[@JohanExoticGlobal]

Great video! This was very helpful. Thank you!

[@SupremeGecko]

Thanks! Glad it helps.

[@thorfischer-olsen6504]

You are generous with superb information. I'm now much more confident in getting my first batch of isopods for my gargoyle gecko terrarium. Thank you Wally.

[@SupremeGecko]

Always, my pleasure and thank you for the comment.

[@LunaGeckos]

Fantastic video. Great info.

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you Big G.

[@BOB-ud4gy]

Great information Wally, love the bloopers😄

[@SupremeGecko]

Thanks Bob. I tell ya, this guy doing the video.... I get so frustrated with him!

[@BOB-ud4gy]

@@SupremeGecko 😄

[@TheSonsofAtreus]

This is great. Thank you!

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you Fish

[@Punkstar911]

Thanks for the info 👍

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you

[@sarahsunshine8455]

Great video and also great suggestions, Wally! Thank you so much! I already have quite a few of these isopods, but the ones I’m missing I will now have to buy from you! Lol 😆

[@SupremeGecko]

Thanks! This was a fun one to do.

[@barbhelle5481]

Thank you Wally.

[@SupremeGecko]

Thanks Barb

[@emilywilson3963]

Great questions

[@SupremeGecko]

Thanks

[@rashimparker2765]

Love the blooper at the end.

[@SupremeGecko]

Thanks. I hope others stay till the end.

[@ChantalsCritters]

Great video as always

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you.

[@frankdughtank8327]

Excellent video Wally I’m sure this will help many Look a puppy 🐶

[@SupremeGecko]

thanks, I certainl.......... WHERE!!!!

[@357magnole8]

Love the content and because of your channel I went from using dwarf whites in my enclosures to having 7 species specific colonies setup in the course of 2 weeks.

[@SupremeGecko]

No way! Not sure whether to day "you're welcome" or "..... sorry" :)

[@357magnole8]

@@SupremeGeckoConsidering they cost significantly less then my monitors and snakes my Wife says thanks haha. Keep up the good work guys love the channel.

[@erikdahlstrom3561]

awsome, super helpful. None of the places that sell isopods seem to have this information.

[@SupremeGecko]

Very glad I could help. Any time you have questions, please let me know.

[@erikdahlstrom3561]

@@SupremeGecko alright, thank you.

[@SupremeGecko]

@@erikdahlstrom3561 Of course.

[@glencannon1139]

Dwarf white definitely a first choice for tropical moist cleanup. The Giant Canyon and Spanish Orange have done good for my arid enclosures, Leopard geckos and Peters Banded Skinks.

[@SupremeGecko]

Nice! Thanks for the feedback.

[@DnAReptilia]

Wow, great video Wally! Learned a lot in this video like I never knew that dwarf whites were partho, no wonder i have so many haha.

[@SupremeGecko]

Dave, thank you for the kind words. Coming from you that is a real compliment. I'm glad this helped.

[@DnAReptilia]

@@SupremeGecko it was Abby ;)

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

Oh, man, I was really crackin up at the end lol

[@SupremeGecko]

I completely forgot about this!!!! :) Thanks for the smile.

[@whisperingwooper1763]

I have a bioactive for my leopard gecko and I use powder orange isopods and they work well! They tend to hide under the water dish so moss isn’t as needed I make sure to spray daily for them by the water dish. It’s also very important to have a backup culture just in case! My gecko doesn’t eat her CUC but powdered oranges are bigger and can eat them.

[@SupremeGecko]

2 Outstanding points! I wanted to talk about the water dish point in the video but just plain forgot :) And I DO mention to everyone to have a 'spare' culture going all the time. Excellent!!!

[@emilywilson3963]

Love the bloopers

[@SupremeGecko]

Thanks Emily. I get more frustrated with myself then I get with anyone else!

[@emilywilson3963]

That’s normal! We all do that!

[@PlecsExotics3]

I love to use dwarf striped and Nagurus nanus isopods, so as dwarf whites. They make a great cleanup crew!

[@SupremeGecko]

Absolutely

[@cowsymbola]

Thank you SO MUCH for talking about the myth that isopods attack and eat living animals! I am so tired of seeing this posted all over the internet, facebook, etc. It gets exhausting trying to educate people that they don't do that.

[@SupremeGecko]

I agree 100%. So, without evidence that this happens, I felt extemely safe in mentioning this. However, if you have any hard proof on this, I am all ears. Thanks again Taurah.

[@deborahmcclain8134]

Agreed, thx for noting that the original observation involved isopods w/ dead material.

[@loochgardenstatebugs3737]

​@@SupremeGecko Tanner has proof of pak chongs eating springtails 😆

[@SupremeGecko]

@@loochgardenstatebugs3737 Next thing ya know, they'll be a eaten my gecker!

[@reptilesdesign1358]

Love this thx! Personal: I use "powder blue" as feeder for so many years now (like 6-8 years now) and white dwarf for small baby like Takydromus ou froglets. (We mix protéines sources, isopods is one of many)

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank YOU! Good call on the proteins.

[@bile897]

Haha, love the bloopers. I got some random isopods on Amazon with no ID oops. Oh well I just threw them in an empty bioactive that I’m starting up.

[@SupremeGecko]

Were they advertised on EBay with an ID?

[@bile897]

@@SupremeGecko I didn’t look on EBay, but I got mine from Pocket pets store and they’re called Yeti. On Amazon. So I guess I can try and compare, idk.

[@SupremeGecko]

@@bile897 sorry, meant Amazon

[@DEAexotics]

you are using that moist word again lol great information thank you for sharing

[@SupremeGecko]

Dang it! I knew I messed up..... messed up real bad!

[@DEAexotics]

@@SupremeGecko lol

[@feliciafoster6165]

second :) Very helpful video.

[@SupremeGecko]

Well done!

[@chfkpplk]

Hi! Thank you so much for your videos! They’re so helpful in teaching me how to take care of my isopods. I have armadillidium granulatum sicily and porcellio scaber orange dalmatian now. I’ve read that porcellio scaber orange dalmatian aren’t recommended for animals with soft skin, and I was planning to house them with my crested geckos. Can I still do that or would armadillidium granulatum sicily be better?

[@SupremeGecko]

There are MANY rumors of isopods hurting soft skinned animals. In this regard, I do not believe they can kill, or even harm them. HOWEVER, I do believe they will both the animals if they are terrestrial. So, something that burrows might be better (but A. granulatums would be fine). And thank you for the kind words.

[@rdnkenki]

I just tried a mix of blue, orange and dairy cows for my Leopard Gecko. I'll update in the future if I can remember this post 😉

[@SupremeGecko]

Cool! Thanks

[@zuezsz]

At first I had no idea what was an isopods I thought it was something nasty I wouldn't like I. The tank but ended up finding out they are roll pollys 😂 the name most people use to call em , anyways point is they fun to handle

[@SupremeGecko]

That is funny. Yes, like so many other animals, there are so many layers of descriptions- including the scientific names.

[@emilywilson3963]

I love powder blues

[@SupremeGecko]

Have you tried Powder Orange or White Outs?

[@emilywilson3963]

Those too!

[@jpslizards]

At the moment I only have high humidity bioactive set ups and for both I have dairy cows. I barely even see poop once in a while lol they eat like crazy

[@SupremeGecko]

That is a fantastic testimony! Thanks for this comment.

[@jpslizards]

@@SupremeGecko I hoping to get a new tank and make an arid bioactive set up for my Wheeleri 😁

[@zennozangetsu1164]

I just dumped 12 dairy cows into my new bioactive set up for a cuban false chameleon! Hoping they do well!

[@jpslizards]

@@zennozangetsu1164 I'm sure they will. You will even need to feed them extra lol

[@SupremeGecko]

@@zennozangetsu1164 I bet they do. Will the CFC eat them?

[@josephg8818]

Hey wally , question, with protein lovers like dairy cows, would you feed them some protein in a bioactive or will they be fine , I usually add some freeze dried river shrimp under some leaf litter in crested geckos bioactive

[@SupremeGecko]

I still WOULD feed them protein in a setup like that. I throw in some Supreme Isopod Chow ++ Protein every feeding.

[@loochgardenstatebugs3737]

Powder orange or powder blues

[@SupremeGecko]

?

[@ethanbright4058]

So would dwarf whites work well in a leopard gecko enclosure? And if I get these would I also need springtails?

[@SupremeGecko]

They would if you follow the instructions of the video. Yes for Springtails.

[@nicholaswollan]

What isopods and springtails do you recommend for cleanup with a bearded dragon?

[@SupremeGecko]

I believe I actually mentioned in THIS video... Beardeds are arid.

[@masonaguilar4645]

I just started my first enclosure, and I’ve put some isopods in there. My question sir is are we supposed to like totally clean out our enclosures? Like at the year mark start over with fresh substrate? I know it’s a dumb question

[@SupremeGecko]

Great question. You don't have to as long as your colony is not multiplying that quickly. But if they are, you probably will need to chance out every year or so. I do about a 75% change.

[@craps72006]

I have powered orange isopods and I accidentally purchased Porcellio scaber 'Orange Dalmatian' Isopods and put them in. Is that ok? I have a crested gecko bio terrarium. Thanks

[@SupremeGecko]

We ALWAYS prefer to keep the species separate if we can.

[@abby118324]

How often do i change the substrate? Also during that time i would need isopods and spring tails all over again everytime right? Bioactive tank

[@SupremeGecko]

For Isopods? I actually did a video on this. We actually keep a separate bin of springtails and isopods JUST so we can seen our bio-active enclosures.

[@aidanfordsword6954]

Can they over populate an enclosure? If so should I be worried at all? Also I was thinking about getting some zebra isopods, could I use those in a crested gecko enclosure? Thanks!

[@SupremeGecko]

Think of the isopod enclosure as sort of an aquarium. Too many fish and the load will cause the fish tank to become unhealthy. You certainly can. Some may be eaten of course.

[@zer0coolninja887]

🔥🔥🔥🔥👌

[@SupremeGecko]

Thank you for watching.

[@zer0coolninja887]

@@SupremeGecko thank you for uploading

[@SirFeatureCreature]

As it comes to isopods and the potential harm to animals they may cause the only evidence I have seen has been towards other invertebrates. I have seen a video of a dairy cow wrestling with a freshly molted superworm, gnawing out its back. I imagine a large invertebrate (tarantula, scorpion, millipede, etc.) molting around an established colony of isopods could pose a great risk.

[@SupremeGecko]

Exactly. But for geckos, IMHO there is no risk.

[@ultimate_animal_showdown]

I have 3 kinds of isopods including zebra, clown, and Croatian giants and I was wondering which would be best to start a new colony within my crested gecko tank which has both a wet and a dry side to their liking

[@SupremeGecko]

I personally would not use any of the 3 (see notes in video). If I had to choose, I would go with the A. frontisotre I guess

[@ultimate_animal_showdown]

@@SupremeGecko alright thanks for the advice

[@SupremeGecko]

@@ultimate_animal_showdown Of course. Thanks for watching

[@larrycung9131]

Do you have experience keeping isopods with large inverts? I wonder if porcellio pruinosus or zebra isopods can be kept with tarantulas. Won't the isopod eat molting tarantulas?

[@SupremeGecko]

"large inverts" which ones?

[@MikesAquaticsThings]

👍👍

[@SupremeGecko]

Thanks Mike.

[@mang3139]

TY! Can I add dwarf whites and p. scabers to a crested gecko tank?

[@SupremeGecko]

Absolutely

[@mang3139]

@@SupremeGecko ty!

[@Zaku186]

How are you supposed to deal with mites in a bioactive snake enclosure?

[@SupremeGecko]

I do not have snakes so this might be better directed to a snake keeper. As you cannot spray for mites in the enclosure, if only your snake has mites, relocate them and treat them in a separate enclosure. Keep them there for several months before relocating back.

[@yuralala742]

Hi, i was just wondering if spider mites are harmful to reptiles? in my case i have African Fat tail Geckos. I'm worried because one of the tubs of isopods i bought recently look like they have little white spidermites in them? they don't look like springtails at all. and also what would be the best isopods for their enclosure? I was given Dairy cows

[@SupremeGecko]

I have never had them but I believe they can be very dangerous to reptiles, especially if left unchecked. Dwarf Whites would work well for AFTs.

[@breannfleshman2207]

So powder orange can withstand higher humidity and heat?

[@SupremeGecko]

Yes, a bit higher and a bit more humidity. They have a broader range of tolerances than a majority of isopods.

[@realshit6061]

Do u have a list of like 6 good isopods for a leachie, thx.

[@SupremeGecko]

I cannot remember how many I recommended for a tropical setup in the video but I think it was 3 or 4. You can add similar species. Good luck with your leachie

[@jordacious7179]

How big do dairy cows get? and could a juvenile crested gecko choke on them

[@SupremeGecko]

@ 1" It is a possibility. Very remote but a possibility

[@amelliamendel2227]

I want to put mourning geckos in with milk back isopods will the geckos eat them?

[@SupremeGecko]

They may eat some of the mancae but would never be able to keep up.

[@amelliamendel2227]

@@SupremeGecko thank you

[@SupremeGecko]

@@amelliamendel2227 You are most welcome

[@iiSilverflightii]

Are dairy cows good for a leopard gecko enclosure ?

[@SupremeGecko]

Absolutely, if setup the correct way (as I explain in the video)

[@JeramiahPearce]

In my short time reaserching, that is all I have seen. Dairy Cows will harm the gecko. Am I hearing you right Wally? They don't harm the gecko?

[@SupremeGecko]

I think we need to see some definitive proof that Dairy Cows DO harm geckos. I've not see any and I have talked to a dozen people that have isopods (a few with Dairy Cows) that see no issue whatsoever.

[@autogeek7258]

Is it save to use isopods from the wild?

[@SupremeGecko]

It is absoutely safe to keep isopods from the wild. However, I would never intruduce wild isopods into an existing enclosure. I just feel there may be pathogens.

[@autogeek7258]

@@SupremeGecko thanks for the advise sir keep making awesome videos

[@SupremeGecko]

@@autogeek7258 Thank YOU!

[@jgfishing27]

What's the name of those plants at minute 4:30? Anyone please? Thank you

[@SupremeGecko]

I believe it is Eleocharis Montevidensis

[@jgfishing27]

@@SupremeGecko thank you Wally

[@WisdomCalls]

I was keeping my first isopods in my garage Klugi montecello, because it’s in the 80s. I have just discovered ghost ants in the enclosure. I didn’t even really have much food in there just the basic setup. What should I do?

[@SupremeGecko]

Get the ants out! If you cannot, I would move all isopods to another enclosure.

[@whitekoatnupe]

The reptiles dont eat these isopods?

[@SupremeGecko]

No idea why this did not show up until now- They will eat some but not all.

[@realshit6061]

Wait so only 1 species per tank???

[@SupremeGecko]

If you keep more than one, you have the likelihood that one will out compete the others in the enclosure.

[@paltro]

First

[@SupremeGecko]

Good job.

[@paltro]

@@SupremeGecko 😂 I love your stuff Wally!

[@SupremeGecko]

@@paltro Thank you so much

[@frankdughtank8327]

Curse you KZbin Notification Failure

[@SupremeGecko]

You COULD write - 97th! ;)

[@miillionsofcritters1729]

MOIST

[@SupremeGecko]

Someone is listening closely. Nice catch. ;)

[@tmykegr1167]

I'm in the process of building two bioactive enclosures in my 50 gallon enclosures for my adult leopard gecko. I have plenty of leave litter, sphagnum moss, I have Led lights ready to go, I have cork straits for both enclosures (2 nice size pieces for both), I plan on keeping under the water bowl moist. Now, I am a member of reddit groups and lots of FB groups and I can't get a straight answer, I ordered a ton of spring tails. Do I need them for a leopard gecko enclosure. If not, my two crested gecko enclosures will be going bioactive within the next few months, I'm just not sure if the springtails will survive that long. I have a third leo still on paper towels. She has been on paper towels for about a month now and was 3 months old old when I got her. Is it safe to put her right in a bio active right from her quarantine set up? She is currently in a 30 gallon from dubia.com and will be upgraded to a 50 from dubia.com but if it's safe I would like to start the set up now to start the isopods breeding. The substrate I am using for my two adult leos is organic topsoil/play sand/excavator clay (60/20/20). Might be a little less excavator clay but it's pretty close to that. Sorry for all the questions?

[@SupremeGecko]

"Do I need them for a leopard gecko enclosure. " You do not 'NEED' them but they are beneficial. They help with keeping mold and uneaten food in control. "I'm just not sure if the springtails will survive that long." If fed small amounts of food in a deli cup with sphagnum moss and, kept slightly damp, they certainly will! "Is it safe to put her right in a bio active right from her quarantine set up?" Certainly. what is your concern with doing this?