Striped Woodlouse

🔤 Taxonomy

Philoscia muscorum (Scopoli, 1763) is accepted. Oniscus muscorum and O. sylvestris occur in older literature. Recent recognition of the very similar P. affinis means that colour and a dorsal stripe alone are not secure identification; locality and adult characters should accompany a culture.

📌 Description

This slender, long-legged woodlouse reaches about 7–11 mm and runs rapidly when disturbed. Most animals are mottled brown with a dark mid-dorsal stripe and a darker head, but greenish, reddish and pale forms occur. The antenna has three flagellar segments and the pleopods lack visible lungs.

Care point	Practical target
Adult length	about 0.7–1.1 cm
Starter colony	25 × 20 × 15 cm or larger
Temperature	14–22 °C
Moisture	mostly damp substrate with fresh air
Staple	conditioned deciduous leaves
Main risks	drying, overheating, escape and mistaken identity

🌍 Distribution

The confirmed native range extends across western, northern and central Europe into northern Italy, southern France and central Greece. Some peripheral Iberian and Balkan records require re-examination because females and close Philoscia species can be difficult to separate. North American populations are introduced and are excluded from the conservative map.

No single climate station represents this broad range, and grass-tussock moisture is more relevant to care than regional monthly humidity.

Conservative native-range map

⚖️ Legal status

Checked on 2026-08-29: P. muscorum was not found in CITES, EU wildlife-trade Annexes A–D under Regulation (EU) 2026/1383, or Bern Appendices II–III.

Local and national rules may still govern collection, protected land, transport of soil, trade, import or keeping. Use documented captive stock, retain invoices and locality notes, and never release animals or culture substrate.

🤌 Husbandry

House 20–30 animals in a tightly closed 25 × 20 × 15 cm box with fine mesh over every vent. Use 7–9 cm of mature, moisture-retentive substrate, abundant leaves, bark and grass litter. Keep most of the lower substrate damp while allowing a small, well-ventilated sector to become merely moist.

Quarantine for 45–60 days with separate tools and examine several adults under magnification. ReptiFiles has no species-level guide; field ecology and feeding research are stronger than published captive parameters, so change only one condition at a time and keep records.

💡 Lighting

UVB is unnecessary. Provide 9–14 hours of diffuse room light with permanent dark cover. Keep the enclosure out of sunlight and away from hot plant lights.

🌡 Heating and temperature

Maintain 14–22 °C, with a 10–17 °C cool refuge and nights near 9–17 °C. Avoid prolonged temperatures above 24 °C. A normal seasonal slowdown is acceptable, but deliberate winter chilling is unnecessary for routine care.

Do not use a basking lamp. Room-level cooling is safer than trying to offset excessive heat with more water.

💧 Humidity and water

Target approximately 75–95% RH while prioritizing damp contact zones beneath bark and litter. Add water into the substrate at one end and preserve airflow above the surface. The dry end is only less wet, never arid.

No water dish is required. Wall climbing and tight aggregation at the wet end indicate dryness; constant condensation and sour substrate call for less watering and more ventilation.

🌿 Enclosure and decoration

Use pesticide-free topsoil, leaf mould and soft rotten hardwood, with a thick cover of grass and deciduous leaves. Add overlapping bark and a damp moss pocket. Powder-fine hatchlings require fine mesh and a clean lid seal.

Provide cuttlebone or limestone continuously. Avoid pure coir, fertilizer, resinous wood and freshly collected material from sprayed ground.

🪳 Feeding

Conditioned leaf litter is the staple; laboratory work confirms that the species feeds on decaying leaves and uses microbes already active in the food. Keep several deciduous leaf species and rotten wood available. Offer small mushroom or vegetable pieces every three to five days and a tiny protein feed weekly.

Remove wet leftovers within 24 hours. Rich food cannot compensate for immature litter and quickly encourages mites in a damp culture.

🥚 Breeding

Females brood eggs and embryos in a marsupium and release mancae; the structured mode is therefore “viviparous.” Published population studies show seasonal cohorts, but a universal captive age at maturity or brood size is not established.

Stable cool moisture, mature food and fine refuge structure are the safest breeding support. Do not isolate gravid females. Transfer old substrate when dividing a colony because it carries microorganisms and very small young.

🩺 Common problems

Wrong species: compare adult antennal and body characters, especially against P. affinis.
Escapes: cover vents with fine mesh and open the box over a tray.
Desiccation: restore lower-layer moisture without sealing off ventilation.
Heat-related losses: cool the enclosure before adding more water.
Few young: improve conditioned leaf diversity and inspect for hidden drying.
Mites or mould: reduce supplemental feeding and remove remnants promptly.

📌 Conclusion

The striped woodlouse is rewarding in a cool, mature grass-litter culture, but its speed, small young and identification problems make it less forgiving than common beginner species.