Porcellio laevis — Fact Sheet

Porcellio laevis · Porcellio laevis

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Minimum practical culture: 30 × 20 × 15 cm for roughly 20-30 animals.
• Substrate depth: At least 6 cm of edible substrate.
• Moisture layout: Keep about one-third damp and the remainder lightly damp to dry; use cross-ventilation.
• Dairy Cow, Milk Back, Orange, Oropesa, Sicily Mix, and White are trade culture labels. Non-crossing reports raise unresolved species-complex questions, so the guide does not certify every line as the same biological species.

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Base: Pesticide-free leaf soil or topsoil mixed with decayed hardwood and crushed leaves; coconut fibre may improve texture but is not a complete food.
• Cover: Deep hardwood leaf litter and several cork flats. Avoid aromatic conifer wood, treated compost, roadside leaves, and heavy stones on loose substrate.
• Calcium: Keep cuttlebone, limestone, oyster shell, or plain calcium carbonate available at all times.

💡 Lighting

• Cycle: Normal indirect room light and a regular day-night rhythm are sufficient; UVB is not required.
• Heat safety: Never place the tub in direct sun, where it can overheat rapidly.

🌡️ Temperature

• Culture: 18-26 °C; breed around 21-25 °C and avoid sustained heat above 28 °C
• Heating: If the room is cooler, warm only one side wall with thermostat control; do not heat beneath the substrate.

💧 Humidity & water

• Supporting range: Roughly 55-75% RH, interpreted alongside the substrate rather than used as a whole-tub spraying target.
• Method: Pour water into the damp third and let the open side dry at the surface. No water bowl is needed.
• Correction: Persistent condensation or muddy substrate means excess water or insufficient ventilation.

🪳 Diet

• Keep hardwood leaves and decayed wood available continuously. Supply calcium at all times, vegetables once or twice weekly, and a small protein portion about weekly; remove wet leftovers within 24-48 hours.

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Persistent condensation or sour smell means excess water or weak ventilation. Failed molts, crowding at the damp end, unexplained deaths, or blue-purple animals require correction and isolation.
• Quarantine new stock for 60-90 days with separate tools; do not merge cultures showing fungus gnats, heavy grain mites, mixed species, or unexplained losses.