Porcellio ornatus — Fact Sheet

Porcellio ornatus · Porcellio ornatus

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Minimum practical culture: 30 × 20 × 15 cm for roughly 15-20 animals.
• Substrate depth: At least 7 cm of edible, mineral-rich substrate.
• Moisture and security: Keep a small damp refuge and most surface lightly damp to dry; provide high cross-ventilation and fine-covered vents for this active climber.
• Yellow is a captive colour line, not a separate taxon, and follows the same care.

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Base: Pesticide-free mineral soil mixed with decayed hardwood and crushed leaves; coconut fibre may add structure but is not a complete diet.
• Cover: Supply abundant hardwood leaves and low cork flats. Keep decor below the lid line and support heavy objects from the base.
• Calcium: Keep cuttlebone, limestone, oyster shell, or plain calcium carbonate continuously available.

💡 Lighting

• Cycle: Normal indirect room light and a regular day-night rhythm are sufficient; UVB is not required.
• Heat safety: Avoid direct sun because a closed culture tub can overheat quickly.

🌡️ Temperature

• Culture: 18-26 °C; breed around 21-25 °C and avoid sustained heat above 28 °C
• Heating: If necessary, heat one side wall under thermostat control, leaving a cooler retreat; do not use bottom heat.

💧 Humidity & water

• Supporting range: Roughly 45-65% RH; use this only as a secondary check beside the substrate gradient.
• Method: Water the small refuge directly and let the majority of the surface dry. No water bowl is needed.
• Correction: Condensation or widespread wet substrate calls for more ventilation and less water; animals packed into the refuge need a larger or deeper damp zone.

🪳 Diet

• Keep hardwood leaves and decayed wood available continuously. Supply permanent calcium, modest protein weekly, and small vegetable portions once or twice weekly; remove wet leftovers promptly.

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Condensation, sour smell, and substrate mites point to excess water or food. Failed molts or crowding in the damp refuge indicate dryness; check lids and mesh immediately after every escape.
• Quarantine new stock for 60-90 days with separate tools and isolate cultures with unexplained deaths, blue-purple animals, or heavy mites.