Wild Isopods

[Sabayon]

I'm looking to start an Isopod 'farm', but the best way for me to obtain them would be to catch wild ones. I know that they are known for being high in heavy metals, so my question is how do I rid them of toxins?

If I catch a few and just let them live in an enclosure for a few months (They have to make babies anyways) will the heavy metals slowly leave their system? Or is there any other way I could 'cleanse' them and make them safe to eat?

 

[DavidBuchan]

If you are going to feed more than a couple of them then yes, just keep them and only feed the babies to your Chams, so there are no heavy metals in there. There is no other way to clean them
Here's sandras blog on the matter -
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...orcellio-pillbugs-wood-sow-rollie-pollie.html

 

[Sabayon]

Awesome, thanks

 

[sandrachameleon]

if you can, remove the wild caught adults from the breeding colony before they die off - this will ensure any metals they may be carrying are removed with them

I personally didnt do this (didnt even think about it, even though I was well aware of the issue) when I started my colony a few years ago. But if I were starting my colony from scratch I would try to.

 

[Sabayon]

Thats what I was thinking ... I'll catch a bunch of adults and keep them in there until I see babies running around. Remove the big ones (and dead ones) and I should be golden!

Before any of that though, I'll be posting pics of my catch to ensure I've caught the right ones.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

Very cool idea! Really hope to see how this goes!