Spanish Pill Bug

A Mediterranean pill bug that rolls into an almost perfect ball. Keepers report a faint hissing sound when one is disturbed — the source of the "Hissing Isopod" trade name. Care is straightforward: keep about two thirds of the substrate moist with moss, bark and leaf litter, and the rest drier. It likes a little more protein than most (about twice a week) and needs calcium always available. Growth is slow. The trade sells cultivated colour morphs of this species (Orange Crush, Pink, Pink Dalmatian, white forms) and wild locales (Israel, Sicily, Tamarix). Keep locales and morphs separate and labelled — mixed colonies can't be told apart later. DETRITIVORE, harmless.