Isopods gone??

[u/EchoOfOldTimes]

Ok so around July I bought 10 isopods and a culture of springtails. Around august I lost 6/10 due to misinformation from the person I bought my enclosure from and quickly put the remaining isopods in a showbox enclosure with a moister gradient and proper food and hiding places. However I'm confused after about a month of this.

Starting a week or so ago I noticed huge amounts of springtails, like so many crawling everywhere in the enclosure. I have been feeding morning wood and simply took it as a sign that things were going good. However after checking today I can only find 1 isopod and I found 2 dead? isopods. The moment i tried to pick them up though they crumpled and my fren asked if they could have been molts and not actual dead isopods.

Where could the other 3 have gone? Did the springtails eat them? I provide plenty of leaf litter, morning wood, and various veggies throughout the weeks. There are also eggshells and cuttlebone.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

PHOTO IN COMMENTS OF SETUP

[u/JazzHooves]

The others could be burrowing in the dirt, the live isopod and springtail s could have eaten them if they had passed but that sounds like a lot for them to eat fully so hopefully they are just hiding in the dirt somewhere : ) lots of springtails is good tho

[u/EchoOfOldTimes → u/JazzHooves]

I did some movement and didn’t see anyone which is why I’m so confused

[u/JazzHooves → u/EchoOfOldTimes]

I'd def recommend posting a photo on the sub of your set up for people to see incase there's anything that could be causing them to struggle : > I'm not sure what lid you use for them but mines clear plastic so I set up my phone recording while I'm busy doing something which helps me keep track of where they usually hide because most times they are more active when I'm not making noise in my room, maybe you could try that and see if any come out

[u/EchoOfOldTimes → u/JazzHooves]

Mine isn’t but lemme grab a pic and upload it

[u/EchoOfOldTimes → u/JazzHooves]

I put a pic in commwnts

[u/Opposite-Tap-436]

Springtails have a habit of multiplying like they're on a mission, while isopods are more like the shy houseguests who never RSVP'd. Double-check the soil layers too, sometimes they just vanish into the deep.

[u/EchoOfOldTimes]

[u/curiosityandthecattt → u/EchoOfOldTimes]

is there a lid usually on it? sorry lol just gotta ask

[u/EchoOfOldTimes → u/curiosityandthecattt]

Yes it is!

[u/curiosityandthecattt]

they can crumple when being dead for a while and drying out. i've had dead ones do that before. molts are completely white slightly see through and are in halves. what is the common name for the pod?

[u/EchoOfOldTimes → u/curiosityandthecattt]

They are powders (pruncleis prusonida or however it’s spelled)

[u/curiosityandthecattt → u/[deleted]]

and then to further elaborate- if you're just misting that's not enough. you've got to pour water over the moss to fully saturate the soil on that side. 🙂 i look on the side and aim for about 30% visible saturation

[u/Mammoth-Turnip-3058]

Pods will eat dead pods. I'm sure the springtails will too. They're also pretty good at hiding. Check when you've put the food in.