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Atlas / Library / Porcellionidae / Dairy Cow Isopod (P. laevis morphs)
Beginner
Porcellionidae

Dairy Cow Isopod (P. laevis morphs)

Porcellio laevisไอโซพอด

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. iheartbugs.com

Photograph: RAP · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/porcellio-laevis

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature20–28 °C
Humidity65–85 %

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
20–28°Ambient

One ambient band, 20–28°C. This sheet states no warm side, no cool side and no night figure, so none are shown. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states20-28°C

Humidity

65–85%Target RH

The sheet states65-85%

Enclosure
6 L+ tub with ventilation
Diet
Leaf litter, veg, high protein (needs more than most) · Frequent; regular protein & veg

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m1.5–2 cm
1520100400 cm
1.5–2 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Order / Family
Isopoda
Origin
IUCN / CITES
Not evaluated; CITES not yet in our data
Difficulty
Beginner
Commonality
Very common; explosive breeder
Adult size
1.5–2 cm
Lifespan
1.5–2 yrs
Growth rate
Very fast
Activity & niche
Fast surface detritivore
Temperament
Peaceful, very active, voracious
Venom / defense
Harmless detritivore; does not roll

Enclosure and conditions

Temperature
20–28°C
Humidity
65–85%
Min. enclosure
6 L+ tub with ventilation
Substrate
Coco/soil + leaf litter + rotting wood
Hides / decor / water
Cork bark, leaf litter; moisture gradient

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Staple food
Leaf litter, veg, high protein (needs more than most)
Feeding frequency
Frequent; regular protein & veg
Supplements
Cuttlebone / calcium available

Behaviour and handling

HandlingSafe; harmless
CommunalYes – colony/communal; powerful cleanup crew
Defense / stress signsRapid movement, clustering

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
1.5–2 yrLifespan in care
1.5 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Reproduction
Marsupium brooders; among the fastest-breeding isopods

Common health problems

Common health issues
SignsCan outcompete/eat tankmates if underfed protein
Red flags / quarantine
SignsQuarantine; watch pest mites

Good to know

  • The black-and-white 'Dairy Cow' morph is the most recognizable feeder isopod.

What it needs

A thermometerbecause temp — 20-28°C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 65–85%
Not stated: The size of the enclosurethis sheet describes the enclosure without a figure: « 6 L+ tub with ventilation »

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.

Sources

en.wikipedia.orgiheartbugs.com

Others in this group

Common Pill Bug / Roly-Poly (morphs)Armadillidium vulgareLittle Sea IsopodCubaris murinaRubber Ducky IsopodCubaris sp. 'Rubber Ducky'Common Rough Woodlouse (many morphs)Porcellio scaberPowder Blue / Powder Orange IsopodPorcellionides pruinosusDwarf White IsopodTrichorhina tomentosaClown IsopodArmadillidium klugiiZebra IsopodArmadillidium maculatum

What this sheet states

85%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 6 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.