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Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber) (Calico)
Porcellio scaber "Calico"
The Calico morph of the common rough woodlouse. Highly prolific and adaptable, it makes an excellent cleanup crew for bioactive terrariums, consuming organic waste, mold, and leaf litter.
Class:Malacostraca
Order:Isopoda
Family:Porcellionidae
Genus:Porcellio
Species:Porcellio scaber "Calico"
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
50 - 70 %
Day temperature
20 - 25 °C
Night temperature
18 - 22 °C
UVB
None
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to Europe but now established globally as a cosmopolitan species. It thrives in damp temperate woodlands, gardens, and urban undergrowth, sheltering under rotting logs, stones, and leaf litter to avoid dehydration.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belonging to the family Porcellionidae (terrestrial crustaceans). *Porcellio scaber* is highly adaptable and cannot roll into a ball like the genus *Armadillidium*. The 'Calico' morph is a stable color variety characterized by a mottled pattern of orange, yellow, and grey spots.
Behavior and Habits: Strictly nocturnal and photophobic, seeking shelter under damp objects during the day. They are gregarious and gather in large numbers in humid microclimates. In bioactive terrariums, they are active detritivores, feeding on decaying leaves, wood, and organic waste, converting it into rich humus.
Morphology: Features a robust, oval, and segmented body reaching 18–20 mm in length, with a characteristically rough, cemented exoskeleton. Females carry fertilized eggs and developing larvae (mancae) in a fluid-filled ventral pouch called a marsupium. Males can be distinguished by their specialized uropods.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Can be cultured in plastic enclosures with cross-ventilation. The substrate should be 5–10 cm deep, composed of organic soil, coco fiber, rotten wood (flake soil), and plenty of dry leaves (such as oak or beech). Cork bark flats should be placed on top to provide shelters.
Lighting and Heating: Prefers dim or dark conditions and must be protected from direct sunlight, which can desiccate them. They tolerate low temperatures (10–15°C) but breed and populate rapidly at room temperatures of 20–25°C. No supplementary heating is required.
Humidity and Hydration: Requires a constant moisture gradient, as they breathe through modified gills. Moisten one side of the enclosure heavily while keeping the other side dry, allowing the isopods to self-regulate their moisture needs.
Feeding and Supplementation: Leaf litter and decaying wood should form the basis of their diet. Supplement twice a week with protein sources (fish flakes, dried shrimp) and fresh vegetables. Provide a constant source of calcium, such as cuttlebone, to support exoskeleton development.
Compatibility: Ideal cleanup crew for damp terrariums housing large frogs, lizards, and tarantulas. However, they should not be kept with extremely small amphibians, geckos, or soft reptile eggs, as their hungry, opportunistic nature can cause stress or damage.
Health and Common Diseases: Highly resilient. The main health risk is desiccation from low humidity or inadequate ventilation leading to stagnation and mold. Ensure the moisture gradient is maintained and the substrate does not dry out.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to Europe but now established globally as a cosmopolitan species. It thrives in damp temperate woodlands, gardens, and urban undergrowth, sheltering under rotting logs, stones, and leaf litter to avoid dehydration.
Origin
Selective breeding and cultivarsCentral America and CaribbeanEurope, Mediterranean, and West AsiaCosmopolitan or introduced
Terrestrial invertebrate profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 1.7 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Venom level
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 1.7 cm. The British Myriapod and Isopod Group — Porcellio scaber source reports a maximum adult measurement of 1.7 cm for this species, recorded as body length. The biological datum refers to the base species Porcellio scaber, not exclusively to the commercial variety. These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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