Pets or pests?

[Catherine]

Many people see isopods as garden pests. They definitely see them as pests if they get into the house.
However there is a new trend to keep them as pets. They come in different colours and have names like dairy cow and panda king.
They are also not insects, they are crustations.

https://www.king5.com/article/entertainm...5c9f6e2e32

They are certainly an easy pet to look after. They really just need to be fed. They look after themselves are happy living in a container, as long as there is food.
It is hard to explain why people want them, but I am thinking of getting some Dairy Cow isopods. They really are cute.

[LPC]

Can you post a screenshot? The website link won't allow anyone outside of Canada/USA to look:
"Access Denied
You don't have permission to access "http://www.king5.com/" on this server."

[Catherine]

Quote:Pests or pets? Common garden critter now trending, tiny companion
Whidbey woman says isopods make great pets. #k5evening

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[color=var(--global-color-text-dark)]OAK HARBOR, Wash. — These are not pests. They’re pets!
"There are thousands of isopods in this house," laughed Narissa Jackson, who's raising them in bins in her Whidbey Island home. 
Isopods are not insects. They're actually members of the crustacean family. They're members of Narissa Jackson's family as well.
It began like a lot of these things do... 

“There was a Craigslist ad, a couple of sisters in Sedro Woolley that were selling isopods and I got a few different types from them and [it] just kind of spread from there," Jackson explained.
She bought them to serve as a cleaning crew for her pet reptiles - isopods eat decaying material. Soon, she was obsessed with these colorful cousins to the common potato bugs that you find in your garden.
Jackson's isopods are more exotic than garden variety ones. With names like "Magic Potion," "Dairy Cow" and "Panda King" - which sports a wide black stripe and does look a bit like a panda. Exotic isopods, like the "Thai Spikey" that Jackson covets, can be pricey.
"Yes, there are some that are really expensive upwards of a couple $100 per bug," Jackson said.
They're generally low maintenance - except for the occasional escape. 
"I got out of the shower the other morning and I looked down on the floor and there was one crawling across the floor so I had to rescue him and put him back in its bin," Jackson said.
Jackson's family has caught 'the bug' too. 
"They really enjoy helping me take care of them for sure,” she said. "It's just kind of fun to watch and take care of them and just be able to dive into that little world."
These tiny relatives of crab and shrimp don't sit or fetch. But for some folks, they're a perfectly practical pet.
"I don't think they really have personalities. They're just fun to watch.” Jackson said.
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. [/color]

Pet isopods.

https://youtu.be/VWUuBYRL04o?list=PLsJlQ...y53a7D20Te


Care of isopods.

https://youtu.be/GlxPztmZawA


This should work for you. We are having a problem with media in Canada.
Some stuff won't post some places.

[LPC]

Thank for taking the time to post the screenshot, Catherine. Well, they're certainly different from the usual sort of companion animals!

On looking at the video and then doing an internet search, I see that woodlice are members of the isopod group. We have lots of woodlice in Europe.

[Catherine]

They are really common, but the fancy colors are new. I assume people have been breeding them to produce new colours.
I have them wild in my place and I am always glad to see them. They don't do any harm.
The fancy colored ones are so cute looking.  People have fun watching them. They are also useful for keeping terrariums clean.
I am thinking of adding them to my jungle lizard tank. The skinks won't mind their presence.

The wild ones keep their ecosystems clean.
I think they do a lot of good.

[LPC]

I agree totally.

[Catherine]

We need to cut back on pesticides so that they can continue to thrive in the wild.