Woodlice home for a short stay can be kept in a small container, say a plastic lunchbox or sandwich box. Longer residents need somewhere larger; an old fish tank or plastic box is fine.

Be aware that woodlice die just as easily from too much water as from too little; so, spray the container often to keep things moist, but not too often, or you will end up with a defunct colony.

The container should have anything from a thin layer (mine has 1/2″) to a few inches of potting soil, depending on the species; pill bugs like to burrow more than common rough woodlice, for example.

On top of this should be a few pieces of bark, oak seems to be the best, and some leaf litter; personally, I use leftover sphagnum moss from my other terrariums, and some old bits of houseplant; I use bits of old millet plant and ‘flaming katy’ stems, they seem to be fine.

Refresh the woodlice with grated carrot or bits of fruit when it runs out (carrot is best, I use apple as I have no carrot), this should keep them healthy.

In the same way that millipedes need calcium, woodlice need copper; hence the carrot, as it is a good source of copper.

This article is for D. melanogaster.

Fruit flies are a perfect feeder insect for smaller reptiles or hatchlings such as baby chameleons, frogs, Paroedura Pictus, Bearded Dragons, etc.

Fly cultures can be kept at room temperature (around 72 degrees F).You should avoid freezing temperatures and temperatures above 100 degrees F.

After the initial culture is set up new flies begin to emerge in about two weeks. A new fruit fly culture will continue to produce fruit flies for about a month. Females will lay up to two-hundred eggs in the medium mixture. The eggs will hatch after two days and the larvae will feed on the yeast for seven to twenty days. The larvae will begin to climb up the sides of the vessel to dryer areas to pupate and transform into adult flies in a couple of days. The new flies are ready to mate within two days and have a life expectancy of a little more than two weeks.

Start a new culture when the original culture is two to three weeks old and before any flies are removed for any other purposes. For a continuous supply of fruit flies, always set up a new culture before taking flies from a culture. Cultures should not be kept longer than six weeks.

Fruit flies can be raised on a variety of fermenting plant materials but using prepared medium is the easiest.  This can be ordered from most people who breed the fruit flies or from a biological supplier.

Equal amount of prepared medium and water are mixed together and a few grains of dry viable yeast are added. Six to ten grains per culture is sufficient of the dry yeast. Take care not to use more yeast than the specified amount as this can cause sterilization of the flies or even death.

You may also want to make your own medium. Use the following recipe for making your own medium:

1 cup of water
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon agar (available at health  food stores)
1 tablespoon molasses
1/8 teaspoon calcium proprionate  (available at chemical suppliers)
1 package baking yeast

Except for the yeast mix all ingredients above and boil. Pour the mixture into culture vessels. Cover the vessels and place in the refrigerator until you are ready for them.

When you are ready to use the cultures sprinkle six to ten grains of yeast into the culture. Your home prepared medium is now ready for the fruit flies.

After preparing the medium add a dozen or more fruit flies to the vessel. This should remain undisturbed for about ten days. After ten days you may start another culture with the flies from this vessel or feed them off.

Transparent vials or bottles of glass or plastic can be used as a culture vessels. Vessels should be clean but they do not need to be sterilized when the medium is properly prepared.

Plastic foam or nonabsorbent cotton can be used as plugs for the vials. You may also use pieces of fabric and rubberbands for covering the tops of the vessels.

Tropical Springtail (Folsomia candida & Seira spp.): Small white Central American species 0.5 - 4mm long, ideal for feeding to newly metamorphosed and small amphibians such as thumbnail Dendrobates species.

European Springtail (Tomocerus longicornis): Large black temperate species grows to 8mm, suitable for feeding to small species such as adult Dendrobates.

Springtails are widely used in Europe as a food source for Dendrobatids, especially for froglets of small species. Springtails or Collembola are tiny arthropods that live in moist conditions, usually feeding on decaying plant matter and fungi. They can be useful in raising the smallest of froglets, but anecdotal evidence suggests that there may be problems with protozoan infections associated with the long-term use of collembola.

The more springtails you can feed with, the better the frogs are doing. If you have problems with tadpoles that turn into froglets with spindly legs syndrome (SLS) it will often solve the problem or at least decrease the number of frogs that get SLS if you start to feed with more springtails.
Another situation where springtails can help out alot is when you have a frog group that you want to start up for breeding. Increased springtail feedings will often help with starting them up. For feeding small froglets and some tiny species like R. reticulata springtails is the only alternative. Newly raised O. pumilio is best raised into adults with alot of springtails.  Even if this is a good food source it’s important that you don’t overfeed with this since to much springtails at one time will stress the frogs.

Culturing Springtails:

1: First you will need a number of small plastic pots with tight fitting lids such as margarine tubs, Tupperware or unventilated cricket tubs.

2: Fill the tubs to about 1/3 with a substrate of peat moss, and / or soil. This must be kept permanently moist, as if allowed to dry up the culture will die off.

3: On top of the substrate lay a sheet of damp paper towel this will act as a barrier between the food and the substrate making it easier to both remove the food and collect the Springtails.

4: Place a small amount of potato peelings, white bread or cereal in small clumps on top of the paper towel. Commercial Collembola food is available from some mail order specialists but can prove expensive. The foodstuff over time will begin to grow moulds and fungi this is what the Springtails feed on so do not remove the food just top up as necessary.

5: Seed the container with Springtails from your starter culture and close the lid firmly.

6: Store the culture in a dark area at a temperature of 68F-77F (20 - 25°C). If exposed to temperatures under 60F (15°C) the culture will become dormant and no Springtails will be produced and if exposed to temperatures above 85F (30°C) they will die off.

7: It is a good idea to have a number of cultures running at anyone time, and rotate their use as to avoid exhausting your cultures.

Species: Panchlora nivea(Green Banana Roach)

General Information

Where Found: Caribbean and deep south in America.

Size: Adults up to 1 1/2”

Babies around 1/8”

Sexing: Unknown

Life Span: After adulthood they can live up to 12 months.

Smell: Unknown.

Climbers: Babies do not climb, but adults can climb very well and petroleum jelly does not contain them.

Burrow: Babies and nymphs burrow, adults not so much.

Fly: Very strong flyer.

Speed: Very fast.

Active Period: Nocturnal

Reproduction: They are live bearing species.

Housing

Enclosure: A large dark tub (60q+) works well with a screened in top for ventilation.

Substrate: Babies and nymphs need a substrate to burrow into.

Hiding: I use vertical egg flats to allow the feces to fall to the bottom of the enclosure.

Heat: The hotter they are the faster they breed, anywhere between 75F to 98F works well.

Humidity: I like to keep humidity about 60% to help with molting.

Food & Water

Food: A high protein diet is recommended for all roaches.

Water: I use water crystals, I have found they work the best.

General Information: This breed can FLY and also can climb really good, a screen in top with tiny holes is needed, as the small nymphs are very tiny and can get through most screens. They are a potential pest. Fast growers.

Housing: Large tub (60qt+) with egg crates stacked to add more surface area.

Substrate: N/A

Feeding & Watering: You can feed just about anything. I mixed together, dog food, cat food, hamster food in a blender. Also roaches love fruits, and vegetable. I feed carrots daily. Roaches can get moisture from fruits and veges but i still offer water crystals. But remove fruit and veges after a day, MOLD KILLS.

Temperature: They can live and breed at room temperature, 72degrees, but grow and breed faster when kept at a higher temperature.

Breeding: Keep warm and fed, they will do the work.

Species: Gromphadorhina portentosa (Madagascar Hissing Cockroach)

General Information

Where Found: Madagascar.

Size: Adults up to 3”

Babies around 5/16”

Sexing: Females have 2 small white dots with a small white line on each pointing to the center of the abdomen. Males however do not have these dots and lines.

Life Span: After adulthood they can live up to 36 months.

Smell: No odor.

Climbers: Babies and adults can climb very well and petroleum jelly contains them.

Burrow: No.

Fly: They are wingless.

Speed: Very fast.

Active Period: Nocturnal

Reproduction: They are live bearing species.

Housing

Enclosure: A large dark tub (60q+) works well with a screened in top for ventilation.

Substrate: I suggest not using any type of substrate to minimize maintenance. This will make cleaning much easier and greatly decrease any smell.

Hiding: I use vertical egg flats to allow the feces to fall to the bottom of the enclosure.

Heat: The hotter they are the faster they breed, anywhere between 75F to 98F works well.

Humidity: I like to keep humidity about 60% to help with molting.

Food & Water

Food: A high protein diet is recommended for all roaches.

Water: I use water crystals, I have found they work the best.

General Information: Hornworms have no chitin or exoskeleton. Their color is a bright green or blue, they reach up to 4 inches long within 2-3 weeks. Hi in calcium and low in fat.

Housing: cup with lid that is kept upside down.

Substrate: N/A

Feeding: Special hornworm food that goes in the top of the cup aka hornworm chow.

Temperature: Room temp 75 degrees. can be kept in refriderator (40-42 degrees f) to extend life a few days

Breeding: N/A

Other info: only feed the hornworm chow. if fed tomato leaves can/will kill your reptile. The horn is soft and will not harm your reptile

General Information: Phoenix worms are the larvae of the black soldier fly. Developed bt Dr. Craig Sheppard.  Very high in calcium, and can be feed as a staple.  There is no need to dust these worms. Phoenix worms are packed with calcium and phosphorus. Their high calcium content and low fat, makes it an ideal feeder for gravid females and young reptiles.

Housing: To be kept in the same container they were shipping in with the lid kept on

Substrate: The sawdust that the worms are contained will suffice; no other bedding needs to be added. You can add a few drops of water to the bedding to keep it moist. Do not add too much water, as this can create mold and fungal growth because of high humidity levels in an enclosed area.

Feeding: You do not need to feed the phoenix worms. They will be fine for several weeks.

Temperature: Keep the worms at room temperatures. Do NOT refrigerate them because they have the longest shelf life at 60-70 degrees.

Breeding: N/A

General Information: Keep all handling of silkworms to a minimum to reduce the chances of die off’s. They have no smell, can’t jumb or run away, cannot bite, and are slow moving.

Housing: Small tub or rubbermaid container, with ventilation. The container should be almost air-tigt to prevent the food from drying out, but have small holes to allow air exchange.

Substrate: None.

Feeding & Watering: Mulberry leaf’s Feed daily.

Temperature: between 70-85F low humidity

Breeding: Silkworms will spin a cocoon about 28 days from the time they hatched if they are raised at approximately 85 degrees, fed, and maintained regularly. Place a piece of paper towel on the bottom of the container, so that when the moths emerge and are ready to lay eggs, the eggs can be removed with the paper towels.

Once the moths emerge, they will mate. (Females are significantly larger than male moths.) They mate for about a day, and after separation, the female will lay eggs. Sometimes another male will grab the female before she can lay her eggs. Each female will lay between 200 - 500 golden yellow eggs

When first laid, all eggs are lemon-yellow. After three days, they will turn white if they are infertile, or turn black if they are fertile. Fertile eggs usually hatch about two weeks after being laid in the middle of the summer, but they usually won’t hatch unless subjected to “winter” in your refrigerator for at least several weeks.

Wait until the eggs turn black before putting them in a Ziplock bag in the refrigerator. Once you take eggs out of the fridge, they will hatch in about 7-20 days. Direct sunlight in the morning for a few hours quickens the hatching process.

To incubate the eggs, place about 200 of them on a petri dish. Keep the eggs between 78 and 88 degrees F. An incubator works best at keeping the temperatures stable. The eggs can hatch at room temperature, but will take longer.

Place a damp paper towel next to the petri dish to keep the humidity levels high. Once the eggs have turned from a purplish color to a light bluish/gray, shows signs that they should hatch within a couple of days.

When the eggs begin to hatch, prepare silkworm chow, and place it in the refrigerator to it will be ready. Once they start to hatch, place small bits of chow in the petri dish, so the emerging worms will have something to munch on. Remember silkworms eat constantly, so always provide food. Try not to let the chow touch the unhatched eggs.

It is better to keep the young silkworms in the incubator to better assure their survival rates. After about 8 to 12 days, you can remove the worms from the petri dish, and place them into a small plastic container.

Remember to clean the container to prevent mold. Mold develops from high temperatures and high humidity. If the worms are covered too long, mold can develop and may kill the worms. If mold develops, grate about 1/2 inch of chow all over the worms with a cheese grater. Several hours later, as the worms crawl to the top of the new chow pile you can peal and lift them off the moldy chow and place them into a new container.

General Information: Mealworms have a hard exoskeleton, Can lead to impaction in younger animals. Also are very fatty. For bearded dragons they should only be a treat.

Housing: Container, or Tub

Substrate: Un-cooked oatmeal, wheatbran, baby cereal.

Feeding: They will eat the substrate but also supply, apple, carrots, potatoes for moisture

Temperature: Room tempature is fine.

Breeding: Just leave them alone in the container, they will turn into a beetle and breed.

Additional Information i gathered off Wiki:

Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle.

Life cycle

• Incubation: 10-11 days at 20°C; 4-6 days at 30°C
• Larval period: 90-114 days (10-14 larval molts).
• Pupal period: 30 days at 15°C; 9 days at 25°C; 6 days at 35°C.
• Adult Stage 1 - 2 Weeks