Build from the ground up with substrate, leaf litter, cork, wood, lotus pods, moss and food for your invertebrate setup. Choose the materials around the job they need to do: a base to burrow through, surface litter to graze beneath, sheltered spaces above it, or supplementary food for your animals.
Our current invertebrate bioactive substrate is intended for isopods, millipedes and roaches. Plan substrate depth, moisture and feeding around the species you keep. For millipedes, prioritise sufficient organic substrate and decomposing plant matter before adding decorative features; for a roach enclosure, our roach bioactive setup guides help put shared supplies into a species-focused setup.
For isopods, leaf litter adds surface cover and feeding areas, while cork bark creates sheltered spaces above the substrate. Rot wood adds decomposing material to the setup. Sphagnum moss can help retain moisture in a local damp refuge, leaving other areas drier rather than soaking the whole enclosure. Choose supplementary foods alongside this habitat provision, according to your animals’ dietary needs.
Lotus pods bring a different shape and texture to a natural layout, with small hollows to explore as supplementary cover. Place them alongside litter and bark rather than relying on them as the main shelter. Our guide to using lotus pods in an isopod enclosure explains where they fit among the essentials.
