Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have ridgid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of joinyed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a puch under their thorax.
Isopods have various feeding methods: some eat dead or decaying plant and animal matter, others are grazers, or filter feeders, a few are predators, and some are internal or external parasites, mostly of fish.
Isopods are also useful as a livefoood for many reptiles and amphibians. They have the advantage of a high calcium content due to their calcarious exo-skeleton. If they are to be used as food, they are best served up in a smooth sided dish in much the same way as mealworms or calci-worms.
