social
Add to Page Ask Question Join

Caring for Roly Polies (Pill Bugs)

43 Questions

Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.

April 2, 2016

What do I feed my pill bugs and what do they drink?


Read More Answers

January 1, 2016

I recently got four pill bugs and I know that they are nocturnal, but they have been kinda inactive even though all my lights are out and its night time. They have been sitting on the underside of an orange peel like they were when it was morning and only moved to check out the apple I brought them.


Read More Answers

June 16, 2006

I would like to know about keeping a rolly pollie as a pet. I mostly want to know what to feed him. He's in a cage and has a name, I just want to know what to feed them.



Lindsay from Hollister, CA

Answers

By sandy (Guest Post)
June 16, 20060 found this helpful

do you mean the little insect?? or is there something else i dont know about.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
By (Guest Post)
June 16, 20061 found this helpful

Hi, They eat my vegetable plants, so they must like salad greens. Loretta

Reply Was this helpful? 1

Diamond Feedback Medal for All Time! 1,317 Feedbacks
June 16, 20060 found this helpful

I would love to send you some Pill Bugs that keep
coming into my home. Are you keeping them it in an aquariam or? I would think teeny tiny pieces of

Advertisement


bread or just crumbs. Good luck.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes

Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 472 Feedbacks
June 17, 20060 found this helpful

Keep the environment like they live in outside--cool, dark, and damp. I'd make sure there was some dirt, some plants, and old food (roly-polys sure like my compost pile) like part of an apple core or lettuce leaves. Remember to keep things damp and/or give a water source. My son used to collect these when he was small.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
June 19, 20060 found this helpful

Just an interesting fact--they're not "bugs" at all. They're actually crustaceans--more closely related to a crab than a ladybug!

Advertisement


Here is some information about pill bugs:

Pill Bug/Sow Bug: Order Isopoda
Appearance: Not more than 3/4 inch long; thorax composed of seven hard overlapping plates with seven pairs of legs; only pillbugs are able to roll up into a ball.
Habits: Prefer moist locations; found under objects on damp ground; mostly nocturnal; sometimes found in basements and ground levels of structures.
Diet: Decaying vegetable matter.
Reproduction: Female gives birth to between 24 and 28 young per brood; usually on e to three generations a year; may live as long as two years.
Other Criteria: Pillbugs and related sowbugs are the only crustaceans that have become completely adapted to living their whole life on land.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
By Betty Watson (Guest Post)
June 24, 20060 found this helpful

The baby pill bug look like dandrif, but they crawl. And are a yellowish white color.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
By Karen (Guest Post)
June 29, 20060 found this helpful

Are they harmful?

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
June 30, 20060 found this helpful

my sister use to collect them, they never seemed to live very long. I would feed them the veggies you dont want to eat for supper!

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
By Fred (Guest Post)
March 26, 20080 found this helpful

I love Rolly-pollys!

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
By sydney (Guest Post)
March 28, 20080 found this helpful

were exactly to pill bugs live outside?

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
May 14, 20090 found this helpful

They at live plants vegetables leaves, best to get a bottle cap and fill it with water for it to drink from, and also how to tell a male from a female: the female has tiny pouches in her legs to store eggs and males don't. They also like damp areas I have my own pill bug farm and they're doing fine.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
November 18, 20091 found this helpful

Guess what if a rollie pollie is blue or purpley it is sick. They are dormant in the winter. and breath through gill like things! *le gasp*!

 
Reply Was this helpful? 1
Read More Answers

March 10, 2013

My son's pet rolly polly just had a baby and I don't know what to do. Please help me. I don't want to let them go cuz my son's heart would break.

By Sam from Seattle, WA

Answers

March 11, 20130 found this helpful

I love pill bugs! Here are some links to information on their care. Also consider looking up caring for a cricket. It might easier to care for a cricket than a roly poly, and crickets if you get the male ones sing as well.

Advertisement

Here is the info on rolly pollies:

www.ehow.com/how_7643197_care-rolly-polly.html

answers.yahoo.com/.../index?qid=20080317154856AAKkqxB

Here is some info on keeping crickets and you can even breed them and sell them to owners of spiders and snakes.

www.ehow.com/how_5645279_keep-cricket-pet.html

I had a cricket as a pet and they are very interesting. I kept mine in a fish aquarium without the water. I watched as it molted and it was very interesting.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
Read More Answers

February 27, 2015

How long do they live?

By John

Read More Answers

July 15, 2008

What do roly-polys eat?

Answers

July 15, 20080 found this helpful

They eat the organic matter in rotting logs and potting soil. They need to be kept moist but not wet.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes

Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 124 Posts
July 15, 20080 found this helpful

Hello, sorry but what are Roly-Poly's please?

Editor's Note The pill bug (also called the wood louse and the roly-poly bug) is a small, segmented land creature that can roll into a tiny ball for protection.

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
July 15, 20080 found this helpful

Just as a matter of curiosity; roly-polies are a crustacean, not bugs (even though we still call them bugs!) They are more closely related to shrimp and crabs than bugs! I just thought that was a fun fact when I first learned it!

Reply Was this helpful? Yes

Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 102 Feedbacks
July 17, 20080 found this helpful

We call them "sow bugs", although I have no idea why!

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
Read More Answers

April 19, 2012

How can you tell if a rolly polly is a girl?

By Taylor

Read More Answers

June 13, 2013

What are all the colors of rolly pollies?

By Mary F. from Fort Wayne IN

Read More Answers

August 27, 2014

How can one tell if a pillbug is happy or content?

By

Read More Answers

June 17, 2014

rollie pollie on white granular surfaceI have three rollie pollies in a 6 and 1/4 inch bug cage. I have no idea how to take care of them, we dug dirt and grass, then some leaves, otherwise, I'm totally clueless!

By Maddy W.

Read More Answers

April 21, 2010

How do roly polys develop over time? How do they get the shells on the outside? Recently my daughter and I found a roly poly that was having babies. The babies came out of the top area and the roly poly used her 2 top legs to push out the babies.

They look like little whitish yellow roly polies the size of a flea that move around with legs. She had about 20 babies and just dropped them off to fend for themselves. What happens next?

Advertisement

By shauna from San Diego, CA

Answers

April 22, 20100 found this helpful

Wow, that's a neat thing to see happen! How did you notice it? (I'm betting it was your daughter who noticed. I know MY daughter takes the time to see those little details, while I'm busy with other things!)

I don't know about their life cycle, but I did a quick search, and maybe these two links will help:

www.enchantedlearning.com/.../Pillbugprintout.shtml

ohioline.osu.edu/.../2072.html

In particular, there is a paragraph in that second link called "Life Cycle and Habits." It will explain what you and your daughter witnessed.

Advertisement

It's cool that you and your daughter got to watch that together. A couple years ago we had a praying mantis camped out on our front storm door. I think it was a good place to catch bugs at night (the porch light comes on when it gets dark). One evening, we got to watch him shed his old skin/exoskeleton. It was really neat, and she still remembers it. Good times! :-)

Reply Was this helpful? Yes
Answer this Question
Load More
Categories
Pets AdviceJanuary 26, 2013
Pages
More
🍂
Thanksgiving Ideas!
🎃
Halloween Ideas!
Facebook
Pinterest
YouTube
Instagram
Contests!
Newsletters
Ask a Question
Share a Post
Categories
Better LivingBudget & FinanceBusiness and LegalComputersConsumer AdviceCoronavirusCraftsEducationEntertainmentFood and RecipesHealth & BeautyHolidays and PartiesHome and GardenMake Your OwnOrganizingParentingPetsPhotosTravel and RecreationWeddings
Published by ThriftyFun.
Mobile Page | View Desktop
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Generated 2022-10-29 04:09:32 in 16 secs. ⛅️️
© 1997-2022 by Cumuli, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.thriftyfun.com/Caring-for-Rolly-Pollies-Pill-Bugs.html
Read Next