AGB Enclosures

[Cazador]

I tried looking around before posting, but I'm having a hard time scrounging up old threads so here goes.

Can any Archispirostreptus gigas owners post their enclosures? I'm going to be getting some soon and I want to make sure I give them the best possible care. Any advice or details on substrate, care, etc. is also appreciated.

 

[MadMilli]

Hello there.

Welcome to the AGB club (if that exists - if not lets create it)! My set up was built with their future size in mind, as well as natural tendencies. To start, I have them in a 10 gallon glass tank. For this particular aquarium, I have about 11 inches of space from top to bottom. I bought a completely organic vegetable compost from my local flower shop, it happened to include ground up lobster shells and other natural calcium supplements which will prove beneficial for the AGBs. I also bought a bag of coconut fiber from amazon, as well as regular dirt from Home Depot or a local department store with no additives. A large component of my set up was oak leaves, but any deciduous (hard wood) kind of tree would work. Oak seems to be particularly successful. You will also need rotting hardwood, again I used oak, to make this successful. I got mine from a kit on bugsincyberspace when I bought my ivory millipedes, although I’ve seen plenty of stumps around town that could be treated. Just make sure you take the proper steps to clean any wood you get from outside, there are some forums on here about that or I can go into detail later. The hardwood or oak components are a key component to their successful life and molting stages, not just an addition to make things look better. Right, so now we have the following:

- Organic vegetable compost (cannot include tomatoes, studies have shown AGBs are allergic and it can be fatal)

- Regular, no additive dirt

- Oak / hardwood leaves & decaying pieces

- Coconut fiber

- 10 gallon glass tank

The above items should be fairly cost effective, which is the reason why I chose them. The goal is to provide nutrients throughout the entire tank but without making it 100% food matter. If we do this, it’s going to be unnatural and it’s just best for them to go through their life as if they were in the wild. As the keepers, we also want to keep track of the tank humidity and water saturation. To do this, we start with a thin layer of coconut fiber until we can just about see it through the glass from the bottom. Then, proceed with a layer of plain dirt for about an inch. You should be little over an inch on the glass since you added the coconut fiber. To avoid complications with the compost being too overpowering, we’re going to mix it with plain dirt. 50% - 75% compost to 50% - 25% dirt is best. After the first layer of plain dirt, add a 1/2 inch layer of coconut fiber. Then, add a 2 inch layer of compost and dirt. For this layer, it should be 75% compost and 25% dirt. The dirt helps alleviate the smell, which will be non-existent once the entire enclosure is built. After this layer, add another 1/2 inch layer of coconut fiber. The next layer should be 50% compost and 50% dirt, as well as about 1 1/2 inches. Then add a 1/4 inch layer of coconut fiber. To prevent any odor with humidity, the top layer should just be pure dirt. You should be at about 5 - 6 inches of dirt. It’s okay if you’re a little less or a little over, just make sure the millipedes have a few inches of room at the top to live on the surface. The surface room isn’t as much of a concern because they spend most of their life under the ground or hiding and can reach 10 inches in length or more, so we should provide as much back room as possible. It could also be a benefit to grind up oak leaves as fine as you can with your hands and mix them with the compost. Never put full leaves under the dirt, as it can be a fatal roadblock to their molting process. I recommend the following for the surface:

- Assorted cork bark flat pieces (5 or 6 pc)

- Nonliving frog moss

- Oak leaves (from earlier)

For my enclosure, I took one flat piece of cork bark that had a little curve and dug a little entrenchment in the dirt, putting it over. This created a little cave. Then on the other side of the tank, I put one large square piece of cork bark and I pressed it gently into the dirt, then I leaned the last piece against it standing up to make something aesthetic. I covered the whole back wall in frog moss including the little cave I created, to hold humidity and create hiding spots. The next thing is one of the most important parts. On the left side of the tank I created an upward hill to deposit food easily and see them when they eat. Eventually they will become smart enough to take the food but regardless, it’s fun for the first few times. Then on the right I made it slope down continuously and filled the void I created on that side with a bed of oak leaves. They require the oak leaves as a food source for successful molting. After that, I sprinkled rotten oak on top of the leaves so that they could have healthy molts. AGBs have came out looking messed up without the proper deciduous supplements. To hold the humidity, I wrapped the outside of the screen lid with clear plastic wrap and electrical tape around the edges on the outside. I never risk sticky things inside. I did buy a heating pad originally since my house is on the colder side most of the time, but it proved useless. Millipedes adapt really well and the temperatures in the dirt are typically colder anyway. It never really changed their behavior so you can skip it or buy it for comfort if you want. My entire set up, including the AGBs + shipping, was around $215. I hope any of this helped. Good luck with your new friends! Just keep in mind that they hide a lot but it’s a reward just having them around!

Here’s what my enclosure looked like before they were put in:

Let me know how it goes!

 

[Cazador]

Wow thank you, that's plenty to go on! I was worried about getting enough nutrients in the substrate so this is perfect. For now I've got a 10 gallon tank, and for substrate I have a mix of coco fiber and the same soil mix from bugsincyberspace so they've got the wood chunks and leaves. But, this weekend I'm going to follow this plan for sure.

My main concern is preventing fungal growth, since I've had problems with it in the past with my smaller pedes. I had a tank full of N. americanus wiped out, and I found tons of growth throughout the substrate when I cleaned out the tank. I'm not 100% sure it was the cause, but it really annoys me to have anything growing. Do you see much growth with this kind of setup?

 

[SFA]

For fungal growth, and keeping your tank clean in general - Springtails are the best. I use them in all my setups and haven't had a mold problem since. They are also pretty cute, and don't bother your millipedes, babies, or eggs.

 

[MadMilli]

Wow thank you, that's plenty to go on! I was worried about getting enough nutrients in the substrate so this is perfect. For now I've got a 10 gallon tank, and for substrate I have a mix of coco fiber and the same soil mix from bugsincyberspace so they've got the wood chunks and leaves. But, this weekend I'm going to follow this plan for sure.

My main concern is preventing fungal growth, since I've had problems with it in the past with my smaller pedes. I had a tank full of N. americanus wiped out, and I found tons of growth throughout the substrate when I cleaned out the tank. I'm not 100% sure it was the cause, but it really annoys me to have anything growing. Do you see much growth with this kind of setup?

I would only be concerned about fruit flies and eventually they will stop breeding once they realize there is no accessible food source for them. Fungal growth is not a problem in this particular set up as the fertilizer often naturally cycles through the harmful ones. Any sort of fungus that is light in color, typically the more common ones, are consumed by the AGBs without any problem. I have two spots of fungal growth in the main house I made with the cork wood but it hasn’t progressed in months. That kind of stuff really depends on the house in my opinion, not necessarily the tank. We all have different kinds of fungus depending on region so it can be more detrimental or less, again depending on the area. My experience has been great with this set up though, they certainly love it. I’ve found with the compost that some surviving seeds from the original plants are growing. They either die and get composted or they are eaten, which also seems to be preventing fungal growth in their local areas. You’ll have to let me know how it goes and if you have any problems, I can definitely help

 

[the league of shadows]

All of this information was really helpful guys thx.would some please put up the info to cure or treat the woods you may find?I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Cazador]

A few more misc questions:

Is sphagum or living frog moss okay?

Should I treat the dirt or compost in any way for small organisms? (I used to work at home Depot and I never saw a bag without holes)

 

[SFA]

A few more misc questions:

Is sphagum or living frog moss okay?

Should I treat the dirt or compost in any way for small organisms? (I used to work at home Depot and I never saw a bag without holes)

I bake anything that goes in my enclosures in my oven at 300 degrees, because I have babies and I don’t want to get in a situation where I have an infestation of something but can’t just throw out substrate. I bake leaves for about 30 minutes, longer times for larger/more dense things like branches.

I haven’t tried moss or any living plants since I’d worry about not being able to properly sterilize them. I will say though I have a planted vivarium for my crested gecko, and the place I bought my plants from shipped them bare root and gave instructions for sterilizing them in a bleach bath, and I have not had any unwelcome guests. I imagine you can’t bleach moss though.

 

[Cazador]

Yeah I'll be baking everything just in case. No babies to worry about but it certainly shouldn't hurt.

For anyone who has bought dirt from a store, do you remember what brand you used? I checked the ingredients and some mention vegetable compost, if tomato is really dangerous should I avoid that in case it's included or is it not a problem at that point? I've also seen Reptisoil which is just peat moss, soil, sand, and carbon, would that be good? Costs a bit more but I'm sure it would be sterile.