First time milipede - help me out

Magdalena

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
13
Hello! Im finally able to get into the arthropode hobby! To start out Im getting a milipede - mardonius parilis, just one for now.
I'm having trouble choosing the right housing and substrate. I've researched so many sites and everyone says something different so I decided to ask over here instead.
What height of the enclosure? Some people tell me 30cm is fine, some say the higher the better because it equals more substrate.
When it comes the substrate itself I know that leaf litter and bark should be mixed in but what about the actual substrate? Some say coconut husk but that seems pretty dry for a milipede. I'm thinking humus. Let me know what works for you guys!
 

Alix

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 16, 2018
Messages
5
Hello! Im finally able to get into the arthropode hobby! To start out Im getting a milipede - mardonius parilis, just one for now.
I'm having trouble choosing the right housing and substrate. I've researched so many sites and everyone says something different so I decided to ask over here instead.
What height of the enclosure? Some people tell me 30cm is fine, some say the higher the better because it equals more substrate.
When it comes the substrate itself I know that leaf litter and bark should be mixed in but what about the actual substrate? Some say coconut husk but that seems pretty dry for a milipede. I'm thinking humus. Let me know what works for you guys!
30cm is doable for AGMs, but higher is always better as they like to burrow. I keep my AGBs in a 30cm tall enclosure and they are perfectly happy, but it is also a 30gal where they have a lot of room to move around in the surface and hides buried into the substrate. Just make sure that you have at least half of the tank filled up with substrate to allow room for them to burrow and provide hides for them at the surface.

In terms of substrate you can use a lot of different things and a mix is often the best. Along with the leaf litter and decaying wood I mix in, my substrate has peat moss, organic compost, sawdust, coconut fiber, and potting soil. Make sure to always get products that have no pesticides. You can try out different combinations of substrates to see what works best for you.
 

Wesley Smith

Arachnoknight
Joined
Nov 3, 2017
Messages
195
@mickiem has a great detailed recipe for substrate, as for the hight of the housing, the substrate should be able to be as deep as the millipede is long. Coco husk works great because it holds moisture very well. Millipedes aren’t just a “set it and forget it” type of pet like some think, you do still have to mist them a few times a week and it’s a good idea to give them supplemental foods such as carrots and cucumber; on top of all of these things, you should also watch for mold. I keep springtails in with my millipedes and it seems to help a lot. (I had a fungus outbreak and they got rid of it with 0 causalities) Some say springtails will eat baby and molting millipedes but I’ve never seen this happen, I only know isopods to have done that. Good luck, and welcome to the millipede hobby!
 

mickiem

Arachnoprince
Active Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2016
Messages
1,652
Here is the substrate. I think it works better than any others I've used. My millipedes are all smiling because they are so happy. :astonished:

33% TEXTURE LAYER
Coir & Peat: Coir (coco fiber) holds moisture and texture better than anything else I have found. Peat is a close second. Both are great for tunneling and making molting and brooding chambers. Color lightens as they dry making a good indicator of substrate moisture content. I use ORGANIC sphagnum peat moss available at building type stores. Coir can be purchased in pet stores or online. I sift through both for foreign matter. Coir is inedible and has no nutritional content and should never be allowed to dry out; peat is edible but should be used in smaller quantities.


33% LEAF PORTION
Green Envy Leaf™ Compost: (Or any other ORGANIC leaf compost). I bake it at 250° for two hours. Any bagged product may have plastic and metal pieces in it, so I go through it thoroughly. This compost makes up about 2/3 of the leaf portion.

Leaf Litter: I rinse in water; then I let the leaves air dry. After they dry, I bake them for two hours at 250°. I cover the pans (to prevent flyaway leaves, for safety sake) with foil (shiny side out to reflect more heat). Then I crumble them into the mix. I use all or mostly oak, but also small quantities of apple, beech, birch, hickory, maple, rose, viburnum, walnut and other hardwoods. This is the other 1/3 portion of the leaf portion.

33% WOOD PORTION

Traeger Oak Pellets: Since these are very small chips, they decay more quickly than other wood sources. I soak them first. They increase 3 X their volume when soaked. Anything that adds variety can’t be a bad thing; possibly adding trace nutrients.

Aspen Shreds: I think this adds a good texture to the overall mix. It also decays quickly. (If my enclosures become too wet, I add aspen to help dry them out.)

Hardwood: I use apple, cherry, hickory, maple, oak and other hardwoods – NEVER pine, cedar, juniper or other resinous woods. It should crumble nicely. I use both light and dark rotting wood, but only wood that had isopods or others living within it. If not close to decay where I can hand shred it, I run the wood through a small chipper reserved for “millipede safe” woods only. I treat it the same as I treat my leaves: rinse and then bake at 250° for two hours.

*Each of the wood components are of different sized particles and so all break down at different time intervals; adding a “time release” characteristic. By that I mean each source will become available for food at different periods.

1% CALCIUM ADDITIVES
Random mixture of Ground Cuttlefish Bone, Bird Grit (check ingredients – avoid copper), Oyster Shell Flour, caliche, egg shells (rinsed, boiled, crushed & baked at 200˚ for 20 minutes). I also crumble shed skins from healthy reptiles into the mix. I add this to the fussy mix and I also sprinkle it on the substrate about twice a month. Again, variety can add trace nutrients.
 

davehuth

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 24, 2017
Messages
278
Just a brief note here to also affirm the quality of @mickiem 's substrate recipe. It's nutritious and easy to assemble, and I've been able to easily tweak the ingredients based on a species needs (more or less woody, more or less dry, etc.). Some people are nervous about using coconut fiber because of some opinions that it might harm millipedes if they too much under certain conditions, but as Mickie says you can use peat or other moisture-holding ingredients if it concerns you (I've experimented with sphagnum which breaks down faster, but adds an interesting fluffiness). This is a tried and tested basic recipe that's helped a lot of people get a handle on how to mix up a good substrate quick.
 
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