Millipedes keep dying :( anyone able to help??

[Fiona]

I’m new to keeping millipedes, I have only had my tank set up for several weeks now and I have 5 glomeris marginata juveniles and a juvenile bumblebee millipede who seem to be thriving well, however, my first adult giant African millipede died 4 days after bringing him home from the pet store, they replaced, however this one has also passed after 9 days, I’m really not sure what I’m doing wrong as the other guys are lively and doing great. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I’ve always wanted a giant African millipede

 

[mantisfan101]

What type of environment are you leeping it in? Humid or dry? What’s the substrate made out of? Rotten wood, rotten leaves, coco fiber, and some calcium powder or only coco fiber? How big are the millipedes, and are you keeping them all together? What are you feeding them? Do the miliipedes show any deformities? We’ll need a bit more information to fully assess the situation.

 

[Polenth]

At a first glance, if you have a single tank, I can see problems with temperature compatibility. Glomeris marginata likes it cooler than the others. They're not as picky as some other pill millipedes, but I wouldn't push it. I know that's not the one you're asking about, but this could be an issue come the summer.

It does also mean that Glomeris marginata could be thriving at a temperature where the others are suffering.

 

[Fiona]

They’re in an exo terra glass terrarium, they’re on a bug substrate that was sold to me from the pet store which they keep theirs on, I’ve also brought a bug mix from the internet with leaves and rotten wood, they have a heat mat attached to the side of the tank as I read up that the giant Africans can get cold, and room temperature in my place does drop this time of the year. They have a calcium block in the tank and I occasionally mist to give humidity but so it is not wet, they have small dish with bottled water to avoid chlorine from tap water and have had cucumber and tomatoe as well as the bug mix. I read up on the internet at different care guides and was under the impression I was doing it right. The first millipede did have some exoskeletal damage but he was brought into the pet store like that and was fine there for a few months. The second looked for and healthy and both millepedes were active when handled but they seem to end up just limp on the top soil and slowly die, initially there is some movement but within a day or two they’re limp and lifeless

 

[mantisfan101]

Make sure that there is enough ventilation and the bug mix should have a considerable amount of rotten leaves and hardwood in it since this is their main diet. Also, check to make sure that the enclosure hasn’t been exposed to any harmful pesticides or chemicals and that could have managed to find their way into the tank.

 

[Polenth]

They’re in an exo terra glass terrarium, they’re on a bug substrate that was sold to me from the pet store which they keep theirs on, I’ve also brought a bug mix from the internet with leaves and rotten wood, they have a heat mat attached to the side of the tank as I read up that the giant Africans can get cold, and room temperature in my place does drop this time of the year. They have a calcium block in the tank and I occasionally mist to give humidity but so it is not wet, they have small dish with bottled water to avoid chlorine from tap water and have had cucumber and tomatoe as well as the bug mix. I read up on the internet at different care guides and was under the impression I was doing it right. The first millipede did have some exoskeletal damage but he was brought into the pet store like that and was fine there for a few months. The second looked for and healthy and both millepedes were active when handled but they seem to end up just limp on the top soil and slowly die, initially there is some movement but within a day or two they’re limp and lifeless

If you mean the basic Exo Terra, they're not good tanks for large millipedes. You won't be able to make the substrate deep enough. Also, they're well ventilated, which means the substrate dries out quickly. You didn't say what size it was, but the more commonly available ones aren't really that big.

In deep substrate, which you'll need for the giants, pouring does a better job than misting. It's the dampness of the substrate that matters. However, as these are pretty tolerant of different conditions, I doubt this would kill in a few days.

It's better to keep the room warm than use a heat mat, but if you're going to use a heat mat be sure you're monitoring the temperature in the tank. Heat could kill in a few days, and in a small tank, there'd be nowhere for them to escape. On the other side, heat mats can be fairly ineffective if the temperature drops a lot, so it could also be the tank is too cold. Either way, measure that temperature, and with a proper thermometer and not one of those Exo Terra dial things. You either want digital or one with the liquid that goes up the tube.

 

[VolkswagenBug]

I recommend using a large plastic shoebox (designed to hold clothes rather than shoes) and fill it mostly up with substrate. Use Peter Clausen's (shop.bugsincyberspace.com) millipede substrate rather than the type of substrate that they use for any old bug -- millipedes need a lot of hardwood and leaves in their substrate to survive, so regular coconut fiber/peat moss/whatever doesn't work well.

 

[Schledog]

Two things: a cage pic could help and next time post in the myriapods section