New A. gigas owner- enrichment?

[shadowskeeper]

Hi! I'm completely new here and new to owning millipedes (or any sort of invertebrates in general...).

I just got two female giant African millipedes a few days ago, and just wanted to check that I'm doing okay really. I have an old 30x20x20cm fish tank (weighed down with a book so there aren't any escapees- not exactly ideal but seems to work for the time being) with coconut fiber substrate, sphagnum moss, dry oak leaves, old fruit tree branches and cuttlefish bones in there at the moment. I've been feeding them ProRep jelly pots and cucumber (they seem to love it but I'm not sure if that's too much water content?).

One of them is pretty chill at night and just wanders around on the top, but the other is super active and keeps trying to lift the lid or chewing at it (and waking me up consistently at 2 am, but I still love her... ). I've been trying to read up on environment enrichment for invertebrates, and I was wondering whether she needs things to be a bit more interesting or if this is just an inquisitive millipede doing her thing.

Thanks so much!

 

[BobBarley]

A. gigas love to climb and are one of the most surface-oriented millipedes I've kept (albeit I haven't kept many millipedes). They would most likely explore any and all pieces of decor you gave them. However, I wouldn't classify any of it as absolutely necessary. Just make sure that they have no way of hurting themselves and you should be good to go with whatever type of environment you give them (as long as substrate composition is good).

I personally hate using coco fiber in their substrate. My mix is more or less - 45% dead oak leaves, 30% peat moss, 25% decayed oak wood

 

[shadowskeeper]

Oh okay, I'll definitely add some more leaves and oak wood then for them to explore and climb a bit more. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Arthroverts]

I agree with @BobBarley, it sounds like you're cage is good, millipedes don't need much in the way of enrichment. Simpler is usually better, as less can go wrong (millipede falls from a climbing brach and splits it exoskeleton, decorations are burrowed under and eventually fall to crush a molting millipede, etc etc).

I use a mix of Eco-Earth (coconut fiber), sphagnum moss, a lot of rotting leaves, and some aspen bedding (the aspen rots and develops fungus that is beneficial for the millipedes) with a bit of rotting wood thrown in for my millipedes, depending on the order I am keeping, i.e Spirobolids, which like more rotting wood, Spirostreptids, which appreciate more rotting leaves, Polydesmids, which like all rotting wood, etc etc. AGBs are Spirostreptids, and thus appreciate a 1"-3" layer of rotting leaves on top of the substrate, especially if you would like to breed them.
I personally have had no problems with coconut fiber in several years of experience. @BobBarley, why do you dislike the use of it in your own millipede substrate?

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[BobBarley]

I personally have had no problems with coconut fiber in several years of experience. @BobBarley, why do you dislike the use of it in your own millipede substrate?

I used to use cocofiber, but it grew fungus gnats too easily for my liking. I also just don’t feel that cocofiber is very good for the integrity of burrows. I feel more comfortable using peat and other substrates for inverts that’s regularly burrow.

Unrelated to millipedes, but I had to pull a 2” strand of cocofiber from the butt of a Scolopendra gigantea leading me to believe that they can’t digest it very well.