Planet Scolopendra is ready to welcome millipedes to the mix.

[Staehilomyces]

So, I've just found out that the person from whom I got my new-ish dark banded E. rubripes also gets some pretty cool millipedes, and I feel like they will be the perfect invert to branch out to.
Anyway, I've already decided I'll be setting them up in a similar enclosure type to what my centipedes are housed in (in other words, escape proof for certain), with coco peat substrate, leaf litter and pulpy wood. To my knowledge, those are the usiversal basic essentials for millipedes. Am I right in saying that?
The millipedes the seller collects both lack binomial names, though I know the largest is of the family Rhinocricidae. It will probably be a while before I get them; he has to go out to collect them first, but in the meantime, here are some photos of the two species he collects and sells. I'm certainly looking forward to having them in my collection!

These are Australia's biggest, and may reach 20cm in length.

This red banded species is somewhat smaller, but an absolute stunner.

 

[mickiem]

Thumbs up from me! Those are beautiful pedes. They aren't always as active as a centipede, but they make up for it in other traits. Wow, that top guy excretes a lot!

Just make sure the coco fiber is 30% or less. Add more leaves if they are Spirostreptid and more wood if they are Spirobolid.

Enjoy and welcome to the bright side!

 

[AvLteralice]

just curious. How do I know if the millipede specie is a Spirostreptid or Spirabolid? Is there an easy way to tell them apart?

 

[pannaking22]

just curious. How do I know if the millipede specie is a Spirostreptid or Spirabolid? Is there an easy way to tell them apart?

Spirobolids have a medial suture on the labrum, spirostreptids don't.

https://www.fieldmuseum.org/file/121821 - key to millipedes

 

[mickiem]

Spirobolids have a medial suture on the labrum, spirostreptids don't.

https://www.fieldmuseum.org/file/121821 - key to millipedes

Wow - great resource, Thanks for sharing!

 

[Staehilomyces]

Thanks for the advice guys! However, I'm a little concerned that the coco fiber I currently have is way too fibrous. When I find something better, I'll get all my inverts into that instead. You can see what it looks like in this pic of my new centipede.

 

[mickiem]

Thanks for the advice guys! However, I'm a little concerned that the coco fiber I currently have is way too fibrous. When I find something better, I'll get all my inverts into that instead. You can see what it looks like in this pic of my new centipede.
View attachment 258894

Is it mixed with anything else? If it is just coco fiber I am sure if it is less than 30% they will be fine.

 

[Staehilomyces]

Just coco fiber. Thanks!

 

[LawnShrimp]

just curious. How do I know if the millipede specie is a Spirostreptid or Spirabolid? Is there an easy way to tell them apart?

Generally, but not always, spirostreptids are long and relatively thin, and spirobolids are short and thick. Spirobolids have round eyes and faces with a line down the middle, and spirostreptids have crescent-shaped eyes and smooth faces.

 

[LawnShrimp]

Lovely creatures! Hopefully they will start breeding soon (they almost always do).
Your substrate sounds fine. Most millipedes are pretty forgiving of fibrous or chunky substrate and seem to prefer it over nutrient-rich dust. Keeping your sub deep and with varying particle size is the most important lesson I learned with my species.

 

[Staehilomyces]

Thanks for the advice, though I haven't actually got any yet. Those pics are from the seller, and he has to go collect some first.

 

[LawnShrimp]

Thanks for the advice, though I haven't actually got any yet. Those pics are from the seller, and he has to go collect some first.

Ask him for a piece of wood and a few dry leaves, or at least a picture of them, so that you can find similar foods for them without wasting time experimenting. It took me a while to find the right kind of wood and the best leaves (for me, that's white oak and several maples.)

 

[Staehilomyces]

Okay, I just thought I'd bump this thread. I'm in contact with a seller who has giant white-banded millipedes (the top ones in the OP) in stock. Due to a harsh exam schedule, I won't be getting them for at least a couple weeks, but I daresay I'll have them soon enough. Anyway, I just want to get things straight: coco peat sub, with pulpy wood and leaf litter. That's it, isn't it?

Apart from the fact that raising a colony of millipedes would be simply awesome, another reason I want some is so I can film my own version of Brave Wilderness (Coyote Peterson's) centipede vs millipede comparison video, except with more detail, and without demonizing the centipede.

 

[kermitdsk]

Just for info coco peat can be deadly for millipedes when they eat it. The millipedes can get an intestinal obstruction if they eat the substrate and die because they can not digest the coco peat.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

I'd use soil instead of coco fibre, as stated above it can be dangerous if used in high quantities. Soil also allows a better population of micro fauna and flora to grow in it which millipedes will eat

 

[Staehilomyces]

Okay, I'll try to get soil. However, if I get enough pulpy wood, would that (pulverised a little) make for substrate on its own?

 

[Dennis Nedry]

Okay, I'll try to get soil. However, if I get enough pulpy wood, would that (pulverised a little) make for substrate on its own?

It should. What's soil made of in the wild? Mainly rotting organic matter and sediment. Once the millipedes eat and pass the wood the faeces will break down and become soil-like. Just make sure that the pulverised wood is fine enough for the millipedes to moult in