Ventilation vs Humidity Issue

[pecopickle]

Sorry for the text dump.

I'm a beginner and I got live specimens of the Florida Ivory Millipede and the Texas Gold Millipede today from my local pet shop and I think they're pretty neat. The pet shop wasn't really well versed in their care so I had to find all this out hours later.

I have a bit of a conundrum in regards to their humidity and ventilation as well as feeding.
Currently, they're in small kritter keeper with shallow 3 inches of pure cocofiber substrate and a hiding log while I wait for the Millipede Substrate from BugsInCyberspace to arrive in 2/3 days or even a week depending on when it ships

I read the Texas Gold Millipede needs high ventilation to prevent some fungal infection from killing it but that also makes it somewhat difficult to keep the substrate from drying out. The lid has 3 rows of vents which causes the topmost to dry out pretty fast so currently I've place a piece of parchment paper in between the lid and plastic and cut out 3 line shaped holes into the center of that after misting it.

So, my question is if there's a better way I can ventilate the container while also keeping it humid? I was misting with a spray bottle every few hours or so right before I placed the parchment paper about half an hour ago. (The mist mostly ends up on the glass so not very effective).
I'm trying to moisten up the bottom-most layers but not sure if pouring tap water directly is a good idea. At the same time, with the parchment paper in place, I worry I'm not getting enough ventilation for the Texas one.

Finally, according to the pet shop reptilian guy, the millipedes hadn't eaten anything recently since I snatched them up before they were going to place them in a display tank (they were in small plastic cups w/ lids before). But they practically ignored the chopped spinach I left in there and have since removed to prevent molding.
Any tips on what I could feed them in the meantime? Cocofiber doesn't seem very nutritious.
And what size should I chop/mince them down to? May have been the issue since they were around 0.5 cm to 2 cm long pieces.
Also, Is it wise to dig them up for feeding or should I lure them out somehow?

 

[Polenth]

I use similar containers. I've attached small areas of net curtain to be vents with aquarium silicone seal (they are on the outside of the plastic mesh). Then I cover the rest with cling film and tape it down (also on the outside). I carefully work around the access hatch, so I'll still be able to use it. It's fiddly compared to just covering the whole top in cling film, but it means I can open it easily for feeding and control the vent sizes.

I have ivories, bumble bees and Telodeinopus aoutii, so I don't know about exact humidity for your other one. I tend to put two smaller vents in millipede containers, one of each end of the back side of the mesh top. I have springtails, but I didn't have major mould issues before then either.

I use fish dechlorinator in the water for my inverts. I don't know how common that is here, but I've not had any issues with that. It's safer than the tap water.

Don't dig the millipedes up. You'll risk catching them when they're moulting and that can damage them. If they want the food, they'll come for the food. If they're moulting, they might disappear for some time.

Mine have rotten wood and leaf litter in the substrate. They get fresh stuff, but most prefer it after it's gone a bit squishy in a day or two. Though some items will go fungusy or attract flies, stuff like spinach just gently breaks down in my experience. No need to mash it up for them. Cucumber works for all of my species so far. It's not that nutritious, but it's a good water source and you can sprinkle it with supplements (like calcium powder). Dried favourites are algae wafers and nori (plus some Arcadia foods, but not sure how available they are in the US).

Hope some of that is useful.

 

[pecopickle]

Thanks alot for your response. I think I overreacted a bit.

This is what my tank look like currently, I think I'm over-misting it now because it's fogging up on the sides so I'll leave that alone for awhile.
https://media.discordapp.net/attach...424/20181018_184256.jpg?width=1249&height=703
https://media.discordapp.net/attach...426/20181018_184242.jpg?width=1249&height=703

It's a standard 3 vent container with parchment paper and some horizontal poked lines in for overall less ventilation. I might poke a 4th line if more is needed.
Not sure if this is adequate.
I'll be getting a larger container for these guys next week so, I'll see if they have any small net meshes and grab some cuttlebone or reptile calcium too as well as a food/water dish.
I didn't think about de-chlorinating the water yet, I'll get some of that too. Got any specific recommendations?

They haven't started molting yet but they really like to burrow underground for long periods of time. I had to gently dig them out for a zoology class presentation today (and I won't be digging them up anymore).
Is there any surefire signs of molting other than prolonged absence?

For food, unfortunately I live in northern California in a predominantly softwood area with lots of redwoods and douglas-firs. Possibly some oaks inland but the majority of the leaf litter here is assumed to be sequoia redwoods.
I got two bags of leaf litter at the same place as the millipede substrate and I can just mix some of that in the substrate and as a top layer for now but the shipping cost is extremely high for the long term. If you know any other reputable leaf litter sellers, I'd appreciate that.

 

[pecopickle]

Again, thank you for the help, Polenth. You gave some good advice.

The move into the bigger tank has worked out well so far.
Feels a bit cramped now with the food bowl though.
https://media.discordapp.net/attach...660/20181020_174251.jpg?width=1249&height=703
https://media.discordapp.net/attach...617/20181020_174219.jpg?width=1249&height=703

They seem to like the place so far, got about 7 escape attempts over the tank already while setting up.
Jokes aside, they've already started burrowing and it hasn't been long. So, I assume that's good.

 

[BepopCola]

Did you still keep both of them together?
I'm in the early stages of trying to keep a few O. ornatus (Texas brown and gold), bumblebees, scarlets and Ivories living together.
My O. ornatus haven't really burrowed, they are very surface active climbing, eating, and sleeping, but I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing.

 

[pecopickle]

I've really only had them for a week so far and I don't know if this is really a good idea. I am still keeping them together unless someone advises me not to.

When it was in the smaller tank with cocofiber, ivory one mostly burrow near corners and sides
The texas gold one was mostly a surface dweller but he was still burrowing a tunnel. He would pick a corner and burrow down then come back up to rest under the log. Eventually after a few trips, he would completely submerge himself at the very bottom of the substrate above the plastic by morning.
He would've probably stayed there if not for me digging him up to move him to the new tank.

After moving them to the new place today,
Both of them tried to burrow and stay under the food/water dish and I've had to move them out of that and plug the undersides with leaves. Ivory one burrows and comes back up occasionally. Right now the texas one is not burrowing possibly because the substrate is alot more solid after I poured a good amount of water into the soil to moisturize it. He's a very active guy and has even climbed the log up and then above the parchment paper into the lid vents area through one of my cut holes.
Another reason I think he might not be burrowing is the log is so big that he doesn't wanna expend the energy to go deep.

 

[Polenth]

It's not unusual for inverts to stop eating before a moult, but that's a less useful sign with millipedes as they'll likely just disappear at that point. I don't know where to buy leaf litter or wood. However, a small number of millipedes won't get through it that quickly.

I use Tetra AquaSafe for water, but remember that I live in the UK. I don't know what US people usually use.

The food bowl is taking a lot of space. You could either get a smaller one or place food on the soil. I usually toss it in on the soil. The extra thickness of substrate is good though. You'll find it holds the humidity a lot better with that.

 

[SFA]

Cucumber is a favorite supplemental food with all of my species!

 

[pecopickle]

Guess I'll get some cucumbers!

I have one more question and it's kind of a stupid question.
When I set up the substrate, am I supposed to push/pack it down? I did that for the cocofiber with no issues but I notice the millipede substrate from Peter hardened alot with moisture and the pedes don't want to burrow down.