# A. gigas babies



## shebeen (Mar 21, 2014)

I was feeding my AGB millipedes last night and discovered that I had a few 2 inch youngsters in the tank.  Upon closer inspection, I also found some 3/4 inch babies.  I've had my two adult breeding pairs since September 2012 and this is the first sign of any offspring.  I assume the 5 larger individuals I collected were from eggs deposited in Fall of 2012, and the 3 smaller individuals were from eggs deposited in Fall of 2013.  I've moved the offspring into a separate tub and I'll be checking the adult tank more often.  Hopefully, there's young remaining that will eventually surface.

Orins' book describes female AGBs to be finicky egg layers and if not provided a suitable stimulus will refuse to deposit eggs or only deposit a small number.  I followed his recommendation for a stimulus (couple of inches of leaf litter on damp substrate), but it may not have been sufficient to produce a large number of eggs.  It may also be the case that the substrate wasn't nutritious enough to support young immatures.  This summer, I'll rehouse the adults in a new tank with plenty of food substrate and give them a stimulus in the Fall.  Hopefully, I'll get a better yield.

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Reactions: Like 6


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## lagomorphette (Mar 21, 2014)

Congratulations!! There is a huge lack of cb AGBs on the market (even wc adults are difficult to come by these days--not that I would buy them!). I'm stoked that you've got a breeding pair; that is fantastic. Keep us posted on how they do. I have one adult female & they are a really cool species. 

Jeni


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## Elytra and Antenna (Mar 21, 2014)

8 isn't a bad haul.


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## Cavedweller (Mar 21, 2014)

Congrats!!! Great photos, so cute. Good luck in with your breeding attempt this year.


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 21, 2014)

Congratulations!! That is awesome. : )


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## shebeen (Mar 22, 2014)

Thanks everyone.  I found another 2 incher this morning munching on a piece of banana.


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 22, 2014)

shebeen said:


> Thanks everyone.  I found another 2 incher this morning munching on a piece of banana.


Great! Can you provide us with a very detailed account of your set up? Is it possible you purchased your female and she was already gravid? Was she part of the recent shipments Ward's Science was selling or did you get her as full grown from Ken?


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## freedumbdclxvi (Mar 22, 2014)

Awesome.  I would love to get some of these.


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## shebeen (Mar 22, 2014)

I've been following the recommendations in Orins' book, Millipedes in Captivity.  I have 4 adults (2 male, 2 female) in a 10 gallon tank.  I purchased these specimens from Ward's Science in September of 2012.  The tank has 8 inches of substrate.  I used 4 inches of coco fiber (eco-earth) as a base.  This was topped with 3 inches of food substrate and an inch or two of oak leaf litter.  The food substrate was a mix of 50% eco-earth and 50% decaying oak leaves and wood (more leaves than wood, unfortunately, as I haven't found a good supply of rotting oak).  I provide supplemental food once a week or so.  Sometimes it's eaten, sometimes it's ignored.  The top is made from two pieces of acrylic with 18 or so 1/8" holes for ventilation.  I use clips made from rings of PVC pipe to secure the top in place.  The tank is kept at room temperature which in my case is 70F +/-5F.

I observed my AGBs mating a couple of weeks after they arrived, so I don't think the hard part of breeding these is getting them to mate.

Reactions: Like 4


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## Cavedweller (Mar 22, 2014)

Thanks for the info! Have you tried using wood shaving pet bedding since you have trouble obtaining rotten wood?


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 22, 2014)

shebeen said:


> I've been following the recommendations in Orins' book, Millipedes in Captivity.  I have 4 adults (2 male, 2 female) in a 10 gallon tank.  I purchased these specimens from Ward's Science in September of 2012.  The tank has 8 inches of substrate.  I used 4 inches of coco fiber (eco-earth) as a base.  This was topped with 3 inches of food substrate and an inch or two of oak leaf litter.  The food substrate was a mix of 50% eco-earth and 50% decaying oak leaves and wood (more leaves than wood, unfortunately, as I haven't found a good supply of rotting oak).  I provide supplemental food once a week or so.  Sometimes it's eaten, sometimes it's ignored.  The top is made from two pieces of acrylic with 18 or so 1/8" holes for ventilation.  I use clips made from rings of PVC pipe to secure the top in place.  The tank is kept at room temperature which in my case is 70F +/-5F.
> 
> I observed my AGBs mating a couple of weeks after they arrived, so I don't think the hard part of breeding these is getting them to mate.


Thanks for the added details. I only ask because I planned to tweak my enclosures if you were doing anything different than I am currently doing but my set up is just as yours. Ya, the mating is easy! : ) Thanks again for sharing your awesome millis.


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## pannaking22 (Mar 22, 2014)

Very cool and congrats on the babies! I'm hoping to get some AGBs in the future, so the more CB babies the better!


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## dactylus (Mar 23, 2014)

Congratulations on the babies and thanks for sharing your setup details, observations and photos.


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## shebeen (Mar 23, 2014)

Cavedweller said:


> Thanks for the info! Have you tried using wood shaving pet bedding since you have trouble obtaining rotten wood?


I bought a bag of Aspen shavings but I haven't tried them yet.  I'm not sure if this is the same stuff others are using.  The shavings are small chips about the size of oat meal flakes, very hard and very dry.  I'm not sure how long it would take to decompose into something soft enough for young immatures to chew.


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## Cavedweller (Mar 23, 2014)

Hmm that does sound different. The stuff I got is thin papery shavings. It's probably worth using anyway, just cause it will decompose with time.


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 23, 2014)

Cavedweller said:


> Hmm that does sound different. The stuff I got is thin papery shavings. It's probably worth using anyway, just cause it will decompose with time.


Yes, that is what I have. The key is to make sure you are getting the really thin cut aspen. It softens and will start to decompose pretty quickly in a high humidity environment. I also work it into the moist substrate and this increasing the decomposition of the wood. The millis eat it. I would like to add that is does not work well as a full substitute for a good sized rotten log. I have noticed that the baby millis really like to get under the rotten log and eat the underside. They also like to just hang out there and it seems like their primary location to be.

Reactions: Like 1


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## shebeen (Mar 24, 2014)

I'll keep an eye out for the paper thin aspen shavings and boost my effort to locate some rotting oak.  The stuff I bought was on clearance, so it probably wasn't a big seller at the LPS, even for its' intended purpose.  I found 2 more immatures this morning, bringing the count up to 11.


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## Fyreflye (Mar 25, 2014)

Congrats on your success!  That's the kind of surprise you LIKE to find in your pede tank.    Great timing on the post, too, I actually came on today to see if anyone had had any luck lately with breeding A. gigas, and what they planned on doing with the young.  My set up is very much like yours, and I have seen several babies lately (they generally only come out at night).  I left mine in with the parents, as they seem to be thriving well there, and I don't want to risk messing anything up.


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 25, 2014)

shebeen said:


> I'll keep an eye out for the paper thin aspen shavings and boost my effort to locate some rotting oak.  The stuff I bought was on clearance, so it probably wasn't a big seller at the LPS, even for its' intended purpose.  I found 2 more immatures this morning, bringing the count up to 11.


What type of container are you using? What is the ventilation like? What is the moisture like at the different vertical levels? I only ask because I often feel that in some cases my babies die because of an improper balance between ventilation and moisture. I am wondering if it is species specific and if sometimes death occurs because it gets to moist with minimal ventilation or too dry with too much ventilation. Just a thought...

Reactions: Like 1


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## shebeen (Mar 26, 2014)

MrCrackerpants said:


> What type of container are you using? What is the ventilation like? What is the moisture like at the different vertical levels? I only ask because I often feel that in some cases my babies die because of an improper balance between ventilation and moisture. I am wondering if it is species specific and if sometimes death occurs because it gets to moist with minimal ventilation or too dry with too much ventilation. Just a thought...


I understand your concern.  When I first set up my enclosure, I had too much ventilation and the substrate was losing moisture.  Now, I may have too little ventilation.

#4 Here's my enclosure.  It's a standard 10 gallon fish tank (20"x10"x12").






#5 Here's a view of my substrate.  I haven't changed it since I set up the tank 18 months ago.  The food layer is now mostly just frass so there's probably not much food for young immatures in the substrate itself.  






#6 Here's my top.  Most of the vent holes are covered with packing tape to limit ventilation.  






#7 I have an 8W heat pad on one end of the tank.  I know Orin advises against using heat pads, but my living room gets down to 64 at night during the winter.  When used on the side of a tank, these pads really don't produce much heat so I think I'm ok.  I turn it off once the weather warms up.






#8 Yes, while I was taking these photos this morning, two of my AGBs decided to have sex.  Like I said, getting them to mate is not the hard part.

Reactions: Like 3


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 26, 2014)

Thanks!! The pics REALLY help. I think pics 1-3 did not show up but these pics give me enough info. What is the temperature on the end with the heat mat? I keep mine at 75 F. Maybe elevating the temperature in part of the enclosure increases the probability of reproduction??


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## Cavedweller (Mar 26, 2014)

Thank you so much for posting the information and great photos on your setup!

I always worry there isn't enough food for the pedes once the substrate becomes mostly frass. How often do you add more leaves on top? How much supplementary (non leaf/wood) food to you use?


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## shebeen (Mar 26, 2014)

Pics 1-3 (photos of the immatures) are in the first post.  Right next to the heat pad it's around 75F, mid tank is around 70F.  I've read that adults like it between 77F-82F, while immatures prefer it cooler.  I always make sure there's leaf litter in the tank.  I probably add 2 or 3 hand fulls a month.  I offer supplementary food once a week and remove what's uneaten after a couple of days.

Reactions: Like 1


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 26, 2014)

shebeen said:


> Pics 1-3 (photos of the immatures) are in the first post.  Right next to the heat pad it's around 75F, mid tank is around 70F.  I've read that adults like it between 77F-82F, while immatures prefer it cooler.  I always make sure there's leaf litter in the tank.  I probably add 2 or 3 hand fulls a month.  I offer supplementary food once a week and remove what's uneaten after a couple of days.


Oh ya. I see pics 1-3. Sorry about that! : ) I think I am going to try and warm up one end of my enclosure (high 70's to low 80's). Thanks again for sharing the pics of the babies and your enclosure set up. My final male mated with my 2 females all last year then died. In the fall both females went underground and then resurfaced. My really old female then died. I am hoping the females laid eggs and I have babies someday. I am not counting on it as I have tried for over a decade to get babies and it has not happened. Many of my other milli species have reproduced in my enclosures. I think it is just not meant to be. : )


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## shebeen (Mar 27, 2014)

I'm finding this species definitely requires more patience than my other millipedes.  It takes a long time to determine if a female deposited eggs, and the eggs hatched, and the newborn found enough to eat and survived the first critical molts.  Before last week, I didn't think I had any offspring either but they were there all along.  It just took me 14 months or so to spot them.  If your females laid eggs last Fall (Sept-Nov), the young will be fairly small at this time.  A 6 month immature is only 3/4" in length.  Mine had to reach 2" before I noticed them.


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 27, 2014)

shebeen said:


> If your females laid eggs last Fall (Sept-Nov), the young will be fairly small at this time.  A 6 month immature is only 3/4" in length.  Mine had to reach 2" before I noticed them.


Yes, that would be the case. I have my fingers crossed. : )


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