# Flat Millipede Care



## Chris52 (Jun 2, 2016)

Hello! I keep several species of cylindrical millipedes currently, and I would like to attempt to keep some flat species, specifically Brachcybe sp. (feather millipedes), and Motyxia sp. (bioluminescent millipedes). I personally find them very interesting, but I am unsure of their care requirements. What is an ideal substrate? I have heard of people keeping them almost exclusively on decaying wood, with a shallow layer of another substrate to keep the humidity up. How much ventilation (moisture) do they need? Has anyone successfully bred these species? I have also heard that Motyxia are near impossible to ship due their toxic secretions. Is this true? Sorry for the bombardment of questions. Thank you!


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## pannaking22 (Jun 2, 2016)

_Brachycybe_ need lots and lots of decaying wood. That's all I kept mine on they bred pretty well. They like it rather moist and just a couple small ventilation holes should be fine. If you want to keep the humidity higher, a little cocofiber or peat moss mixed in should do it.

Reactions: Dislike 1 | Agree 1


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## Hisserdude (Jun 3, 2016)

1+ to what @pannaking22 said for the Brachycybe, lots of rotten wood.

As for the Motyxia, ain't nobody ever kept them before, so there is no care info for them at all. I would keep them on a mix of different tree woods at different stages of decay, and particle size. I would also provide some dead leaves on top and some bark to hide under. Be sure to keep them in the _low_ 70s or else you may cook them. That's how the care is for many Polydesmids, so those are the perimeters I would follow.  
There is a high chance they will all die off, as many Polydesmids do poorly in captivity at best. Still, if you got the money it's worth a shot. 

Hope this helps!

Reactions: Like 2


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## zonbonzovi (Jun 3, 2016)

I will update on Motyxia later   I do have some thoughts on these and family Xystodesmidae, in general...

Reactions: Like 2


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## Chris52 (Jun 4, 2016)

I decided to take the risk and ordered three Motyxia from Peter Clausen, along with three  feather millipedes.

The container in the picture is what I put together for the feathers. The substrate is about 50/50 coconut fiber/aspen shavings, with some decomposing oak wood and leaves mixed in. Is this sufficient?


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## Hisserdude (Jun 4, 2016)

Chris52 said:


> View attachment 212399
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Cool, I also ordered three Motyxia, hope they do well for us!  

That should be OK, though I would give the Motyxia a slightly bigger enclosure if I were you. As long as the substrate is mostly rotten wood you should be OK.


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## Chris52 (Jun 4, 2016)

I ended up just getting two larger containers for the millipedes. They look much better than the others.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Hisserdude (Jun 4, 2016)

Those containers look better, hope your pedes do well!


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## ErinM31 (Jun 4, 2016)

zonbonzovi said:


> I will update on Motyxia later   I do have some thoughts on these and family Xystodesmidae, in general...


I hope that you will share them!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris52 (Jun 4, 2016)

ErinM31 said:


> I hope that you will share them!





Hisserdude said:


> Those containers look better, hope your pedes do well!


I'll make sure to post some pics when they get here. I certainly hope they do well, especially considering the price!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Munax (Jun 5, 2016)

Be sure to give us an update when you all get your pedes. It'd be interesting to see how they handled the shipping and how they do in captivity. Obviously not too bad since Peter has been keeping them.


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## Chris52 (Jun 5, 2016)

Munax said:


> Be sure to give us an update when you all get your pedes. It'd be interesting to see how they handled the shipping and how they do in captivity. Obviously not too bad since Peter has been keeping them.


Yep. Peter told me that he shipped them to himself from the collection site, and they all survived three days in the mail. I can't wait until they get here!


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## Pipp (Jun 5, 2016)

I ordered 10 of the motyxia, really hoping they come alive since there's no live guarantee for them

Reactions: Like 1


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## Hisserdude (Jun 5, 2016)

Chris52 said:


> Yep. Peter told me that he shipped them to himself from the collection site, and they all survived three days in the mail. I can't wait until they get here!


Ooh, that's good, especially since I went with priority shipping. Hope they arrive ok, and I hope three is enough for us to get a sexed pair....


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## Munax (Jun 5, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> Ooh, that's good, especially since I went with priority shipping. Hope they arrive ok, and I hope three is enough for us to get a sexed pair....


Probably will, Idaho isn't far from Oregon, and the trip from where the pedes originally came from to peter is longer so you should be good. The only thing to worry about is overheating them. Idk the weather in ID the next few days but here in Washington it's getting into the 80`s

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris52 (Jun 5, 2016)

Munax said:


> Probably will, Idaho isn't far from Oregon, and the trip from where the pedes originally came from to peter is longer so you should be good. The only thing to worry about is overheating them. Idk the weather in ID the next few days but here in Washington it's getting into the 80`s


Mine will have to make the trip all the way here to Ohio. It should still be okay though, since my packages usually arrive a day earlier than predicted. Just have to trust in Peter's awesome packing skills.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Hisserdude (Jun 5, 2016)

Munax said:


> Probably will, Idaho isn't far from Oregon, and the trip from where the pedes originally came from to peter is longer so you should be good. The only thing to worry about is overheating them. Idk the weather in ID the next few days but here in Washington it's getting into the 80`s


Well that's what I'm scared about, it's gonna be in the 90s pretty much the whole week. The house is pretty cool though, we got the thermostat set to 73 in the daytime, it's just the trip over here I'm worried about. I guess we will just have to wait and see!



Chris52 said:


> Mine will have to make the trip all the way here to Ohio. It should still be okay though, since my packages usually arrive a day earlier than predicted. Just have to trust in Peter's awesome packing skills.


Yeah that's a much longer trip, hope yours arrive OK!


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## dragonfire1577 (Jun 17, 2016)

any update on how these are doing for people


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## Hisserdude (Jun 17, 2016)

dragonfire1577 said:


> any update on how these are doing for people


Check this thread here, it's frequently updated by us "beta testers". 
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/advice-request-for-biolumincent-millipede.284075/


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## ErinM31 (Jul 14, 2016)

pannaking22 said:


> _Brachycybe_ need lots and lots of decaying wood. That's all I kept mine on they bred pretty well. They like it rather moist and just a couple small ventilation holes should be fine. If you want to keep the humidity higher, a little cocofiber or peat moss mixed in should do it.


Could I see a photo of your Brachycybe enclosure, please? I have my Brachycybe in a 16 oz deli style container with a base of coir and fermented oak with pieces of wood of varying sizes on top. I keep the substrate very moist, wet even, but not water-logged. Fungi sprout from it regularly. However, I've been slowly losing them and there doesn't seem to be any correlation with age/size and I have no idea what the problem might be. 

Thank you!


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## pannaking22 (Jul 14, 2016)

ErinM31 said:


> Could I see a photo of your Brachycybe enclosure, please? I have my Brachycybe in a 16 oz deli style container with a base of coir and fermented oak with pieces of wood of varying sizes on top. I keep the substrate very moist, wet even, but not water-logged. Fungi sprout from it regularly. However, I've been slowly losing them and there doesn't seem to be any correlation with age/size and I have no idea what the problem might be.
> 
> Thank you!


Sounds pretty similar to how I was keeping mine, though I think mine were almost purely on decaying oak, with a little bit of moss mixed in to hold humidity. What kind of ventilation are you giving them? I'll see if I can dig up a picture. I gave a bunch to a friend and sold the rest about a year ago, so I don't have them anymore (kicking myself about that too )

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## ErinM31 (Jul 14, 2016)

pannaking22 said:


> Sounds pretty similar to how I was keeping mine, though I think mine were almost purely on decaying oak, with a little bit of moss mixed in to hold humidity. What kind of ventilation are you giving them? I'll see if I can dig up a picture. I gave a bunch to a friend and sold the rest about a year ago, so I don't have them anymore (kicking myself about that too )


Adding some sphagnum moss sounds like a good idea. The ventilation is not excessive, just some pinholes around the lid and probably some around the upper part of the container itself although I'd have to check on that. Suffice it to say that the substrate stays quite moist without me having to add water.

Part of what strikes me as not right is that the millipedes appear to be mostly between the wall of the container and the substrate, rather than under any of the several wood pieces I added, despite moisture and fungal growth here and this being, I thought, their preferred microhabitat. Besides the fermented oak sawdust, most of the wood is decaying hickory (from which most of the fungi grows), which came from where they were found and was reportedly the preferred set-up when some were kept with this wood and some were kept with a mixture of oak and leaves. I feel there must be some variable I have gotten wrong or am missing. I briefly tried keeping them in the wine cooler (at 65F) but this did not seem to change their health nor behavior and slowed fungal growth so I keep them at room temperature (75-82F). Perhaps the substrate has become too dense for the millipedes to comfortable move through or under wood and mixing in some sphagnum moss will help?

Thank you for the info and if anything else comes to mind that I might be doing wrong or might try, please let me know! They are really beautiful millipedes, if only I can find the key to keeping them happy, healthy and even amorous!


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## ErinM31 (Jul 15, 2016)

Yikes! The substrate was saturated!  I thought maybe they were climbing the walls to eat fungi or slime mold or whatever and then drying out but now I think they were also trying to escape drowning.   I took everything out, added some moss and removed much of the coir/ground wood mix that now seemed more like mud and replaced it with some more pieces of wood that will hopefully support fungi. The millipedes now seem to be more naturally situated among the wood and substrate so hopefully I have solved the problem.


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