# Homemade Millipede Substrate



## Pangogirl (Sep 1, 2017)

Hi, I'm new two the forum and insect keeping in general. I have three millipedes I aquired at a local reptile expo. They're currently in some millipede substrate I purchased from the seller and eating cucumber slices.   I was thinking I could switch they're substrate to a homemade version with some compost from a compost bin I have. It contains mostly food and yard scraps. When I was digging through it I noticed lots of ants, pillbugs, earwigs and mites. Once I freeze and then bake it, will the compost be free of these pests as well as still good for the millipedes? How should I introduce this new mix to them? Thanks!


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## Redmont (Sep 1, 2017)

Freezing and baking should kill everything off, just put the soil in there home and put the millipedes in, it also may be a good idea to add springtails to help combat mold. And I would pack the soil down some to hold burrows and leave like a 1/2 inch of soil loose on top


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## Puhoy (Sep 1, 2017)

We use coco fibre brick, orchid bark and tortoise terrain, it keeps their home really humid. We just put some pieces of wood in there and some half coconuts to hide under and some live sphagnum moss


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## Pangogirl (Sep 2, 2017)

OK  thanks! How long should I bake it for and at what temperature?


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## Pangogirl (Sep 6, 2017)

Well, I decided to bake it at 200°F for two hours. It seems ok. I hope the pedes like it!


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## mickiem (Sep 9, 2017)

That's a good amount of time and temp to bake it. You should try to remove as many critters as you can before you bake it. Once they are roasted, scavenger types can find their way in for the delicious roast meal. 

There are a lot of recipes in this forum. Just do a search for ideas. 

Welcome to the forums!


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