# Pill Millipedes?



## ArachnoCrazy (Aug 24, 2005)

Hi everyone,  I have been hearing different things about pill millipedes, but i dont know what is true.  They say that people can't even keep the giant exotic pill millipedes alive.  I  want one, but im not wasting money to try new ways of care if i dont know if it works.  If anyone can give me any info on these giants even if it is just telling me this is true it would be appreceated.


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## NiGHTS (Aug 25, 2005)

Yeah, what you heard is correct.  You just can't keep them alive in captivity for very long.  I think the current record is 9 months, if I remember correctly.  Nobody really seems to know why the don't survive, but the best guesses are that they're missing an essential element of their diet, or that captive temperatures cause problems with microorganisms in their digestive systems.  

Golden Phoenix has a nice write up on pillipedes, although it does contradict itself somewhat.  But read the bottom of the page for the most relevant info:  http://www.goldenphoenixexotica.com/pmilcare.html

The bottom line is - don't buy pill millipedes.  They'll die on you, and buying them only encourages people to bring them into the pet trade where they're not going to survive anyhow.  If you want something interesting, albeit a lot smaller, try out some exotic colored isopods.  I know you can get them in orange, purple, and a few other strange colors.


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## thedreadedone (Aug 25, 2005)

I have managed to keep them alive for 5 months. But there were many problems.
All the adults died after importation, I did post mortems, and found they were all females and full of eggs. there were no body fat reserves. and i isolated bacteria, that is a common cause of death in stressed invertebrates. i also found nematodes (not sure if the nematodes were pathogenic)
the younger animals survived the importation and ate well, but did not survive changes in temperature.
However, they required immense amounts of care. It is extremely disheartening when they die.
There is a professor in germany who has kept them alive for over a year.


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## Crunchie (Aug 25, 2005)

NiGHTS said:
			
		

> The bottom line is - don't buy pill millipedes.  They'll die on you, and buying them only encourages people to bring them into the pet trade where they're not going to survive anyhow.  If you want something interesting, albeit a lot smaller, try out some exotic colored isopods.  I know you can get them in orange, purple, and a few other strange colors.


I agree with this pretty much, it's the same with fire millipedes. I'm always a bit iffy about buying animals that can't be maintained in captivity and I'm not sure how I feel about offering them as pets. :?


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## ArachnoCrazy (Aug 25, 2005)

Thanks for all the info guys and I have never seen colored isopods for sale.  Where would you buy them?


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## Israel2004 (Aug 25, 2005)

Crunchie said:
			
		

> it's the same with fire millipedes.


Funny thing is these are doing great at the pet store near me, yet when I buy them, they go belly up within two months, and I care for them just as the pet sotre does.


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## ArachnoCrazy (Aug 25, 2005)

None of the pet store by me have any isopods and I have not seen them on the internet.
oh and what size are they?


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## cacoseraph (Aug 25, 2005)

ArachnoCrazy said:
			
		

> None of the pet store by me have any isopods and I have not seen them on the internet.
> oh and what size are they?


strangecargoinverts.com has some green or orange isopods for sale, i believe


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## ArachnoCrazy (Aug 25, 2005)

I checked and they have some 25$/doz.  Do you know of anyplace that has them a bit cheaper?


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## cacoseraph (Aug 25, 2005)

ArachnoCrazy said:
			
		

> I checked and they have some 25$/doz.  Do you know of anyplace that has them a bit cheaper?


not colorful ones
there is a chick on here named Double-D or something like that, that sells cultured CA isopods. they are much safer to put in your tanks, compared to WC ones


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## fantasticp (Aug 25, 2005)

cacoseraph said:
			
		

> there is a chick on here named Double-D or something like that,


Double D is a black dude, at least when I met him last.


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## cacoseraph (Aug 25, 2005)

fantasticp said:
			
		

> Double D is a black dude, at least when I met him last.


dang, i was hoping the name was about something else =P


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## NiGHTS (Aug 25, 2005)

Graham at StrangeCargoInvertebrates.com has the orange isopods on sale for $18 a dozen, until the end of the month.  He's the only guy I know that currently has them for sale.  They're about the size of a normal pill bug, so don't expect anything monstrous.  Also, they're not the type of isopod that curls up into the tight balls; they're the wider, more stalky, non-curling type.  On the down side, they tend to hide in the substrate quite a bit, rarely come out during the day, and tend to scatter anythime they sense you taking the lid off their cage.  However, they do just fine in captivity, and they are isopods, so they breed quite easily and quickly.


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## sarahpede (Sep 23, 2010)

i had to orange ones....i had them for a month or to they dropped dead...really nice to look at wile they were alive though...friendly too


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