# Millipede feeding



## Seal36 (Apr 14, 2014)

What can A. Gigas eat. I feed mine apple, cucumber, banana and grapes. I was wondering if they can have pepper, melon, lettuce and other stuff like that from Tom


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## Cavedweller (Apr 14, 2014)

Millipedes love melon, I don't know about pepper though. I wouldn't give them iceberg lettuce but other kinds might be ok. Just make sure that sort of thing is only a "treat", and the bulk of their diet is leaves/wood.


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## Seal36 (Apr 15, 2014)

Ok thank you and what leaves do millipedes like as the millipedes in my care only seem to like fruit as they have had leaves in their tank since they were in there and have not touched them, they also like living in really dry conditions. The supplier of my millipedes has said that the female will lay her eggs now and he has been supplying me insects for 3 years and not been wrong yet. So maybe them way they are kept in captivity In the uk is very different to how the do in the us from Tom


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## Cavedweller (Apr 15, 2014)

Millipedes* need *lots of moisture, even desert dwelling species! They're quite susceptible to dehydration, but they don't need a water dish, just keep the soil moist. But if you have any reliable accounts of millipedes being successfully kept dry, I'd be very interested to hear about that.

Additionally A. gigas is notoriously difficult to get to lay eggs in captivity.

Millipedes feed mainly on rotten hardwood and leaves (oak, aspen, ect). I'll copy/paste what I told someone else in a recent thread: 



> Hygrometers aren't that accurate, but I think they can be useful for when you're still getting a feel for how humid the tank should be. After a few months you'll figure out how to tell by the color of the substrate if it's drying out. Ideally the cocofiber-based substrate should be dark, and when the top layer starts to dry out and lighten, just give it a misting.





> I collect oak leaves/wood from outside (careful to choose places that probably don't have pesticide exposure), bake them to sterilize (not a 100% required step), and shred the wood into little pieces. I mix everything with cocofiber to use as substrate (50% cocofiber, 25% leaves, 25% shredded wood). If I don't have enough wood I add some aspen shaving pet bedding, which will rot and become edible to the pedes. I top this all off with about 2 inches of crushed dead leaves. I don't use calcium supplements at all, someone else will have to give you any info on that.
> 
> I offer supplemental food like fruit/vegetables/dog kibble once a week at the most, and remove uneaten food after about 2 days to prevent mite infestations.


Edit: The leaves won't be rotten enough for millipedes to eat in a dry environment, this may be why yours haven't been eating them.


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## shebeen (Apr 16, 2014)

The egg laying season for A. gigas is September thru November.  Some captive individuals can lay eggs as late as December.


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