# Millipede breeding tips



## cbeard (Oct 17, 2009)

Hey!
I picked up a pair of Desert Millipedes as a starter species. My goal is to breed these, get a good idea on the 'how tos' and then try a larger species such as the giant black, or possibly another giant type.

I like the species a lot, and they are cheap but still large, so I thought they would be an excellent type to start with.

Anyhow my breeding experience is reptile, fish and tarantula only. Do I keep these together, or separate and is there a risk to it?

I walked in the room yesterday to find one holding onto the others 'face' but the rest of the bost was not connected. Is this okay, or a threat of some sort?

Oh, and last question is what a good male female ratio would be for successful breeding, like, how many of each would guarantee a decent supply of little babies.

Thanks!


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## zonbonzovi (Oct 17, 2009)

They should do just fine together.  I have 4(2 M, 2F) of them sharing an apartment right now.  Not sure what you mean by being attached to the face, although from pix I've seen of mating behavior, they may have been 'having a date'.  If they appeared to be attached at the 7th(?) segment, that scenario is most likely.  As far as conditions, I'm not sure, but...providing a varied substrate would be useful as they could choose their habitat.  They are often seen after rains.  I would think a diet heavy in oak mulch, moist conditions & temps. at room or more would be beneficial.  Not sure if they have a particular breeding season or not.  If you happen across anything more definitive, I'd love to hear it.  Good luck!


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## cbeard (Oct 17, 2009)

Thanks for the answer, it made me look up pics to confirm whether or not they were 'doing it' and they actually were! I thought that they would have to attach lower than that, but I guess not. So mulch is recommended.. do you buy it or just go get it from outside?

I have read they lay eggs in a burrow, and then the eggs hatch and around 200-2,000 millipedes come storming out. Sounds neat.

Have you seen yours do this? 


Anyone know the amount of time from the 'hump' to eggs, to babies?


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## ArachnidSentinl (Oct 18, 2009)

This thread is relevant to my interests!  My Ivories just pumped out another batch this weekend (I'm so proud  ).  There must be something in the air, haha.



cbeard said:


> Anyone know the amount of time from the 'hump' to eggs, to babies?


I noticed that my 'pedes spent about a month or so underground before I was surprised with little ones on the surface.  Keep in mind that that's a ballpark estimate; I'm sure there's someone around here with a little more knowledge (I'm still a bit of a newb).


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## Elytra and Antenna (Oct 18, 2009)

cbeard said:


> Hey!
> My goal is to breed these, get a good idea on the 'how tos' and then try a larger species such as the giant black, or possibly another giant type.


Keep in mind that Orthoporus are more difficult to breed than most millipedes because the impetus for egg laying is not just good food and substrate (temperature and humidity cycling seem more important). Many of the spirobolids like Narceus and Chicobolus are best if you're looking for breeding experience. Your Orthoporus will make nice pets just don't be surprised if you never see reproduction.


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## cbeard (Oct 18, 2009)

So, if Ive caught them in the act a few times now, you would still say its unlikely for anything to come from it?


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## Elytra and Antenna (Oct 19, 2009)

cbeard said:


> So, if Ive caught them in the act a few times now, you would still say its unlikely for anything to come from it?


 I didn't mean copulation, by 'breed' I meant production of young.


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## cbeard (Oct 19, 2009)

Okay then, I will give the other species a shot too, thanks again for your help!


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## fluffyleopard (Oct 25, 2009)

*Yay breeding!*

Well, I have been successful in breeding Ivory millipedes as well. Mine have produced two clutches. They had about 300-400 babies to start, the second batch was considerably smaller, 100-200. Let me tell you, the babies are TINY! They only had legs on the front half of their bodies and were about 1/8 of an inch long each, at the most. I didn't have to do anything really, just let them do what they do.

Some tips and suggestions I guess would be to always have a heat lamp on their tank to a low 80-85 degree temperature. Always provide variety in their food, rotating fruits and veggies. Bury leafy greens, they go nuts for that. I suggest 2 females and 1 male if you can do that, but 1 male and 1 female may be enough. Try to provide lots of logs to hide and burrow under, they will feel more comfortable with choices and hiding places for the young. Basically, make the habitat as similar to their natural surroundings. There isn't much you can do to "make" them do anything, they'll do what they want to do. 

My millipedes are not right breeding now because one of my adults shrunk........yeah. She/he *i still don't know* molted and didn't stretch out her plates while drying. She went from 4 inches long to 2 inches long.......I have a magical millipede!


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## ArachnidSentinl (Oct 25, 2009)

fluffyleopard said:


> They only had legs on the front half of their bodies...


You know, I was quite surprised by that, too.  Still, they're hella cute:


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## arachna-nono (Oct 25, 2009)

sgiath said:


> You know, I was quite surprised by that, too.  Still, they're hella cute:


Oh, holy crap!  That thing is sooo freakin' cute!  I have 9 A. gigas (african giants) and about 20 A. monilicornis (bumblebees) and I'm really hoping for some young 'uns sometime!


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## fluffyleopard (Oct 28, 2009)

*Lucky*

Dude, you are so lucky! I want both those species right now, but I can't find anyone with A. gigas for sale that isn't $90 for a sexed pair. I also want some bumblebees, but noooooo I can't get a sexed pair either. Also.....I just discovered tonight that my magic millipede has died. Now I need to get two, sexed millipedes to make sure I have a breeding pair. Ugh.....


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## ehopson1 (Feb 16, 2018)

Does anyone know about how often they breed? My work is getting a pair, but we don't have the resources to maintain a large colony, we're trying to investigate their breeding habits so we are prepared.


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## LawnShrimp (Feb 19, 2018)

ehopson1 said:


> Does anyone know about how often they breed? My work is getting a pair, but we don't have the resources to maintain a large colony, we're trying to investigate their breeding habits so we are prepared.


I do not own any of these at the moment, but Orthoporus _mate_ very often, but eggs are never laid or never hatch. So far, this species has not been bred in captivity at all.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## ehopson1 (Apr 8, 2018)

Thank you LawnShrimp!


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## Exoskelos (Apr 8, 2018)

I am also trying to breed Orthoporus, but currently all the ones I have, I'm pretty sure are females. I think they may actually be breeding in captivity, but high moisture levels kill the eggs, or perhaps the newly hatched instars require flora or microfauna not found in captivity, so they die shortly after hatching.

I'm not sure though. Most other species reproduce readily in a captive environment, these are the unfortunate exception. The largest native US species, and it happens to not breed in captivity.

I actually just got back from an exotic animal show, and one of the vendors seemed adamant he had bred Orthoporus, but when I interrogated him about it, he couldn't provide details other than feeding them cucumber, using cork bark hides and misting the terraria once a week. Doubtful it is that simple, or we would have captive populations already.


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## ehopson1 (Apr 8, 2018)

If you want to tell the sexes of the millipedes, check the legs on the 7th segment of the animal.  If the 7th segment legs are missing, then it is male.  I have a male and female pair.


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