# lethargic millipede



## froggyman (Nov 26, 2006)

my millipede(Archispirostreptus gigas) is acting very lethargic and spends 50% of the day curled up in a ball. also he eats very litte and when i pick him up he curls tightly in a ball.

Now i just got him friday so im wonder if it is adjustment to his habitat or if he is sick

The enclosure i have him in is a 10g tank with 2 1/2 inches of coconut fiber and two mayonaise lids for food/water I mist the tank once a day and have a heat mat on one side.

The foods i have given him are apples, some cat food(2 pieces moistened),celemtines, and cucumbers.

Am i being paranoid or is there something wrong??


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## Voodooschaaf (Nov 26, 2006)

is he adult?
is the body tonus allright, can u uncurl him quite easy?

clementines are not the best food
apples, cat food, cucumber is ok

also the substrat is "<edit>"

try usin substrat from the woods enriched with rotten wood/oak leaves and some crushed sepia

heat mat is not necessary, if the temperatur does not go under 20 degrees celsius

(why the hell do the most people think u can put millipedes in a tank with coconut fibre, I cannot understand, try some research bout a real good substrat, Im bored of readin keepin them on coconut fibre)

Greez,
Shura and the whole bunch


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## froggyman (Nov 26, 2006)

the body is toned(no soft spots and resists if i try to uncurl) 

i read about citrus fruit yesterday ad removed them. 

the reason i have a heat mat is my room gets to about 50 F or so on winter nights


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## Mr. Mordax (Nov 26, 2006)

THAT'S NORMAL MILLIPEDE BEHAVIOR.

I have three _A. gigas_, and 75% of the time they're curled up into spirals and sleeping.  If you let them sit on your hand long enough they'll uncurl, but it sometimes takes a long time.  The curling up is a defensive instinct, and they don't eat that much to begin with (if you slept all day, how hungry would _you_ be?).

And to Voodooschaaf, I have never had any problems with coco fiber.  It stays clean and they can burrow in it if they have to.


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## Mr. Mordax (Nov 26, 2006)

Also, the best food for 'pedes is fruits and veggies.  Some keepers report dog food being accepted, but mine get romaine lettuce, apples, cucumbers, and bananas (I change it up every so often).  It sounds like you're taking care of your 'pede just fine.


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## froggyman (Nov 26, 2006)

he(or she?) is acting a lot better now its started to do more during the day and i inspected some of the larger slices of apples/cukes and they have the wierd little srape marks from its eating apperatus.

Anyway thanks i've never owned an invert before just herps so i guess i was just being a little wierd


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## Mr. Mordax (Nov 26, 2006)

It's ok.  New parents tend to worry a lot 

You should have seen how nervous I was tarantula-sitting for funnylori.


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## froggyman (Nov 26, 2006)

any way i was just wondering how i should serve the calcium supplement?

i have been sprinkling it on his food


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## Mr. Mordax (Nov 26, 2006)

Don't use reptile suppliments; I've heard those don't work for 'pedes.  Neither does classroom chalk.  The best idea I've heard of so far is to offer oak leaves.  They contain lots of minerals, and add an extra hiding place.  I put a cuttlebone in with mine (I've heard of people using those for millipedes) but they haven't gone after it yet.


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## froggyman (Nov 26, 2006)

i use a calcium supplement for crickets, is that ok?

Top Hat Calcium Enriched Food


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## Mr. Mordax (Nov 26, 2006)

It depends.  Is it "calcium suppliments to feed crickets" or "calcium suppliments to dust crickets with prior to feeding them to reptiles"?  Either way, I'm reasonably sure that reptiles and millipedes have different mineral requirements (if I'm wrong, someone correct me).

Edit:  I looked up the stuff you mentioned, and that's not suppliment -- it's cricket food.  I don't see anything wrong with your millipedes eating it, but I don't know how helpful it would be.  I'd still suggest using oak leaves.


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## Voodooschaaf (Nov 27, 2006)

>And to Voodooschaaf, I have never had any problems with coco fiber.  It stays clean and they can burrow in it if they have to.[/QUOTE]<

Its not the prob U will have any probs in usin this, the millies will have

Natural substrat will also stay clean and it better for housin them
(how would u feel beein housed in a complete homogen interiour with no haptic interaction in different "substrat" components?)

Btw. I keep about 460 millies with breeding sucess all the time, if u do some real resaerch on the net u will find out thats a better way than keepin them on cocohum

Greez


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## Kasha (Nov 27, 2006)

Ok my two cents.  I use a cuttle bone that I scrape over their food for additional calcium.  I also supply them with rotting oak wood and leaves (which I had to order since there is no oak in Alaska).  I mixed the leaves in the substrate.  You can also mix in PURE aspen shavings.  They decompose quickly and provide for the rotting wood, but oak is still the best.

As for the coconut fiber substrate, it is perfectly fine to use it.  I was adviced to use it by not only breeders who have been on this forum for a long time (and I trust them) but by breeders online who maintain educational sites.

Voodoo, I am sure you have lots of happy healthy millipedes, but please don't get all huffy when someone disagrees with you.  You may have a wonderful substrate in your area, but lots of people don't have that available to them.  Here in Alaska, we have something called Permafrost.  That means that for most of the year the only way I am getting good dirt is using explosives to break up the frozen ground. So that means I have to find alternatives to it.
And I have never read of any issues that arise from the use of coconut fiber.  I am sure it is all a matter of perspective and personal choice.

Froggy, Congrats on your new baby!  How big is he/she?  Can you get a pic?  I would love to see it.  I have 1 adult AGB and 1 juvy AGB, and about 30+ N. Americanus.  Love the chubby fat ones!

*EDIT* Just saw the pic on a different thread.  What a cutie!


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## Voodooschaaf (Nov 27, 2006)

Kasha, if u are able to read this, try gettin information from this :
www.diplopoda.de

 <EDIT>


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## froggyman (Nov 27, 2006)

its pretty large( 7-8'') and it when i cleaned out his food dish today i did see he does eat a lot of the food(just seems like he does it all at night)


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## ansag1 (Nov 27, 2006)

I usually just lurk around and read messages here and there, but I just had to respond to the <EDIT> the permafrost comment.  That's some good stuff right there.

I would like to fill you in on what they do with people that have died in regions where there is permafrost present.  If you are lucky enough to have died in the summer months, your body can be buried (if you choose) for a hefty fee.  Past 3ft (1m) you need heavy equipment to continue digging as the earth is one solid chunk of ice.  If you die in the winter months, your corpse will need refrigerated until the summer months as the ice has solidified through to the top layer of soil and the ground is impenetrable unless you have a team of steam rods and 3-4 days to continue the process.

As for someone just running out and "breaking a piece off".... I just don't think that's feasible.  That's all.  Please continue.


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## Kasha (Nov 27, 2006)

Froggy, sounds like he is doing good!  I often refer to mine as the many legged cow.  They just kind of graze all night.  Mine LOVE romaine.  I just have make sure they eat other stuff.  If given the choice I think they would eat only that.  And I hear they love cucumber.  Mine will eat it, but they aren't all that in love with it.  They do like mushrooms though (store bought, I am afraid to poison them).  The will inhale mushrooms so fast its like it was never there.  And their favorite apple is Fuji apples.  I think because it is softer fleshed than the others.  They avoid my Granny Smith apples, maybe too tart.


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## froggyman (Nov 27, 2006)

yeah ive tryed to mix up his diet so far ive fed it. boiled kale,cukes,gala and red delicious apples and mashed banana.

its neat to watch him poke around at night.

Thanks for your help. ive enjoyed forum alot


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## Mr. Mordax (Nov 27, 2006)

Mine seem to like bananas too, as a fruity alternative to romaine.  

I'm glad to hear your new arthropodal cow is getting settled in, Froggy.


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## Windchaser (Nov 28, 2006)

*Moderator's note*

OK folks, please keep things civil. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.


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## blickblocks (Nov 28, 2006)

To the original poster, I rarely see my millipede. She's usually burrowed underground. To wake her up (after finding where she's buried), I find that a gentle massage does the trick faster than prodding. I really only wake her up if a friend is over and has never seen a pede.  You'll know you're pede is doing ok if food slowly disappears...

I keep my millie in a mixture of coconut fiber and potting soil (one without fertilizer), it seems just fine for her. I also threw in a ton of microwaved leaves which pretty much turned to soil in the past few months.


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## blickblocks (Nov 28, 2006)

Kasha said:


> Froggy, sounds like he is doing good!  I often refer to mine as the many legged cow.  They just kind of graze all night.  Mine LOVE romaine.  I just have make sure they eat other stuff.  If given the choice I think they would eat only that.  And I hear they love cucumber.  Mine will eat it, but they aren't all that in love with it.  They do like mushrooms though (store bought, I am afraid to poison them).  The will inhale mushrooms so fast its like it was never there.  And their favorite apple is Fuji apples.  I think because it is softer fleshed than the others.  They avoid my Granny Smith apples, maybe too tart.


One time I happened to be in the right time and place at night to witness my millipede eat a piece of lettuce. I had never seen her eat anything so quickly! It was nuts. I give her cucumbers because they last longer but she doesn't eat them nearly as quick. Not 1/100th as quick.


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## Elytra and Antenna (Nov 28, 2006)

Curled up in a ball is a great sign of health - the tighter the better.

'Natural' substrate full of pest polychete worms, nematodes, mites, etc. is just as healthy for millipedes as 'natural' smallpox, anthrax and aids virus is healthy for humans. Coconut fiber is great as PART of the substrate. I am the only person with photographic proof of breeding Aphistogoniulus and half their substrate was coconut fiber over a year before breeding).


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## Mr. Mordax (Nov 28, 2006)

Thanks, Elytra!  I'll leave mine just the way they are, then.  It gets more soil-like with each fecal pellet, anyway.


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