# African Red Millipedes



## m4illi17 (Jun 17, 2008)

I just got 3 African Red Millipedes that are about 7 inches long.  I have a few questions.  I'm not new to millipedes, but I've never actually looked into cage setups.

I have them all in a 10 gallon tank and it seems good for them, but I was wondering if I could use a smaller tank to keep them in so I could see at least one of them more than once during the day.  I know that all the cage requirements say that you need a cage that is twice as long as the millipede and I have a 5.5 gallon aquarium that's 16 inches long.  Would that work for a cage for all 3 of them? 

Sorry the pics are so fuzzy.


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## 357wheelgunner (Jun 17, 2008)

I'm keeping a male and female american millipede (the same size as yours) in a 10 gallon, but thats because I want them to have babies.

I bet that they'd be just fine in the 5.5 gallon tank.  Be sure to give them plenty of substrate to burrow.  

If your millipedes are content, you won't see them much.  They're burrowers and like to stay in holes or hides.  I see mine only at dusk when they come out to eat.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 17, 2008)

Thanks.  I put them in the 5 gallon and they seem to be doing fine.  Also another thing I wanted to ask was if it is ok to put any live plants in there.  

I've never tried this and I don't know if they'd try eating anything I put in the cage.


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## 357wheelgunner (Jun 17, 2008)

m4illi17 said:


> Thanks.  I put them in the 5 gallon and they seem to be doing fine.  Also another thing I wanted to ask was if it is ok to put any live plants in there.
> 
> I've never tried this and I don't know if they'd try eating anything I put in the cage.


I wouldn't put in any live plants.  They get other bugs and have other issues associated with them.  There's a good chance the millipedes would kill them anyway.

I always put in fake aquarium plants, I can't stand ugly cages full of dirt and nothing else.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 21, 2008)

*eggs*

Ok I have another question.

Last night I came home and 2 of my millipedes were.....um I don't know the word for it, but they were mating....you know swappin' the little blob thingy.

How long before eggs show up?

This has never happened for me before and I'm really excited

Thanks,
Colin


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## m4illi17 (Jun 21, 2008)

Sorry about the multiple questions, but I have another one.

I was at the petstore and bought my first substrate which is bark and I've been wanting to change it to some more softer, "burrowable" substrate.  But now that I saw the 2 millipedes....mating, I don't know if I should try and change the substrate quick before they lay the eggs, or if they lay the eggs right away.

Also, if I do change substrates, do the eggs need to be incubated at all or be at a certain temperature to hatch?

Thanks,
Colin


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## reverendsterlin (Jun 21, 2008)

I personally don't see any reason you couldn't add your new substrate on top of your old bark substrate. But, if you want to get rid of the old I would wait just in case.
Rev


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## 357wheelgunner (Jun 22, 2008)

I would change it to peat substrate immediately, so that when they lay eggs they can choose the right humidity.  I don't think bark will work as well for this. 

Just be sure to have a humidity gradiant in the sub' so that they can burrow down to the right moisture area to lay the eggs.  To do this, dump water in one section of the tank, so that it makes it down to the gravel that you should have at the bottom.  Then the moisture will work its way up through the substrate causing a moisture gradiant.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 23, 2008)

Ok. As of 2 days ago I changed substrates to a coconut fiber substrate.  I didn't know about the gravel thing and now I think the milli has laid her eggs although I really have no idea on how to know if she's laid them already or not.......

So if there is any way to tell if she's already laid the eggs, how do I do that and then how would I put gravel in the bottom of the cage if the eggs are already laid somewhere in the tank?...(if you can tell me how to look for them or know they're there, it would be great to find out)

Thanks,
Colin


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## 357wheelgunner (Jun 23, 2008)

You don't need it in there, it just helps the moisture to disperse evenly.  Wait until the young are grown then redo it if you want.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 23, 2008)

Ok I am just going to explain my whole setup and what I'm doing because I wanna know if I need to change anything.

I have about 3 or 4 inches of coconut fiber substrate in the cage.  I spray it every day and right now I can see drops of water in the substrate along the sides of the tank...( I don't know if that is bad or not)......

I have a 10 gallon tank with a dome light that covers the entire tank so that it stays humid in there.  I have a half log for them to hide under and a decorative rock/plant thing just to make it look cool with a vine hanging over it.  there really isn't anything else on the ground and it looks very plain....maybe that is ok but I didn't know if I should put more stuff in there for them to crawl through and around.  

That's basically it.  I think I'm doing everything right but I don't know for sure.  I hope the substrate isn't too wet for the babies.

also......does it need to be a certain temperature for the eggs to hatch?

thanks


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## m4illi17 (Jun 24, 2008)

......anybody care to answer?


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## Kid Dragon (Jun 27, 2008)

m4illi17 said:


> Ok I am just going to explain my whole setup and what I'm doing because I wanna know if I need to change anything.
> 
> I have about 3 or 4 inches of coconut fiber substrate in the cage.  I spray it every day and right now I can see drops of water in the substrate along the sides of the tank...( I don't know if that is bad or not)......
> 
> ...


My African Giant Black millipede eggs hatched in room temperatue. I did not keep the soil overly moist. I did have a shallow water dish that a few of the young drown in, but I still had over 80 survivors. The substrate is more critical than having a place to climb.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 27, 2008)

*Substrate*

Ok....I know my substrate is still damp and I know that it is not supposed to be completely dry.

Is there any way that I could dry the soil a little??  I guess I could just leave it.  I think that my species is a little different from the African Giant Black.  I'm just gonna keep going with what I have and hopefully I'll get good results when they're supposed to be hatching.

I have a few questions though about the whole baby thing.  

How long is it between the time that the female is "empregnated" and the time she lays the eggs?

How long will it take for the eggs to hatch?

Is there even a possibility that, even though my millipedes mated, they didn't lay eggs and I won't get any babies?


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## Matt K (Jun 27, 2008)

Ok.  I see this thread of inexperience and/or odd advice.  The one who led me to breeding tons of millis is Orin (aka ElytraandAntenna) who put out a book on millipedes (mentioned in these boards) that I highly recommend you buy.  It covers everything you ask and alot more.  Its very inexpensive and a must-have for anyone keeping millipedes.  

Find it here:

http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/elytraandantenna/index.html#roaches

It's called "Giant Millipedes: The Enthusiast's Handbook"
...


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## m4illi17 (Jun 28, 2008)

Um I don't mean to sound rude but I went to the website and they're not available right now.


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## Kid Dragon (Jun 30, 2008)

m4illi17 said:


> Um I don't mean to sound rude but I went to the website and they're not available right now.


You snooze, you lose!
http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Millipe...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214868003&sr=8-1


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## AngelPixel (Jul 23, 2008)

millis dont need a light either. they like dark places. theres not a real way of knowing how longs eggs will take to be laid or hatch since the females can retain sperm for up to a year or more. ive seen my giants mating a bit but no babies to be seen yet. my n. americanus have mated a million times and they have a zillion offspring of every different size. you just have to wait and see. 

usually you wont see them after they  hatch because they are only a few mm in size. your substrate needs to have some rotting wood and leaves mixed in or the babies that could be born wont have too much food, as they tend to stay buried for a while. your substrate shouldnt be so wet that you see water drops on the side. it might be too moist and fungus can grow and if there are babies they can drown if its muddy like.  i would suggest use a hygrometer. i have a tank with a glass top and the humidity is usually 80% or more. its been a very effective way of retaining humidity and i also dont have to spray them everyday.


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