# Ordered First Millipede! Care to Help?



## Najakeeper (Sep 18, 2016)

More of a centipede guy here when it comes to myriapods and I know how to care for carnivores in general.

But I could not pass a pair of almond smelling Desmoxytes sp!







I am sure the seller will help but any care info from the experts here will be appreciated!

Reactions: Like 3 | Love 1


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## Hisserdude (Sep 19, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> More of a centipede guy here when it comes to myriapods and I know how to care for carnivores in general.
> 
> But I could not pass a pair of almond smelling Desmoxytes sp!
> 
> ...


Beautiful millipede you got there, I'm so jelly! 

Seeing as it's in the order _Polydesmida_, you are going to want to have a substrate that consists primarily of rotten wood/sawdust. The only other thing that should be mixed in the substrate are dead leaves, and in a very small amount compared to the wood. A layer of dead leaves can be added on top of the substrate for them to hide in or nibble on. Keep the cage pretty moist, and supplement the diet with fruits and the occasional piece of dog or cat food. These guys are usually pretty sensitive to high temperatures, but seeing as this species is tropical, room temperature shouldn't hurt them. Temps any higher could prove fatal though.

Lastly, you should know that this group of millipedes seldom does well in captivity, so don't be too upset if they die rather quickly. (However, this species is in the family _Paradoxosomatidae_, which includes the common pest species _Oxidus gracilis, _and a few other species that have become pests in greenhouses around the world and are pretty hardy in captivity).

Reactions: Informative 1 | Helpful 2


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## Najakeeper (Sep 20, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> Beautiful millipede you got there, I'm so jelly!
> 
> Seeing as it's in the order _Polydesmida_, you are going to want to have a substrate that consists primarily of rotten wood/sawdust. The only other thing that should be mixed in the substrate are dead leaves, and in a very small amount compared to the wood. A layer of dead leaves can be added on top of the substrate for them to hide in or nibble on. Keep the cage pretty moist, and supplement the diet with fruits and the occasional piece of dog or cat food. These guys are usually pretty sensitive to high temperatures, but seeing as this species is tropical, room temperature shouldn't hurt them. Temps any higher could prove fatal though.
> 
> Lastly, you should know that this group of millipedes seldom does well in captivity, so don't be too upset if they die rather quickly. (However, this species is in the family _Paradoxosomatidae_, which includes the common pest species _Oxidus gracilis, _and a few other species that have become pests in greenhouses around the world and are pretty hardy in captivity).


Thanks mate. The seller said to use a gravel bottom, peat moss and wood mixture, green moss on top with some leaves. Also rotten wood pieces. He advised to keep the boxes open as these produce HCN, which can accumulate in poorly ventilated boxes and kill them. He said he kept them alive like this and produced babies so I will try that.

As for additional food, his advice was plant based fish food.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Najakeeper (Nov 9, 2016)

So I had these for a month and a half now. Aside from thriving, they have also reproduced and I have quite a few pedelings walking around. I first thought they were local millipedes and came with the wood somehow but babies are getting some color now.

Reactions: Like 4


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## ErinM31 (Nov 9, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> So I had these for a month and a half now. Aside from thriving, they have also reproduced and I have quite a few pedelings walking around. I first thought they were local millipedes and came with the wood somehow but babies are getting some color now.


That's awesome! So glad to hear that they're doing well! Polydesmids differ greatly in how well they do in captivity and sadly, the larger ones in the U.S. almost never live for more than a few months and we have yet to figure out why. 

I'd love to see photos of the little ones!


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## AbraxasComplex (Nov 9, 2016)

How big is this species?


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## pannaking22 (Nov 9, 2016)

Congrats, that's an awesome species to have reproducing!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## UltimateDracoMeteor (Nov 9, 2016)

Congrats, but I'd recommend a non-polydesmid for your next one. They are much more hardy in general and have many more available species.

Reactions: Disagree 1


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## ErinM31 (Nov 9, 2016)

UltimateDracoMeteor said:


> Congrats, but I'd recommend a non-polydesmid for your next one. They are much more hardy in general and have many more available species.


Actually, there are a great many species of Polydesmida! I'm sure the ratios vary in different parts of the world, but in North America, there are more than twice as many species of Polydesmida as there are Spirobolida and Spirostreptida put together! Sadly, most of those have indeed not done well in captivity, but obviously there are species from elsewhere in the world that fair far better. Perhaps, as @Hisserdude pointed out, the family of Paradoxosomatidae seems to be much hardier than most native to North America.

But it is enjoyable to keep a variety of millipede species with their different appearances and behavior.  Certainly there are some gorgeous Spirobolida and Spirostreptida available in Europe!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Hisserdude (Nov 10, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> So I had these for a month and a half now. Aside from thriving, they have also reproduced and I have quite a few pedelings walking around. I first thought they were local millipedes and came with the wood somehow but babies are getting some color now.


Amazing, glad they are doing well for you!  Would love to see some pics of the little pedelings.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Najakeeper (Nov 10, 2016)

Thanks guys, I will post photos when I find some time for sure.

As for getting different species in the future, I am really not interested in millipedes. From myriapods, I am pretty much only interested in colorful giant Scolopendra. But I acquired a pair of this species because of their "dragonish" look and unique defense mechanism.


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## Najakeeper (Nov 10, 2016)

Really hard to focus on these guys as they are tiny but here are a couple photos:

Reactions: Love 3


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## ErinM31 (Nov 10, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> Really hard to focus on these guys as they are tiny but here are a couple photos:


Thank you for sharing!  These are gorgeous millipedes and I do love the dragonesque look of the adults! I really wish I could buy some!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## UltimateDracoMeteor (Nov 10, 2016)

ErinM31 said:


> Actually, there are a great many species of Polydesmida! I'm sure the ratios vary in different parts of the world, but in North America, there are more than twice as many species of Polydesmida as there are Spirobolida and Spirostreptida put together! Sadly, most of those have indeed not done well in captivity, but obviously there are species from elsewhere in the world that fair far better. Perhaps, as @Hisserdude pointed out, the family of Paradoxosomatidae seems to be much hardier than most native to North America.
> 
> But it is enjoyable to keep a variety of millipede species with their different appearances and behavior.  Certainly there are some gorgeous Spirobolida and Spirostreptida available in Europe!


I meant to say there are less available to buy in North America. Certainly many wild caught specimens can be found!


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## ErinM31 (Nov 10, 2016)

UltimateDracoMeteor said:


> I meant to say there are less available to buy in North America. Certainly many wild caught specimens can be found!


Yes, but @Najakeeper lives in Switzerland and thus is unaffected by the U.S.'s inane import restrictions. I can only imagine the myriad of myriapods he has to choose from!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Hisserdude (Nov 10, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> Really hard to focus on these guys as they are tiny but here are a couple photos:


Aww they are so cute, I _really_ wish we had these in the US hobby!  Glad they are so hardy and are doing well for you, keep us updated on them!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Najakeeper (Nov 11, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> Aww they are so cute, I _really_ wish we had these in the US hobby!  Glad they are so hardy and are doing well for you, keep us updated on them!


Thanks mate.

I wonder what is the lifespan on these beauties as I do not see my adults anymore but the babies are growing quite fast and getting color. I have 10-15 offspring in different sizes now.


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## ErinM31 (Nov 11, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> Thanks mate.
> 
> I wonder what is the lifespan on these beauties as I do not see my adults anymore but the babies are growing quite fast and getting color. I have 10-15 offspring in different sizes now.


Several/many species of millipede die not long after reproduction. This seems to be true of many species of Polydesmida, including the Paradoxosomatid, _Oxidus gracilus_. That may be the case with this species as well. I don't think any Polydesmida go through additional molts after reaching maturity so it is unlikely the adults have buried themselves for this purpose.


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## Najakeeper (Nov 13, 2016)

ErinM31 said:


> Several/many species of millipede die not long after reproduction. This seems to be true of many species of Polydesmida, including the Paradoxosomatid, _Oxidus gracilus_. That may be the case with this species as well. I don't think any Polydesmida go through additional molts after reaching maturity so it is unlikely the adults have buried themselves for this purpose.


Yeah, might be the case...

Reactions: Like 1


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## ErinM31 (Nov 13, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> Yeah, might be the case...


At least they left you with gorgeous offspring!


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## Ghost56 (Nov 13, 2016)

I didn't even know such a thing existed :wideyed:

Anddd.... added to the neverending shopping list  That is if they can be had here lol.


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## Najakeeper (Nov 13, 2016)

At night via cellphone just to show a group of them:

Reactions: Like 3


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## ErinM31 (Nov 13, 2016)

Ghost56 said:


> I didn't even know such a thing existed :wideyed:
> 
> Anddd.... added to the neverending shopping list  That is if they can be had here lol.


Sadly, the U.S. no longer allows millipedes to be imported.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Najakeeper (Nov 16, 2016)

ErinM31 said:


> Sadly, the U.S. no longer allows millipedes to be imported.


Why is that?

By the way, these babies love veggie fish food:

Reactions: Like 1


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## ErinM31 (Nov 16, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> Why is that?
> 
> By the way, these babies love veggie fish food:


Because intrusive meddling politicians are always passing laws about things they know not about and/or fail to accomplish the stated objective. Don't get me started on the madness! 

Those pedelings are looking gorgeous! It's amazing how fast they've grown!


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## Najakeeper (Nov 17, 2016)

ErinM31 said:


> Because intrusive meddling politicians are always passing laws about things they know not about and/or fail to accomplish the stated objective. Don't get me started on the madness!
> 
> Those pedelings are looking gorgeous! It's amazing how fast they've grown!


I am for smart regulations but I need to understand the reason behind it. I am sure somebody came up with something for this one, I wonder what...

The pedelings are super interesting as I have a wide variety of size. I still see very tiny ones coming out so I don't fully understand the dynamics here...


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## ErinM31 (Nov 18, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> I am for smart regulations but I need to understand the reason behind it. I am sure somebody came up with something for this one, I wonder what...


Heh, you give our politicians too much credit, I think!  In any case, a quick Google search did not reveal anything.



Najakeeper said:


> The pedelings are super interesting as I have a wide variety of size. I still see very tiny ones coming out so I don't fully understand the dynamics here...


Many millipedes lay their eggs over a period of time instead of all at once. Congrats on all the pedelings!


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## Najakeeper (Nov 23, 2016)

Horrible iphone photo in the dark with flash reflection everywhere but some of these are approaching adulthood. I need to design a larger terrarium soon if they go exponential on me:

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## ErinM31 (Nov 23, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> Horrible iphone photo in the dark with flash reflection everywhere but some of these are approaching adulthood. I need to design a larger terrarium soon if they go exponential on me:


Congratulations! They are such striking beautiful millipedes! Hehe, yes, you will probably need to set up a larger terrarium and/or sell some of them.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Hisserdude (Nov 25, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> Horrible iphone photo in the dark with flash reflection everywhere but some of these are approaching adulthood. I need to design a larger terrarium soon if they go exponential on me:


God they are beautiful, someone needs to get these into the US asap, they are beautiful!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Najakeeper (Nov 27, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> God they are beautiful, someone needs to get these into the US asap, they are beautiful!


I have so many in my hand now! I wish I could sex them and sell in pairs...


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## ErinM31 (Nov 27, 2016)

Najakeeper said:


> I have so many in my hand now! I wish I could sex them and sell in pairs...


Are you familiar with sexing millipedes? The males will be missing a pair of legs on ~7th segment as they are replaced by gonopods. In my experience, Polydesmidan millipedes are the easiest to sex because their legs are so much more spaced apart.  That millipede at the bottom of the above photo looks like it could be a male (or that may just be the illusion of a space caused by how the legs are positioned). If it helps, here is a photo that I took of a male _Eurymerodesmus melacis_ (sorry about the quality -- it's a small millipede and my iPhone had difficulty focusing):





It's head is at the bottom. After the first few segments which have one pair of legs each, the diploid segments begin, but then you reach a segment which has only one pair of legs as the anterior pair has been replaced by what look like two circular bumps in this photo.

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## Najakeeper (Nov 27, 2016)

ErinM31 said:


> Are you familiar with sexing millipedes? The males will be missing a pair of legs on ~7th segment as they are replaced by gonopods. In my experience, Polydesmidan millipedes are the easiest to sex because their legs are so much more spaced apart.  That millipede at the bottom of the above photo looks like it could be a male (or that may just be the illusion of a space caused by how the legs are positioned). If it helps, here is a photo that I took of a male _Eurymerodesmus melacis_ (sorry about the quality -- it's a small millipede and my iPhone had difficulty focusing):
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot for the info. Maybe I will try if I can find some time...

Reactions: Like 1


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## ArthropodLegs (Oct 2, 2021)

Najakeeper said:


> Why is that?
> 
> By the way, these babies love veggie fish food:


@Najakeeper Not sure if you're still on here, but I was wondering what the ingredients were for "veggie fish flakes" that the pedelings really liked? Seems like most have spirulina, kelp, and fish meal as the first ingredients, but I'm not sure which should be the first/majority ingredient. Or should there be no fish since its "veggie"?


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