Advice Request for Biolumincent Millipede

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
2,453
I'll see what I can do. I think that boiling and then backing the aspen pieces has made them fall apart a bit into finer strands. We'll see what the pine shavings are like. How would mixing them with traeger wood pellets help? To get the fermenting started?



Ah yes! I assumed I'd accidentally clicked beyond the initial page somehow -- this is even more helpful! :D



Well, I'm gradually collecting them and doing all I can to encourage successful reproduction! Once that happens, I'll be sure to send you some once the young are old enough! All I ask is that you let me know how you keep them and how they do for you -- the more information for my book, the better! :)
Because the flour needs to mix in with similar sized particles of wood to properly ferment, and the pine flakes are much bigger. However, if you were to mix in the flakes with the sawdust and flour, I'm sure it would ferment with them.

Thanks, and I'd besure to provide you my experience with them for your book. :)

Handsome little guys but I wonder about the emperor with new clothes or the second coming of Lucihormetica
Unlike the glowspots, they actually glow without any sort of fungal supplementation, and according to the paper @Metastasize linked to, the luminescence seems inexhaustible. :)
 

Pipp

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
40
Hello everyone! Mine have arrived today :) I ordered 10. I had a hard time sexing them, but I THINK I have at least 3 males, unless some are just missing legs. It has been about 92-103 degrees here, but they all arrived alive. They were shipped with a cold pack. They're very active, and have mostly been crawling under the chunks of wood. If they start to breed, they will be put into the large tank. They're in my medium tank right now, I ALMOST got the small tank set up for them, glad I did not. XD




The only thing that really concerns me is this one. She is dark on her end half. I'm not sure if this is just a color variation, since they all seem pretty varied, or if something is wrong with her, since none of the others are really THAT much varied. I'll have to keep a close eye on this one. Does anyone else have one that looks like her?
 

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
Sorry, Pipp, that one looks like it's on it's way out but I could be wrong :(

Regarding the glow...Mine were steadily lit up last night at around 11pm. Whether or not that has anything to do with diet will be revealed if they are raised on something other than their typical foodstuffs.
 

Pipp

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
40
Sorry, Pipp, that one looks like it's on it's way out but I could be wrong :(

Regarding the glow...Mine were steadily lit up last night at around 11pm. Whether or not that has anything to do with diet will be revealed if they are raised on something other than their typical foodstuffs.
That's what I thought when I got her out of the box, but she's been super active all day. She isn't half curled or unable to move her back legs like my other millipedes had done when they were dying. It looks almost as if she's been injured and that is just how she ended up, since she does seem to have a slight angle to her body when she moves. I do hope she'll be ok, because she's kinda becoming my favorite XD
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
2,453
Mine must be broken. Yes, I see them now, his robes are magnificent.
Huh, that's weird,perhaps that one is just on its way out...
Glad some/of yours are glowing at least. :)

Hello everyone! Mine have arrived today :) I ordered 10. I had a hard time sexing them, but I THINK I have at least 3 males, unless some are just missing legs. It has been about 92-103 degrees here, but they all arrived alive. They were shipped with a cold pack. They're very active, and have mostly been crawling under the chunks of wood. If they start to breed, they will be put into the large tank. They're in my medium tank right now, I ALMOST got the small tank set up for them, glad I did not. XD




The only thing that really concerns me is this one. She is dark on her end half. I'm not sure if this is just a color variation, since they all seem pretty varied, or if something is wrong with her, since none of the others are really THAT much varied. I'll have to keep a close eye on this one. Does anyone else have one that looks like her?
Good, glad they arrived OK, especially in that weather, mine should definitely arrive alive in just the low 80s then.
As long as the substrate is at least a few inches deep then they should be able to successfully breed in there.
Very nice pictures, and I hope they do well for you, especially that two toned one.
 

Pipp

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
40
Huh, that's weird,perhaps that one is just on its way out...
Glad some/of yours are glowing at least. :)



Good, glad they arrived OK, especially in that weather, mine should definitely arrive alive in just the low 80s then.
As long as the substrate is at least a few inches deep then they should be able to successfully breed in there.
Very nice pictures, and I hope they do well for you, especially that two toned one.
Thank you :) Yes, I know a lot of people were worried about them arriving alive due to their weather, but if they can survive my weather, your guys' should be OK :D

I have yet to see them glow, but they are really awesome just so far. They love crawling on top of each other and make like a big pile of pedes. They seem to be very prone to falling on their backs though, especially falling off the pile of pedes XD It's very cute to see them wiggling their legs and trying to get back up, reminds me of overturned turtles.
 

ErinM31

Arachnogoddess
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Feb 25, 2016
Messages
1,217
Mine must be broken.
Yes, I see them now, his robes are magnificent.
Yes, they are! Although one's eyes definitely need to be dark-adapted to see them! What substrate are you keeping yours on, Orin? All wood?

That's what I thought when I got her out of the box, but she's been super active all day. She isn't half curled or unable to move her back legs like my other millipedes had done when they were dying. It looks almost as if she's been injured and that is just how she ended up, since she does seem to have a slight angle to her body when she moves. I do hope she'll be ok, because she's kinda becoming my favorite XD
I thought the same as @zonbonzovi but would have expected that you would see other symptoms like you said. Hopefully, she'll be alright! :) What substrate are you using? BIC millipede substrate plus hardwood chunks?

Because the flour needs to mix in with similar sized particles of wood to properly ferment, and the pine flakes are much bigger. However, if you were to mix in the flakes with the sawdust and flour, I'm sure it would ferment with them.
Ahhh, I could see that being a problem with my aspen chunks. The pine that I got looks to me like smaller thinner pieces, although not as fine as flour. Why is sawdust expensive? :confused: I may just try to grind/break down some of it myself to get things started -- provided I go ahead with it. I got the bag of pine on Friday but haven't opened it yet. It was advertised as 100% ponderosa pine but only says pine on the bag so I've contacted the company who actually made it to see what it is. If it's not ponderosa, then the dealer is going to hear from me. :shifty:
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
2,453
Ahhh, I could see that being a problem with my aspen chunks. The pine that I got looks to me like smaller thinner pieces, although not as fine as flour. Why is sawdust expensive? :confused: I may just try to grind/break down some of it myself to get things started -- provided I go ahead with it. I got the bag of pine on Friday but haven't opened it yet. It was advertised as 100% ponderosa pine but only says pine on the bag so I've contacted the company who actually made it to see what it is. If it's not ponderosa, then the dealer is going to hear from me. :shifty:
If you can get the Traeger grill pellets those work great, and aren't terribly expensive I think. Just pour warm water over themand they pop and expand into sawdust, it's kinda like making sawdust. Then just mix in the flour, yeast and aspen/pine flakes and you would be good to go. :)

Thank you :) Yes, I know a lot of people were worried about them arriving alive due to their weather, but if they can survive my weather, your guys' should be OK :D

I have yet to see them glow, but they are really awesome just so far. They love crawling on top of each other and make like a big pile of pedes. They seem to be very prone to falling on their backs though, especially falling off the pile of pedes XD It's very cute to see them wiggling their legs and trying to get back up, reminds me of overturned turtles.
Well great, I can't wait until next week! :D
Aww that's cute, sounds like they have interesting communal behavior! Hope yours do well, be sure to keep us updated!
 

Metastasize

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
9
Because the flour needs to mix in with similar sized particles of wood to properly ferment, and the pine flakes are much bigger. However, if you were to mix in the flakes with the sawdust and flour, I'm sure it would ferment with them.
I've used shredded aspen and was able to get it to ferment, I think it just takes longer. I forgot about it for 5 months so I'm not sure how long it took overall, but I've been using it for my Dynastes tityus larvae and millipedes and they definitely like it. I had a small log in there too, but that is not anywhere close to being ready.
 

ErinM31

Arachnogoddess
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Feb 25, 2016
Messages
1,217
If you can get the Traeger grill pellets those work great, and aren't terribly expensive I think. Just pour warm water over themand they pop and expand into sawdust, it's kinda like making sawdust. Then just mix in the flour, yeast and aspen/pine flakes and you would be good to go. :)
I'll have to see how much they are at Walmart. I was surprised at how much they cost on Amazon. :eek:

I've used shredded aspen and was able to get it to ferment, I think it just takes longer. I forgot about it for 5 months so I'm not sure how long it took overall, but I've been using it for my Dynastes tityus larvae and millipedes and they definitely like it. I had a small log in there too, but that is not anywhere close to being ready.
Good to know -- thank you! :)
 

Pipp

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
40
I thought the same as @zonbonzovi but would have expected that you would see other symptoms like you said. Hopefully, she'll be alright! :) What substrate are you using? BIC millipede substrate plus hardwood chunks?
Yup, the hardwood chunk substrate.

So, I do have what seems to be 2 casualties :( It was not the dark one, though! Two of the smaller ones just stopped moving and I tried prodding them, but they did not move at all except a tiny leg wiggle. Pretty sure they are not going to make it.

In better news, I have no experience with this, but does this look like they're breeding already?? The bottom one is male, and I do believe the top is female. Sorry about the picture quality, I tried to get a pic from the top with the lid off, but me taking off the lid... interrupted them. XD


Look at this one. It goes from pede to pede doing this.
 
Last edited:

ErinM31

Arachnogoddess
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Feb 25, 2016
Messages
1,217
Yup, the hardwood chunk substrate.

So, I do have what seems to be a casualty :( It was not the dark one, though! One of the smaller ones just stopped moving and I tried prodding them, but they did not move at all except a tiny leg wiggle. Pretty sure they are not going to make it.

In better news, I have no experience with this, but does this look like they're breeding already?? The bottom one is male, and I do believe the top is female. Sorry about the picture quality, I tried to get a pic from the top with the lid off, but me taking off the lid... interrupted them. XD
Sorry to hear that you lost two of them! :(
EDIT: I overlooked your saying it was the smaller ones. Maybe immatures are more sensitive to the stresses of travel and relocation? It is sad and frustrating, I know. :sorry:

On a positive note, yep, it definitely looks like their mating! Congratulations! :D
 
Last edited:

ErinM31

Arachnogoddess
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Feb 25, 2016
Messages
1,217
LOL well hopefully they stop dying before I can get some babies
I expect the rest will be fine. Your conditions are probably good since they're mating. :) While I haven't lost any Motyxia thus far, I did lose two Apheloria early on and the rest have since done well and been mating -- hopefully we'll both get plings soon! :D

EDIT: I have lost one Motyxia; he was curled up in the corner with the moss for too long and no longer looked like a healthy curled millipede. The others seem fine so I assume he was older and either died of age directly or the consequent loss of resilience and increased sensitivity to stress.
 
Last edited:

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
2,453
Yup, the hardwood chunk substrate.

So, I do have what seems to be 2 casualties :( It was not the dark one, though! Two of the smaller ones just stopped moving and I tried prodding them, but they did not move at all except a tiny leg wiggle. Pretty sure they are not going to make it.

In better news, I have no experience with this, but does this look like they're breeding already?? The bottom one is male, and I do believe the top is female. Sorry about the picture quality, I tried to get a pic from the top with the lid off, but me taking off the lid... interrupted them. XD


Look at this one. It goes from pede to pede doing this.
Ah well, that sucks. Glad the discolored one is not dead yet though! :)
Yup that's definitely mating, hope they lay some eggs for you! :D
 

Pipp

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
40
If you're having trouble seeing the glow, it seemed for me that they did take a few minutes to get the glow to appear, probably about 10-20 minutes for me to see, and it had to be pitch black in the room. But they did have a very heavy glow for me once my eyes adjusted to it and it was super dark. I've never seen a firefly, so I can't really compare.

Also, the dead ones did have a faint glow as well.
 
Top