Beginner Millipede Hobbyist With LOTS of Questions

[Tidbit]

Hello all,

I’m glad to be a part of Arachnoboards, but I’ll get straight to the point here. As the title says, I am new to this hobby of Pede keeping and I am paranoid about the health of my pets. I also have quite a story!

I did lots of research on the best millipede pet and I chose to get a n. americanus and I bought from a site and received a millipede, but not an americanus! Which leads me to my numerous questions... I appreciate every response and understandably, there are a lot of questions that follow so I’d be content to have only a couple answered. Again, I’m a little paranoid, especially after learning that millipedes can endure bad conditions for months until dying. Here are my questions:
Are there signs of malnourishment or bad conditions to look for?
I read that as far as food, “anything goes” for a millipede, but are there any poisonous foods that shouldn’t be offered? Like carrots, raspberries, etc?
Do snow fleas hurt millipedes? Are there any invertebrates to look out for that would hurt millipedes?
My millipede doesn’t seem to eat her substrate, does it need to be extra moist or dry? The only thing I see her take even a little interest in is the occasional carrot shred or kale piece
My millipede obsescently cleans herself, is that a sign of an underlying condition or a bad sign?
She doesn’t react when I open the cage and is slightly limp when picked up, is that also an indicator? I’ve read that other people’s pedes immediately curl up when the cage is open so I’m concerned

That’s all I can think of right now, and all help is greatly appreciated. Later I should be posting a picture of her, but she looks near-identical to o. ornatus, especially Joshs Frogs picture of the curled up one (brown form).
Thanks!
Tidbit

 

[BepopCola]

N. americanus can come in a few color variations. Mine look like this:

I'll try and answer the questions that I can

• I read that as far as food, “anything goes” for a millipede, but are there any poisonous foods that shouldn’t be offered? Like carrots, raspberries, etc?
  • I wouldn't go as far as to say anything goes.
  • Supplemental food like onions, garlic(?) shouldn't be offered. I personally avoid tomatoes also.
  • I have fed cucumber, melon, watermelon, dog kibble, dog treats, dried shrimp, dried fish, algae wafers, beetle jelly, coconut cubes, squash, fish flakes, fish pellets, nori, baby food, corn, carrots, romaine salad, dead (feeder) roaches, frozen isopods, cooked snail eggs, chia, gecko food, mandarin orange meat, apple core, apple sauce, banana, dried strawberry, mushrooms, guinea pig poo, plain oats.
    • I haven't tried berries because I never have them around.
    • There's a few more lists on this sub-forum as well, of other keepers experiences.
• Do snow fleas hurt millipedes? Are there any invertebrates to look out for that would hurt millipedes?
  • Snow fleas, springtails, won't hurt them.
  • Isopods can potentially eat them.
  • I would avoid predator inverts.
• My millipede doesn’t seem to eat her substrate, does it need to be extra moist or dry? The only thing I see her take even a little interest in is the occasional carrot shred or kale piece
  • I've never really seen them grazing on the substrate either, I'd say they eat it while buried. You should be seeing substrate colored poos around.
  • The substrate should be moist.
    • it should feel damp, cold to the touch, but it should not leak water if you grabbed a fistful and squeezed.
  • Also, what's in your substrate?
• My millipede obsescently cleans herself, is that a sign of an underlying condition or a bad sign?
  • I believe this is normal behavior.
    • Unless she is covered in mites or something.
• She doesn’t react when I open the cage and is slightly limp when picked up, is that also an indicator? I’ve read that other people’s pedes immediately curl up when the cage is open so I’m concerned
  • Some millipedes are extra bold and won't curl easily.
  • Limp millipedes aren't a good sign.
    • does she try and climb your hand after you pick her up?
    • does she exude her chemicals?
    • Is she able to tightly curl at all?

 

[ReignofInvertebrates]

@BepopCola did a great job summarizing. One thing I can add is from my experience, N. americanus can do quite well feeding on solely on rotting hardwood leaves that you can mix into the substrate. I do offer mine carrots occasionally as well. I've also had wild caught specimens that had an extensive amount of mites on them. I would imagine springtails can help prevent that in captivity.

 

[Tidbit]

Thanks for the suggestions! My “narceus” lacks the red rings on the segments and the red legs that’s coined them Cherry Foot Millipede. Mine instead, like the Joshs Frogs pic, has tan rings and dark brown legs. My substrate is essentially calcium-enriched dirt and leaves. I read that o. ornatus likes it less moist, so I wasn’t sure. Mine has no mites, unless they dwell under the millipede but I still haven’t seen any. She loves crawling on my hand, even curls up close to the door, and she can curl up pretty tightly. I think she’s sprayed me once or twice. I’ve only had her for just over the week now and she was limp when I got her. Her shipping container was full of poo. I think she’s been getting better though! A couple last questions though,
Can you overdose your millipede on calcium and vitamin D? I’ve been giving her a different kind of fruit or veg every night to see what she likes (looks like kale and carrots but not raspberry) but after I get a good idea I will start offering occasionally, but I’ve been sprinkling this repashy calcium stuff and I wanna make sure she doesn’t overdose. Also, since you said that they don’t seem to eat their substrate, should I be giving fresh veg everyday?

 

[SeaNettle]

As far as supplemental feeding goes, I tend to give my millipedes cucumber slices. I've noticed that my N. americanus and my ivorys absolutely love them. So if you are worried about your millipede eating, I would try a cucumber though that's solely based on my experience.

And since @BepopCola posted a picture of one of his N. americanus here is one of mine (I have seven of them in this color)

 

[Tidbit]

Nice! I’ll join in the fun, here’s mine:

As you can see, no red bands or legs. She’s just under 5 inches long. I was wondering if she should be given fresh stuff every night because I read somewhere that fresh veg should be offered occasionally, but she doesn’t seem to eat her substrate so I don’t want to starve her for a week.

 

[BepopCola]

Wow, I think they sent you an O. ornatus after all.
Mine do not enjoy veggies as much as other millipedes. They do like the occasional mushroom and fish flakes.
Mine don't struggle when I pick them up either. I understand what you meant by 'limp' now.

I would still keep the soil moist, just provide a dry area via a thick vertical branch or some cork bark. If you have a deep enough substrate you can let some of the top dry slightly.

 

[Tidbit]

Good advice! I’ve been keeping one half of the cage dry and the other moist to see which she likes, and she has a water dish just in case. I’ve noticed that she’s exploring her cage more and taking some interest in dead leaves. She’s also crawling faster. I hope those are signs of good health! Also, when I gave her carrots, she was all over them. I tried cillatro today but she took no interest. Do they like climbing on sticks? If I take one from outside, should I bake it or stick it in the freezer for a week? The last time I took something from my yard, I discovered a snow flea colony. They’re dying out luckily

 

[Tidbit]

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[BepopCola]

Do they like climbing on sticks? If I take one from outside, should I bake it or stick it in the freezer for a week? The last time I took something from my yard, I discovered a snow flea colony. They’re dying out luckily

I only have 1 chocolate one, but she likes to perch on high places.
Lately, I've been soaking my wood in a bucket of water (advice I took from someone on the boards) to get any bigger creatures to come out. Then I stick it in the freezer it for a few days.
Other people like to bake them, but I'm not confident enough for that.
Also, are your snowfleas blue? if so I am jealous. But springtails, in general, are pretty good to keep in millipede tanks. They eat mold and outcompete mites.

 

[Tidbit]

So I should be keeping the snow fleas around? My snow fleas don’t look completely black, they are a little gray and maybe a little blue? I’ve been killing them before now so I haven’t seen one for a while.