Brachycybe (AKA, Feather Millipedes) Care - Newbie Seeking Urgent Advice!

[Buggie McScoots]

Dear fellow myriapod enthusiasts,

I am a newbie seeking advice for a very small colony of feather millipedes (brachycybe). My current setup is a small 10x5ish tank with an assortment of dead leaves, some cucumbers, rotting wood, two wet cottonballs for mosture, and black aquarium rocks for the base. (see pics)

I thought things were good until I noticed that it was prime conditions for white hairy mold (the kind you see on old fridge food), as it quickly spread throughout the base within a few days (hopefully you guys can see this in the pictures). Should I be concerned about this??

*edit* Is this a sign that my enclosure is too humid?

 

[Wesley Smith]

Sounds like a good question for @DITB

 

[Buggie McScoots]

Wow, you were quick, Wesley! I searched this forum before- and I believe most of the advice I had came from his posts. However, I should have re-worded this to more of the lines of whether or not I should be concerned about the high levels of white mold in the cage?

 

[DITB]

That type of mold seems to very common in newly started setups and in my experience disappears after about a week but the issue is they have so few options to escape the mold which might cause issues. Removing the moldiest pieces as you spot them will help.
I would add more + larger pieces of rotting wood and some oak leaves so the millipedes can avoid the mold best as possible until it disappears. You likely need to increase the ventilation/decrease humidity of the enclosure but keep in mind if the millipedes dry out they will die very suddenly.
The veggies are also another source for mold in the enclosure and since the millipedes will not make a dent into that amount of food if they even decide to eat such a thing. So that is not really serving any purpose. They mostly just eat rotting wood.

 

[Buggie McScoots]

Good thinking DITB, I will replace the cucumbers with more leaves/wood chips since they have all but touched them. I will also remove the more moldier spots and put their cage in a more open area.

Any recommendations for a good separate (myriapod or similar) species to place with them? I was thinking about some bumblebee millipedes since they don't get quite as large, but I would like to get some input before I potentially introduce a nuisance of a neighbor.

 

[DITB]

Adding some bumble bee or scarlet millipedes shouldn’t cause any harm.