Can I keep desert beetles with desert millipedes?

[Felix S]

I wouldn't be planning on breeding the millipedes. Just wanted to see if they could both live in the same conditions

 

[chanda]

I suppose it might depend on the type of beetles, but I've been keeping a mixed tank of assorted darkling beetles and millipedes for several years and never had any problems.

 

[Felix S]

I was planning on having blue/black death feigning beetles, and darkling beetles. Do you think that would work?

 

[chanda]

I was planning on having blue/black death feigning beetles, and darkling beetles. Do you think that would work?

Yeah, that should be fine. The only ones I'd be concerned about cohabiting would be some of the larger predatory beetles. I currently have a mix of diabolical ironclad beetles, black death-feigning beetles, wooly darkling beetles, and a few other assorted Eleodes species in with my desert millipedes. I have also had the occasional longhorn beetle in there - albeit temporarily, because the adults don't live too long.

 

[Felix S]

What type of desert millipede do you have? I was thinking about doing 1 Orthoporus Gold Desert Millipede, 1 Sonoran Desert Millipede, as well as some death feigning beetles and darkling beetles. Could I have some isopods in the same tank? I'm kind of a noob to communal tanks, but I know that I can have Isopods with the millipedes.

 

[chanda]

Sure, you could have isopods if there's enough humidity and moisture for them. I'm not exactly sure what species of millipedes I have but I'm guessing maybe Sonoran Desert because I caught them in the desert outside Tucson.

 

[Hisserdude]

I think the millipedes would still need more humidity than the darkling beetles would be comfortable with, no?

 

[Felix S]

So, could I use sand instead of dirt?

 

[BuzzSwole]

Bump. I was wondering this same exact question. Could I keep a couple gold millis with my blue feigners? Also are there any other desert insects I could keep with them outside of darklings? Ty

 

[BepopCola]

Bump. I was wondering this same exact question. Could I keep a couple gold millis with my blue feigners? Also are there any other desert insects I could keep with them outside of darklings? Ty

I'm keeping Ornate harvestmen and a Harlequin flower beetle with mine. It seems to be going well. There was once an earwig, but i haven't seen her in a while.

As far as adding in some death feigning beetles, I don't know!
I'd want to experiment on this once I get a bigger tank. I think if the substrate is deep enough and moist enough on bottom then the millipedes should be ok. Maybe a half sand area on the top layer, to give the beetles a dry area to beetle around.

 

[BepopCola]

I went ahead and combined my tanks, right after this. It's about to be 3 months since, and all inhabitants seem to be doing well.
I have 3 yellow and 3 brown Orthoporus; 4 vonones harvestmen; 6 smooth, 2 blue, and 1 rough death feigning beetle(s) living in there.

I really don't know how much humidity the beetles are ok with. They get the excess water from watering the plants in the enclosure, and a heavy misting whenever it rains outside.

In a 20 gal long aquarium with a somewhat ventilated lid, I have 7 inches of general millipede substrate, then about 2" of the same substrate with a bit more sand mixed in.
For top layers: A bit more than half the tank has about .5" more of the the sandy substrate with big oak leaves, and the rest has about .5" of pure sand and some succulents.

 

[BuzzSwole]

I tried for a bit but I found the bdfbs feet were getting disgusting, they were constantly cleaning there feet. Felt bad so ended up separating them