Dead Florida Ivory Millipede?

isopodluvr

Arachnosquire
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Apr 17, 2020
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61
About 27 days ago i received two juvenile millipedes in the mail <edit>. One smokey oak millipede, and one florida ivory millipede. Until about a week ago they were both fine, up and about, the florida ivory millipede was going to town on the cucumber slices i had fed them. About two days ago, i noitced my ivory millipede (dinesh) stretched out under a branch, but i figured it was in the process of burrowing, as opposed to being dead, and there was no smell so i left it alone. On this tragic night i realized that my millipede (dinesh) is in fact, dead. i have put him in a small box for burial tomorrow :( My smokey oak millipede is in perfect health and is alive and well. All leaves and substrate i put into the tank stay moist and the tank stays humid, i mist/moisten half the tanks soil and keep the other half dry so my millipedes can decide what environment they prefer, they always have food,all leaves/wood/substrate put into the tank were baked in the oven to dry and sanitize it before use in my tank. I found my millipede limp, if this helps. I would like to know if any experts can speculate on the cause of death. Could my millipede have been too watered down after gorging on cucumber for many days in a row? the last photos i have of my millipede are from july 17, and i am fairly sure my pede was dead by the 25th/26th ish. What couldve happened in this time period? there were no drastic changes to their environment. please help, thank u <3
 
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Hisserdude

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Apr 18, 2015
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How warm were they being kept? I know @ErinM31 has had trouble with ivories overheating and dying, especially in the warmer months of summer, sounds like this may have been the case here.
 

Arthroverts

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Jul 11, 2016
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Ivories do seem to have a higher sensitivity to heat than others (the reason I lost all mine years ago), so that very well might be the cause, though I'd expect the N. gordanus to be struggling a bit as well.
A moisture gradient such as you are offering can also be deadly to millipedes; I would recommend keeping the entire enclosure uniform in moisture, except for perhaps allowing the surface to dry out slightly in between waterings.

Could the cucumber have been sprayed with a "cide"?

Thanks,

Arthroverts
 

isopodluvr

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Apr 17, 2020
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61
How warm were they being kept? I know @ErinM31 has had trouble with ivories overheating and dying, especially in the warmer months of summer, sounds like this may have been the case here.
room tempurature, i admit i do not have a thermometer in my room right now which i probably should. Usually my room is anywhere from 75-87 degrees, somedays it can even get into the 90s (it is summer for me right now). I suspect since my ivory spent all its time on the surface, it was effected worse by the heat and the greenhouse effect on the tank than my smokey oak millipede who spends all of its time in the cool dirt. I feel so terrible for this oversight and i will be much more cautious in the future :[
 

Hisserdude

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Apr 18, 2015
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room tempurature, i admit i do not have a thermometer in my room right now which i probably should. Usually my room is anywhere from 75-87 degrees, somedays it can even get into the 90s (it is summer for me right now). I suspect since my ivory spent all its time on the surface, it was effected worse by the heat and the greenhouse effect on the tank than my smokey oak millipede who spends all of its time in the cool dirt. I feel so terrible for this oversight and i will be much more cautious in the future :[
Yeah that's a bit warm for them, they probably don't want temps much above 74F°... The ivory was probably on the surface so much because it was trying to escape the enclosure and find a cooler area...
 

Arthroverts

Arachnoking
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Jul 11, 2016
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Yeah that's a bit warm for them, they probably don't want temps much above 74F°... The ivory was probably on the surface so much because it was trying to escape the enclosure and find a cooler area...
That is a lot more than a bit warm; temperatures in the 80s killed my entire array of specimens (4-5 adults and probably hundreds of babies/juveniles), and have done so to the Ivories of a close friend who was at one time a big millipede breeder. I'm really surprised the N. gordanus is still behaving normally.
So yeah, I would highly recommend dropping those temperatures down into the mid-70s.

Thanks,

Arthroverts
 
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