Dendrostreptus macracanthus (Giant Glossy Black Pinkleg Millipede)

MrCrackerpants

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I try not to let my place get warmer than 80F. I think there were a few days at 82 when the AC was dying. I assume pedes go underground if it gets too hot, which should provide some insulation as well as prevent desiccation.
Thanks! Yes, going underground will prevent desiccation. Just wondering if 84 F is just too hot even if they are hydrated...Orin's book has a little info about a few species but I do not believe any info is offering for this species. I have noticed this species is active at 64 F and 84 F so that is nice and I am assuming is indicative of their hardness. I would define this species as very hardy as I have not lost one baby or juvenile yet. I have flame legs and Thailand Rainbows die all the time. I am moving away from owning millipede species I can't breed. Have not "smelled" any dead yet. I know they can die and you cannot always smell them but I usually can. :)
 
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Aquarimax

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My flamelegs got down into the 50s/high 40/ during a power outage last week. All survived. :)
 

Elytra and Antenna

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My flamelegs got down into the 50s/high 40/ during a power outage last week. All survived. :)
Did you take a thermometer to the dirt? That species dies near freezing but a short stint of 50 should be no problem. Of course with any species temperature sensitivity is only anecdotal from personal experiences since nobody is likely to take a large sample of specimens to test what temperatures kill them.
 

MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE: No deaths from the colony going down to 64 F and up to 84 F. The normal room temperature is 75 F.
 

CrawlinChaos

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That's definitely good to hear, as I have had the temperature dip down to 60 F inside during the wintertime here when the stupid landlord didn't turn the heat on fast enough. I strongly suspect that most millipedes that aren't from the deep tropics can survive brief periods of low temperatures. You have to figure that even in the sub tropics, you occasionally get cold snaps that drop things down into the low 40s. As long as it doesn't get all the way down to freezing and the cold period is brief, I think we would all be surprised what our 'pedes can live through.
 

MrCrackerpants

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That's definitely good to hear, as I have had the temperature dip down to 60 F inside during the wintertime here when the stupid landlord didn't turn the heat on fast enough. I strongly suspect that most millipedes that aren't from the deep tropics can survive brief periods of low temperatures. You have to figure that even in the sub tropics, you occasionally get cold snaps that drop things down into the low 40s. As long as it doesn't get all the way down to freezing and the cold period is brief, I think we would all be surprised what our 'pedes can live through.
Ya, that was my thought. I have not read a lot of info on how low of temps they can take and for how long. I also am fairly unclear on how warm they can get before dying. My temp drops (64 F) and temp increase (84 F) were not my fault. Like you I am at the mercy of idiots...I guess the good thing that came out of this VERY stressful event (only for me...not the pedes) was now we have any idea that some species can handle a wider temp range than what we thought. I know there are a few that have pretty narrow ranges but I am not trying to get those species to reproduce. I am now focusing on hardy non- U.S. species that reproduce well in captivity.
 
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MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE:

Some of the juveniles in their feeding dish...

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I put them in a bigger container to photograph them...

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011420153238.jpg

There were 60 in the food dish...lol... :)

Thanks for looking...
 

MrCrackerpants

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Wow. Look at that party! If there are 60 in the dish, any idea how many you have in total?
60 in this enclose for sure but I bet 90. I sold 30 to Peter at bugs in cyber space and then two other enclosures of 30 each...equals 180 in total. :)
 

SDCPs

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60 in this enclose for sure but I bet 90. I sold 30 to Peter at bugs in cyber space and then two other enclosures of 30 each...equals 180 in total. :)
Just a warning: in my view you will not have a market for many thousands of millipedes if that's what you're planning.

But you should be applauded for rescuing this species from extinction in the US. Cheers!
 

CrawlinChaos

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I don't know about that. I would buy thousands of millipedes if I had unlimited space and money, lol. But, SDCP is right. It is possible you will end up with more than you could conceivably sell at some point. Lucky for us, millipedes are so ridiculously easy to care for and take up so little space compared to many other things. If you ever need to get rid of few hundred though, I'm sure there will be some folks on here who would be happy to take them off your hands. ;)

And, yes, you deserve much praise for maintaining these guys here in the US. Cheers!
 

MrCrackerpants

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Thanks guys. They are really cool millipedes. I'm not worried. If I get too many I'll just keep sending them out. :)
 

SDCPs

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Thanks guys. They are really cool millipedes. I'm not worried. If I get too many I'll just keep sending them out. :)
You are going to find that you flood your market. The market for millipedes is very small, at least from what I've found...unless you want to try to sell to all the pet shops in the US, but then what you're selling seems to be not fully legal. Very gray.

My point is that you will satisfy demand and then you won't be able to move your millipedes as easily. So just keep sending them out...isn't a viable option if you breed thousands of them at a time.
 

Cavedweller

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You are going to find that you flood your market. The market for millipedes is very small, at least from what I've found...unless you want to try to sell to all the pet shops in the US, but then what you're selling seems to be not fully legal. Very gray.
Wait what? I thought foreign millipedes were totally legal to keep in the US, just not to import?
 

CrawlinChaos

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As far as I know, the only millipede that is outright banned in the US to import is the African Giant Black, but in reality that's because the symbiotic mites that live on the millipede pose a potential pest threat to cotton crops. I'm sure that there would be some legal and bureaucratic hoops to jump through if you were to take steps to bring a nonnative species into the US, however I think that applies to any sort of exotic animal you try to import from another country. That's just my guess though, based on what I know about importation laws, which admittedly isn't much. If you really want to know about the status of importing and keeping millipedes in the US, I would ask an entomologist. Entomologists often bring back specimens from field research, so they should know about legal issues like that.

To SDCP, I'm a little unclear as to why you are raining on MrCrackerpants' parade. The fact that he has established a large and thriving colony of such an exotic millipede species is something to be happy about. So what if he can't sell them fast enough to keep his population in check? I'm sure that he has an idea of what the maximum number he could realistic support is and if he ended up with too many, there are other options. Zoos, pet shops, or entomological departments at universities might want some, though he'd probably have to give them away for free. If he just needed to flat out get rid of them, he could sell them here on the boards for cheap or for the shipping cost only. People love cheap and free stuff, lol. And, as dark as this might sound, realistically he could purge his population quite easily. Just take that cup of juveniles and stick it in the freezer for a day. Or get out a can of bug spray. Personally, I would exhaust all other options before I considered something like that, but it is an option.
 
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SDCPs

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I don't want to go further into the legality issue. I am not fully informed but I have talked with people who have looked into this extensively and the advice is to be quiet. The Gov't is overextended and we are not a threat if we keep things small. Notice that you hardly see exotic millipedes for sale even though some species are easy to breed.

As to raining on the parade:
1) I have experience selling mainly 1 type of millipede and my feeling is that the market is easily satiated. Maybe the pinklegs will be in much higher demand. But in any case keeping over 100 millipedes to breed...I get hundreds of babies with 5 and if I tried to breed hundreds I would never be able to sell them all. I do not understand Mr. Crackerpants' strategy.
2) Notice that Crackerpants constantly bumps his two threads. Nobody else does this on this forum. It's nice to get updates but the behavior is still strange.
 

CrawlinChaos

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While I'm not questioning that you've talked to people who have done their research on this, it does strike me as odd that millipedes could possibly be subject to more regulation than scorpions, centipedes, tarantulas or roaches, which are regularly sold by many people online and at reptile shows around the country.

Again, while you are right that he probably can't sell his enough of his millipedes to control his population, as I pointed out, he could easily purge them if he had too many. Its not a pleasant thought, but I'm sure people do it all the time with roach colonies and things like that.

Why is it a problem if he constantly update his own threads? He seems to get quite a bit of interest about the condition of his colonies. Its not like the Myriapod forum is flooded with new threads and posts anyway, lol.

Oh, and just so you know SDCP, the Flamelegs I bought from you are doing quite well. No babies or anything, but they seem quite content.
 

lagomorphette

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I would buy some of Crackerpants' stock, for sure. I mean, I'd buy them *right now*. I want a few. (Please sell them, Crackerpants!!) :D

My male T. macrypygus from SDCP was a fantastic little dude. I had him a little over a year before he passed. I definitely want to pick up a few more of those, too. :)
 
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