Desert Communal Tank. Sonaran Desert. Millipedes, beetles, etc...

[Loops117]

Hey guys. Just wanted to find out if anyone else has ever setup a large communal tank for Desert insects? I am in the process of making my Desert Beetle setup larger, and would like to include my millipedes into the mix. Then possibly some others in the future.

Current List
Orthoporus ornatus - Desert Millipedes
Blue Death Feigning Beetles
Black Darkling Beetles

The beetles have been together for a while now, but would like to know how much more i can add? With feeding, i normally just keep a small pile of scrap organic veggies in a corner for both my beetles and my millipedes.

The millipedes currently live in a setup with coconut fibers, organic soil, and wood strands. I will be adding this to my Desert communal tank as it's primarily sand right now.

Thank you.
Loops

 

[Loops117]

Asked a couple vendors at the Michigan reptile show this past weekend. Said it would be fine, so i picked up another millipede and a couple more beetles and went ahead with my build.

Also, i'm under the impression that my original 4 Death Feigning beetles were males. A short 3 minutes after my new beetles were added, this happened....then i found the male on his side playing dead for about 10 minutes.

Thank you.
Loops

 

[soldierof4cheese]

Nice setup, the beetles appear to like it..

 

[Loops117]

Thank you.
I have a 5w heat pad stuck to the underside of their setup, which seems to be more then enough heat for them.

 

[soldierof4cheese]

That is what I use for my scorpions tanks, 4 or 5 watt heat pads that I stick to the back side. I only plug them in when I cant maintain the temps with the lights. Have you ever considered adding a scorpion or two to your tank?

 

[Loops117]

I has a tiny Florida Bark Scorp thats roughly 3/4th the size of the blue death beetles, and have considered it. I would not mind adding scorps at all as long as they dont hurt me beetles of pedes.

 

[soldierof4cheese]

Arizona Hairy scorpions can live side by side with the Blue death feigning beetles, not sure about millipedes though and definitely not any other scorpions.

 

[Loops117]

I'll look into it. Thank you for the heads up. I wouldnt mind adding 1 or 2 to the setup if i could. I plan on adding others as well. Isopods, springtails, etc.

I was thinking of maybe a pair of ghost mantids, or something else that would be out and about.
Any other suggestions? This is new to me.

 

[soldierof4cheese]

I haven't done any desert tank setups lately but hope to in the near future. I was down your way yesterday and picked up a African Flat rock scorpion from Stingers exotics in Livonia. The Flat rocks are kept hot and dry, though not a desert species where they live is hot and dry. My wife and I are looking to move out to New Mexico this year or next, I cant wait to get out of the Michigan ice box. Once we get established I want to start captive breeding scorpions for my past time. There are a lot of experienced scorpion keepers and breeders here on the forum that can help you better than i for any info you need. Looks like you have a great start with your setup.

 

[Loops117]

You're from michigan too! Lol, i'm really inexperienced with scorps and tarantulas. I joined the forums because i saw a lot of high quality content and wanted to learn more. I'll have to check out stingerz, never heard of them. Do they carry other insects? I have a wide array of insects in my collection and im always looking to expand.

 

[Temjeito]

Bump to find out what op ended up doing.