Epibolus pulchripes (Kenyan Giant Red Legged Millipede)

MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE: Curiosity got to me so I removed all of the decaying wood and leaves and gently dug into the substrate. I only dug into the top .5 inch of frass and found 15 juveniles. I am not sure if this is a good number for this species but considering that I thought most died, I am happy finding this many near the surface. There are more deeper but I am not going to disturb them.
 

MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE: I now have 6 large to extra large enclosures with either babies or juveniles. They will be my breeding stock for the 3rd generation.
 

MrCrackerpants

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So how many do you actually have?
I have no idea. In my initial enclosure (with the oldest) I thought I only has a few but then found 15 just in the top layer of substrate. My other enclosures have a heavy leaf and wood layer and I periodically see adults on the leaves and wood but I do not want to dig into the substrate to see how many I have. As they mature we shall see how many I have. :)
 

SDCPs

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These may be different, but I frequently remove all my flameleg babies from their substrate, but they all in one container, and transfer them to completely new substrate. It is then I count, and usually have several hundred.

The numbers do not decrease with each transfer. In fact I'm usually surprised at how many I have. So maybe flamelegs are extra hardy in this regard, and I wouldn't want to disturb something large like an a. gigas in molt, but juveniles seem surprisingly tough mechanically.

I need another species to have young for me so I can compare hehe! Seems like my West African millipedes may be about to produce. I saw mating...and that wouldn't mean anything for A. gigas but for these I highly suspect...not to mention one of the females has not been on the surface for awhile...

We shall see.
 

MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE: I am hoping this thread can be an online record for those that get some of the babies (if/when) I ever get enough to sell. I have noticed a few things I want to add about this species care.

Four things:

1) I have been increasingly adding a pretty good amount of aspen shavings. I incorporate these shavings into the substrate and also place them under the decaying branches (some small logs) and in the thick leaf layer (3-4 inches). I am fairly confident the millipedes are eating them. The aspen shavings (when kept moist and allowed to decay) appear to be a good food source for this species.

2) I am providing a thick (but loose) hardwood leaf layer that is 3-4 inches thick over the entire enclosure. I keep this layer moist by misting on the surface about every 3-4 days. The leaves are in a state of decay and appear brown (not black). I have observed (on multiple occasions) the juveniles (anywhere from .25-.75 inches) on the top of this moist leaf layer eating the leaves. In some cases I will see 4-6 in a group and it appearances they have eaten parts of the leaves. The leaves have chewed holes and in some cases they will eat the leaves and just leave the petiole and other veins.

3) They do not prefer dry dog food kibble or carrots as my pink legs do.

4) I keep this species and my pink legs more moist and with a deeper more complex surface leaf layer that some of my other species (e.g., flame legs).
 
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MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE: All of the colonies went down to 64 F in a power outage for about 48 hours. I will monitor the colonies to see if there are any deaths.
 

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.
 

MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE: The smaller juveniles (.25-2 inches) were not interested in the dry dog food kibble. Now that some of the juveniles are 2.5 inches I have seen them eating the dry dog food kibble.
 

MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE: I now have some of the second generation of captive bred Epibolus pulchripes that are 3 inches long. All of the first generation adults have died. It has been appropriately 23 months since they were born. This species is tricky but I have finally figured out how to set up their enclosure so that the babies will survive.
 
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MrCrackerpants

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UPDATE: bugsincyberspace.com is selling a very limited number of the second generation of captive bred Epibolus pulchripes (Kenyan Giant Red Legged Millipede).
 

mickiem

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Because this thread got bumped, I read the whole thing. Thank you for all your observations and care experience. This is a bucket list species for me. @MrCrackerpants
 
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