First Alipes multicostis clutch

[Ravn]

Hi all. A couple of years ago I managed to get hold of three alipes multicostis, after first purchasing three alipes grandidieri mislabeled as multicostis. One of them sadly passed away shortly after they arrived. But I kept my spirits up and decided to give breeding the two left a go. I fed them up to what I assumed was mature size and put them together in a terrarium with lots of hides and plenty of space, made sure they always had food available and crossed my fingers and toes. After a couple of months I gave up, thought I probably had two females or two males and decided to separate them into separat containers again. And to my great surprise one was holding eggs! Now a few months later I have the plings separated and each have their own container, they have been eating and all look healthy. After about 4-5 weeks separated I am happy to say I have had no losses and all 21 of them look nice and fat. I thought I would share a few pictures of them, but they are very small so please excuse my poor photos.

 

[Wolfram1]

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

 

[Ravn]

Here is a picture of the “proud” father

 

[Wolfram1]

Nice.

Do you still have pictures of the combined enclosure you cohabited them in? I would love to see how you set it up.

I assume you keep this species fairly dry with fresh water always available?

 

[Ravn]

Nice.

Do you still have pictures of the combined enclosure you cohabited them in? I would love to see how you set it up.

I assume you keep this species fairly dry with fresh water always available?

No sadly I didn’t remember to take any photos of the combined enclosure, but it was set up as a slope with a lot of small cork tubes sticking out of it in different angles, the diameter of the cork tubes was so that the pedes fit snugly in them, and they made elaborate tunnels between the tubes in the substrate. The Alipes species I keep I actually keep rather humid compared to my other centipedes. Since they are usually found along riverbanks and at the edge of lakes I thought I would try giving them more humid enclosures, and they seem to thrive in them. I use a clay mixed with soil and sand to give them the best opportunity for making tunnels and chambers. I also provide them live moss on the surface of the substrate and a water dish with fresh water at all times. The substrate also have springtails and other micro organisms and I have never had a case of mycosis to this day “knock on wood”

 

[Wolfram1]

Nice, seeing this one i did imagine something with lots of half burried corc-tubes.



I have never used sand or clay in my mixes since i use about 1/3 to 1/2 of loamy decidious forest soil and shreeded leaf-litter mixed with potting soil (thats basically rotted treebark)

I assume the end result is similar but how do these components change the soil. I notice the cacti and succulent potting soil,that has a lot of sand in it just lets water drain better and have never used sand for any of my spiders, clay i assume does the opposite, making it firmer and holding on to moisture more?

You probably had moisture but good ventilation and lots of moist or dry crevices, right?

Still not sure if the order will be canceled or if i have to wait for autumn, but i should get a S. dehaani "Red Legs" sometime in the future, that would probably enjoy a similar setup.


When it comes to Myriapods i have always liked A. multicostis, these paddle shaped terminal legs are so unique and striking.

Congratulations again on your success.

 

[Ravn]

Nice, seeing this one i did imagine something with lots of half burried corc-tubes.



I have never used sand or clay in my mixes since i use about 1/3 to 1/2 of loamy decidious forest soil and shreeded leaf-litter mixed with potting soil (thats basically rotted treebark)

I assume the end result is similar but how do these components change the soil. I notice the cacti and succulent potting soil,that has a lot of sand in it just lets water drain better and have never used sand for any of my spiders, clay i assume does the opposite, making it firmer and holding on to moisture more?

You probably had moisture but good ventilation and lots of moist or dry crevices, right?

Still not sure if the order will be canceled or if i have to wait for autumn, but i should get a S. dehaani "Red Legs" sometime in the future, that would probably enjoy a similar setup.


When it comes to Myriapods i have always liked A. multicostis, these paddle shaped terminal legs are so unique and striking.

Congratulations again on your success.

The clay holds the moisture a lot better and also makes it possible for the pedes to create chambers for molting and tunnels, but just clay alone makes the pedes and the enclosure really messy, so by adding sand and soil in the mix you get the best of both worlds. I’m not talking a lot of sand, but enough for the soil to not be stagnant. I also use live plants to help with keeping the humidity up in the enclosure, and I also use the plants to gauge when water needs to be added to the substrate. And I know this is a bit controversial but most of my centipede enclosures are only top ventilated. This keeps the humidity at a more stable level but raises the risk for stagnant air and mycosis of course, and to battle this I find the sweet spot on the humidity so it’s not to humid and not to dry, and also I have a series of small fans that will blow a gentle breeze into the terrariums if the humidity is too high. I would not recommend this setup for most people, but I have had great success with it for 11 years now and have even had pedes come in with mycosis, only to get rid of it after a molt and live full lives in these set ups without it flaring back up. I will add that I do work with exotic animals and my ability to gauge humidity from a glance is probably better than a lot of people, but if you can keep plants alive in a terrarium you should do just fine with a centipede in it, if it’s a plant with similar humidity requirements of course. I will add a few photos as examples of some of my set ups. I should also add that where I live it’s cold and the indoor humidity is only between 10-30% all year long, so that’s part of why top ventilation works for me here.

 

[Wolfram1]

Thanks for the detailed explanation and pictures.

Yea i agree that getting the ventilation just right is what trips most people up, that applies to taranulas just as well.

I am lucky that i have a good fiend that has been keeping everything from slime molds, exotic undescribed dwarf roaches, to sugar gliders, snakes, parasitic wasps, etc.
so i learned from the best. His motto is if it doesn't reroduce you are doing it wrong, and i subsctibe to that as well. Also one of the reasons, apart from the years of experience, why i think your advice is worth a lot. Thanks.

I do have had some plants in with my spiders though i chose ones that like it a little more dry than in your pictures, since thats what i wanted for her. For my new Arboreal Terrariums i have gone with Plants that like a little more moisture. It makes a huge difference if there is a chimney effect or not.

I do think the loamy soil i use essentialy has the same effect the clay and sand have combined, i use it for my potted plants as well and it adds drainage as well as moisture holding capacity, and gives some firmness as well, letting spiders burrow and also without suffocating Philodendron roots.
The only downside of collecting it is that i can't choose the exact properties, since the consistency is a little different each time.
I do like that it usually contains wild springtails, mycelium and other organisms. I have seen soil centipedes, earthworms, nematodes etc. and never had any problems with them.

I think the pictures give me a pretty good idea of what to do, i had planned to set mine up similar anyways, but this is very helpful.

 

[Ravn]

Update, no losses still. They are all great eaters and growers, and now I have a second clutch incoming!

 

[Wolfram1]

incredible, truly

 

[Ratmosphere]

I really dig these enclosures, fantastic job. Good luck with the eggs!

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

You are a wizard!

Those enclosures are gorgeous and the eggs are exciting. Hope a sustainable captive population can be created.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Nice job!

 

[Ravn]

I completely forgot to post any updates here, so here goes. They are all doing great, both first and second clutch. I did loose one of the pedes due to extreme cold weather here, about -30c for a week. But I have made sure that won’t happen again with a heatmat on the back of the cabinet they are being stored in on a thermostat. I will show a few pics of the first and second clutch, and a photo of one of each side by side for a size and general development comparing. You can also see the dark neck and head colorations starting to appear on the first clutch!

 

[HappyLittleDaydream]

These are magical fairies and nothing anyone says will ever change my mind. They are INCREDIBLE.

 

[paumotu]

Your dedication to a mostly wild caught species is awesome. Congrats on the breeding success

 

[mantisfan101]

Have you been caring for the babies any differently than the adults? I have heard that the babies for grandideari can be quite fragile

 

[Ravn]

Have you been caring for the babies any differently than the adults? I have heard that the babies for grandideari can be quite fragile

No i keep them at the same parameters, but of course in different containers. I wouldn’t say they are fragile, I only lost one centipede in two clutches, and that was to extreme cold weather where I live. They eat like crazy and molt without any problems. I do believe the substrate mix and the fact that it is pact with living microorganisms is key to keeping a species with high humidity requirements with no problems with mycosis.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Congrats dude! The enclosures look beautiful as well.

 

[Ravn]

I have some news! I purchased a new Alipes grandidieri a few months back, and she is currently holding eggs under her log! I’m excited to see if they will hatch out, but she had them for a few weeks already so fingers crossed! I thought she was a juvenile because of her small size compared to my adult multicostis, and was planning on buying a few more to breed them until I saw her with her eggs