General help from a millipede newbie

[vmdraco]

Hi, I'm new to this forum as well as to the hobby and signed up to get legit answers on taking care of Sonoran Desert Millipedes. I love them to death and keep getting conflicting information throughout the internet and it's tiring and worries me constantly. Forgive me here because this will get long! Sorry about that.

I got my first millipede this past June (a gold colored variant), just to start off and see how I like the hobby after trying to research for about a year or so. At that point she was in a 13x12ish plastic case I bought from BugsinCyberspace, along with his substrate and a heating pad to put underneath. I initially bought my millipedes from there, too.

Since then, however, I've gotten a better enclosure, an Exo Terra glass enclosure that's about 12x12x12, as well as another Desert Millipede (a dark brown one) because I got more comfortable taking care of them and easily got attached to them. Since the summer, they were active, constantly on top of the soil, would bury often but I tended to see them whenever I went to mist their cage, or to gently handle them. You know, cute millipede things.

The reason why I'm asking for advice though is for my millipedes' general behavior these past few months since winter set in. It started happening around September, where my millipedes would disappear for weeks under the soil. At first, I assumed they were molting, as my gold one, Cassandra, had molted before while I had her. But when they both reemerged, they didn't appear bigger. I've asked facebook groups about this as well, and they've said that it's normal for them to disappear for weeks because they just like to dig and make burrows. At that point, I tried not to worry too much.

However, while I've seen my dark brown one, Autumn, come up once in a while every few weeks, I'm very worried for Cassie. I've not seen her in months. The last I saw her was maybe before Halloween. Cassie, when she molted, was out after about 2-3 weeks of being in the soil. I'm very worried that she's dying or is dead, and after such a short time of caring for her when I've been a fretting dad for every damn minute of her life lmao

I also started to worry that I'm doing something wrong with heating. For a while I've used a heating mat on the side or underneath the enclosure, and it's worked out fine and didn't dry out anything. Since the winter set in, however, I couldn't get the temperature in the cage above 70 degrees. From what I've read here briefly, apparently a heating lamp is terrible as it dries out the enclosure, but when I got one I didn't realize it would do so, as I thought the one I had wouldn't be that bad. Turns out that it dried it out a bit, as the soil began drying out a lot in areas where they've dug tunnels. I mist on the sides one to three times per day though to get water in. I've also just dumped a bit of water into the soil rather than mist, so that I could keep it moist as I was concerned they couldn't eat.

Again, I get conflicting info: mist daily versus barely mist ever; don't change out substrate for 6 months versus change every month; never use a heat mat/lamp, or do both; you get the gist. It's annoying. And I get it all across the internet. I know it's a horrible idea to dig for them, as I've had to restrain myself from doing so, but at this point I'm really desperate to get them both out of the ground so I can know what's going on with them.

Am I doing something wrong here? Should I just try to use the heating mat again and try to cover the top somehow? I'm doubting the heating lamp even though it's kept the cage at a steady 75-80 degrees this whole time. The air doesn't feel as moist tho, so maybe I answered my own question here. Still, I would really love some consistent advice, so I can keep my girls happy and have them for many years.

Thank you!

EDIT - I removed the heating lamp, put the mat back under the enclosure, tried to add more water, and located them by lifting up the enclosure. They are both curled up together in a little burrow at the very bottom of the substrate. I don't see them moving but their exoskeletons weren't pale. So I think they are alive.

 

[Arthroverts]

First off, I would suggest reading through this excellent online resource for the millipede enthusiast: http://petmillipede.weebly.com/

Secondly, remove the supplemental heating elements, especially if you have the heat pad under the tank (millipedes burrow to get away from heat, and won't realize they are burrowing to where it is hottest till its too late). Orthoporus sp. are native to where it gets below freezing in the wild, and although they aren't on the surface at those times, underground it isn't 70F+. If you are comfortable, they are comfortable in most cases, at least with most commonly-kept US native species.

Thirdly, you really want to avoid having such a wide fluctuation in humidity and soil moisture throughout the day, as that can be deadly to millipedes in the long run. Keep it consistent and steady.

Lastly, you change out the soil when it needs to be changed, i.e when it is depleted of rotting wood/leaves and other nutritious elements. Otherwise you leave it be or add more food to the top of the substrate.

If you have any further questions, let us know. I hope it all turns out for you, and welcome to the wonderful world of diplopod rearing!

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[vmdraco]

First off, I would suggest reading through this excellent online resource for the millipede enthusiast: http://petmillipede.weebly.com/

Secondly, remove the supplemental heating elements, especially if you have the heat pad under the tank (millipedes burrow to get away from heat, and won't realize they are burrowing to where it is hottest till its too late). Orthoporus sp. are native to where it gets below freezing in the wild, and although they aren't on the surface at those times, underground it isn't 70F+. If you are comfortable, they are comfortable in most cases, at least with most commonly-kept US native species.

Thirdly, you really want to avoid having such a wide fluctuation in humidity and soil moisture throughout the day, as that can be deadly to millipedes in the long run. Keep it consistent and steady.

Lastly, you change out the soil when it needs to be changed, i.e when it is depleted of rotting wood/leaves and other nutritious elements. Otherwise you leave it be or add more food to the top of the substrate.

If you have any further questions, let us know. I hope it all turns out for you, and welcome to the wonderful world of diplopod rearing!

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

Thank you so much for replying! I will definitely bookmark that page because I've not come across that whatsoever when googling/researching. So far it's been really detailed and informative, unlike a lot of things I come across. Thank god for that. It's really horrible how little information there is on keeping these critters as pets.

In terms of heating, I do agree that a consistent temperature is a good idea. I try to keep it within a 5 degree range. I do have the heat mat under the enclosure, but it's situated on one side and not in the center. Is that sort of thing still okay? Or should I still put it on the side? I've experimented with both in the past and the side heating can be effective in keeping humidity up, but I worry about it being above 70. I live in New England and also live upstairs, so it can get chilly.

I just checked them and they are now above ground and burrowing now that I put a lot more water into the soil and removed the heat lamp, which is wonderful and I'm glad I trusted my instincts on that. Now I'm worried I accidentally starved them or dehydrated them Shit... shouldn't have trusted the heat lamp but I was super worried about them staying warm initially. I'm just glad they're still moving and alive, after a while of having that heat lamp on. I also put a towel and plastic wrap over the ventilation openings on the top to keep the humidity in, and so far that works really well.

Again thank you so much!