Has anybody been able to keep and breed pill millipedes?

[benjaminfrogs]

Yes sir. The only thing I am going off of is frass that I currently see on my enclosure. I hope that the issues stated at the top will not happen to me. I hope that my system will work for them. Either way its worth a shot

 

[LittleOddIsopod]

Yes sir. The only thing I am going off of is frass that I currently see on my enclosure. I hope that the issues stated at the top will not happen to me. I hope that my system will work for them. Either way its worth a shot

What species do you own?

 

[LittleOddIsopod]

What species do you own?

And please do keep us updated, we are rooting for your pill millipedes (and you of course). It would be awesome if you can figure out why everyone else’s keep dying.

 

[schmiggle]

Yes sir. The only thing I am going off of is frass that I currently see on my enclosure. I hope that the issues stated at the top will not happen to me. I hope that my system will work for them. Either way its worth a shot

That's a good sign. It's not definitive, mind you--they are known to eat wood without being able to digest it, and it passes through the digestive track essentially unchanged. But it does mean they like what you're offering them, and you might be able to tell if they've been digesting the wood or not. What is your set-up? Also, what species do you have?

 

[schmiggle]

This thread, by the way, might be helpful.

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/madagascar-giant-pill-millipede.81136/

The main suggestion I found interesting was that gut microorganisms might be killed off by high temperatures, so a constant low temperature is required at all times, including during shipping (this because most die-offs happened at high temperatures). However, I personally doubt this, because millipedes should be able to go a fairly long time without food, so high temperatures would be unlikely to cause an immediate die off.

Here is another thread that might be useful:

http://www.roachforum.com/index.php?/topic/2105-pill-millipedes-in-captivity/&page=2

 

[LawnShrimp]

What species do you own?

It is unidentified as of now but Castanotherium is most likely based on his pictures. I'm hoping that these become the first species that breeds and grows in captivity, and it seems like there is a lot of potential with this group of animals.

Basically what has been said before is true: giant pills are always doomed to starve though they often eat and molt in captivity. A. brandtii has been bred in Germany in only one instance where the animals were kept in a custom-made cooler but a sudden nematode increase killed off all of the hatchlings and adults.
Glomerida are much easier to breed, but still trickier than most long-bodied Juliform millipedes and isopods. Rhopalomeris is the most colorful in the hobby but not available in the US. Glomeris is very uncommon in the US but I think they can be sourced.

 

[Ajohnson5263]

Im a freshman college student studying biology and biochemistry. today we briefly touched on how termites use microorganisms to break down cellulose. While this wasn't news to me, apparently, some species have protozoan inside their gut, which in turn have a species of bacteria inside them also. So three in one. Not sure if this relates to the Pill millipedes, but it might not be the gut microorganisms that aren't functioning properly, but the microorganisms inside them. Just an idea though.

 

[schmiggle]

Im a freshman college student studying biology and biochemistry. today we briefly touched on how termites use microorganisms to break down cellulose. While this wasn't news to me, apparently, some species have protozoan inside their gut, which in turn have a species of bacteria inside them also. So three in one. Not sure if this relates to the Pill millipedes, but it might not be the gut microorganisms that aren't functioning properly, but the microorganisms inside them. Just an idea though.

That's very interesting (I would not have guessed!), but from a husbandry perspective I doubt it makes a difference. You have to keep all the symbionts present and happy, regardless of whether they reside in the gut or inside a gut microorganism.

 

[LittleOddIsopod]

Im a freshman college student studying biology and biochemistry. today we briefly touched on how termites use microorganisms to break down cellulose. While this wasn't news to me, apparently, some species have protozoan inside their gut, which in turn have a species of bacteria inside them also. So three in one. Not sure if this relates to the Pill millipedes, but it might not be the gut microorganisms that aren't functioning properly, but the microorganisms inside them. Just an idea though.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

 

[Mpaul213]

It is unidentified as of now but Castanotherium is most likely based on his pictures. I'm hoping that these become the first species that breeds and grows in captivity, and it seems like there is a lot of potential with this group of animals.

Basically what has been said before is true: giant pills are always doomed to starve though they often eat and molt in captivity. A. brandtii has been bred in Germany in only one instance where the animals were kept in a custom-made cooler but a sudden nematode increase killed off all of the hatchlings and adults.
Glomerida are much easier to breed, but still trickier than most long-bodied Juliform millipedes and isopods. Rhopalomeris is the most colorful in the hobby but not available in the US. Glomeris is very uncommon in the US but I think they can be sourced.

Does anyone have care tips for Rhopalomeris? I will have a colony in March, and have been doing my best to find out as much as possible.

 

[LawnShrimp]

Does anyone have care tips for Rhopalomeris? I will have a colony in March, and have been doing my best to find out as much as possible.

These links are to the German millipede forums. You will have to translate them unless you speak German but google translate does a pretty fair job.
http://forum.diplopoda.de/wbb/index.php/Thread/6599-Kugeltausendfüßer-Pill-Millipeden-Thailand/
http://forum.diplopoda.de/wbb/index.php/Thread/6640-Rhopalomeris-carnifex/?pageNo=1
From what I could understand they don't need deep susbtrate, only about 3-4", and should be provided with white rotten wood, dead leaves, and live or dead moss as food. I'm not sure if their diets consist mostly of leaves or of wood so offer large amounts of both. I assume the usual millipede treats like dog food, cucumbers, fruit etc. can be offered occasionally but not too often as Rhopalomeris are very small and cannot eat all of the food before mites and pests appear.
Apparently they like high humidity and moist substrate - adding moss which is misted often may help keep the ground nicely wet. The substrate and edible decorations of the breeders in Germany do not look too complex and most of them had Rhopalomeris pillipedelings within a surprisingly short while.

 

[AISP Insects]

About the native pill millipedes, they are probably rarely observed. Nonetheless, the ones found in the US might be in the genus Onomeris, and are found in the southeastern US, including the entirety of Alabama, if you want to go look for them. You can see the reference here.

I'd like to find some myself.

 

[Mpaul213]

These links are to the German millipede forums. You will have to translate them unless you speak German but google translate does a pretty fair job.
http://forum.diplopoda.de/wbb/index.php/Thread/6599-Kugeltausendfüßer-Pill-Millipeden-Thailand/
http://forum.diplopoda.de/wbb/index.php/Thread/6640-Rhopalomeris-carnifex/?pageNo=1
From what I could understand they don't need deep susbtrate, only about 3-4", and should be provided with white rotten wood, dead leaves, and live or dead moss as food. I'm not sure if their diets consist mostly of leaves or of wood so offer large amounts of both. I assume the usual millipede treats like dog food, cucumbers, fruit etc. can be offered occasionally but not too often as Rhopalomeris are very small and cannot eat all of the food before mites and pests appear.
Apparently they like high humidity and moist substrate - adding moss which is misted often may help keep the ground nicely wet. The substrate and edible decorations of the breeders in Germany do not look too complex and most of them had Rhopalomeris pillipedelings within a surprisingly short while.

Thanks a bunch, I has actually stumbled upon a thread in the same forum and had been reading it via google. This one some helpful pics that are much needed.

 

[Lucanus95]

About the native pill millipedes, they are probably rarely observed. Nonetheless, the ones found in the US might be in the genus Onomeris, and are found in the southeastern US, including the entirety of Alabama, if you want to go look for them. You can see the reference here.

I'd like to find some myself.

Ooh...I wasn't expecting someone to link my pics here.