Is my millipede okay?

[izzyd0ll123]

I got my Giant African millipede in late august. Her name is Calliope. I set up her up in a temporary ten gallon tank with about 5 inches of coco peat substrate and sphagnum moss. I threw in a little dish of water and some logs. She was very active for about two or 3 weeks. I had planned on getting her a bigger tank and changing out her substrate until I noticed she hadn’t been out for quite a while. I’m a night owl, so usually I’d see her out and about or eating right before bed, and then she’d go back underneath the surface to burrow. I assumed she began molting, so I kept misting her substrate everyday. I put a heating pad underneath the tank since it started getting colder at night. I haven’t seen her at all since then. I began offering food again after a couple of weeks. Some of it seems to have been eaten or just decayed, but I also noticed some little worms/larvae on the surface. They’re transparent/beige in color. I’m worried sick. I’m wondering if maybe the soil is way too saturated. It doesn’t smell bad, just moist. Sometimes I stay up way late to see if she’ll come crawling out from her usual resting spot. I don’t want to go digging for her, but I also don’t want to leave her in there if she has passed away. This is my first time owning a millipede and I feel like I totally failed her. Now that I’m looking at the soil, it is totally drenched. I was so worried about achieving the right amount of humidity that I overdid it. Any idea on what I should do???
Edit: Thank you all for the helpful replies! I’ve read them all so far. Just to update you guys, I took the risk and lifted her log she likes to sleep under and she was fine! I practically sobbed out of relief. No lethargy thankfully, but now that I know she’s okay I removed the heating pad and placed it on the side of the tank opposed to underneath it. I bought her some new substrate and once I get paid I’ll grab her a bigger tank and other necessities as well.

 

[worldsparadox]

I wish I knew more about millipede husbandry - but in my ignorance I have no idea what is best to suggest. If the conditions in her container are not suitable for her survival maybe you should dig her up so you can rehouse her into a better environment? I hope your little friend is alright!

 

[izzyd0ll123]

I wish I knew more about millipede husbandry - but in my ignorance I have no idea what is best to suggest. If the conditions in her container are not suitable for her survival maybe you should dig her up so you can rehouse her into a better environment? I hope your little friend is alright!

Thank you!!! I think once I get paid I will do exactly that.

 

[coolnweird]

Couple things! Cocopeat is not an acceptable substrate, you need something like organic vegetable compost or hardwoods that are beginning to decay. Several sellers online offer these. Cocopeat/Coco fiber has been linked anecdotally to impaction, and it offers little nutritional benefit. The soil is your millipedes food, and needs to be made primarily of rich compost/decaying hardwood. Additionally, misting is not an effective way to moisten substrate. It's fine to mist occasionally to provide droplets the millis can drink from, but to dampen the lower levels of substrate you should pour water directly into the soil, primarily in the corners of the enclosure so it runs down the sides to the bottom.

The millipede being buried is not worrisome in and of itself! They're very reclusive creatures who can remain underground for months. Heating pad on the bottom is an issue, though. Animals burrow down to escape heat, and in an attempt to do so they will burrow down to the heating pad and can cook themselves. If you must use supplemental heating, place it on the side of the enclosure and always set and monitor temperature with a thermostat.

The "worms" on top may be baby millipedes. Look at them closely and check for antenna and lots of legs. Reference online photos for comparison. If they are babies, this complicates the above issues significantly. My advice is to remove the heat source immediately, source appropriate substrate and a larger enclosure, take everything from the old enclosure and put it into the new one, mixing with the new substrate. Not ideal, but the other option is to gently go digging for the mother, rehousing her and forsaking the babies. They'll be too small to remove individually, and don't have much chance of thriving and growing in their current environment.

 

[izzyd0ll123]

Couple things! Cocopeat is not an acceptable substrate, you need something like organic vegetable compost or hardwoods that are beginning to decay. Several sellers online offer these. Cocopeat/Coco fiber has been linked anecdotally to impaction, and it offers little nutritional benefit. The soil is your millipedes food, and needs to be made primarily of rich compost/decaying hardwood. Additionally, misting is not an effective way to moisten substrate. It's fine to mist occasionally to provide droplets the millis can drink from, but to dampen the lower levels of substrate you should pour water directly into the soil, primarily in the corners of the enclosure so it runs down the sides to the bottom.

The millipede being buried is not worrisome in and of itself! They're very reclusive creatures who can remain underground for months. Heating pad on the bottom is an issue, though. Animals burrow down to escape heat, and in an attempt to do so they will burrow down to the heating pad and can cook themselves. If you must use supplemental heating, place it on the side of the enclosure and always set and monitor temperature with a thermostat.

The "worms" on top may be baby millipedes. Look at them closely and check for antenna and lots of legs. Reference online photos for comparison. If they are babies, this complicates the above issues significantly. My advice is to remove the heat source immediately, source appropriate substrate and a larger enclosure, take everything from the old enclosure and put it into the new one, mixing with the new substrate. Not ideal, but the other option is to gently go digging for the mother, rehousing her and forsaking the babies. They'll be too small to remove individually, and don't have much chance of thriving and growing in their current environment.

Thank you so much!

 

[biggus dickus]

To add onto what the other poster said, this time of year is a great time to collect leaves from outside. Get a large bag to last you all year. My millipedes have a few inches of dirt, then several more of decaying wood and dead leaves. They dont need any misting, I just dig down to check that the soil is still moist and might pour some water in once a month. Over time the dead leaves and wood will be composted into dirt.

Of course when you collect stuff from outside you will inevitably get some guys hitchhiking, like mites, springtails, gnats, glass snails, isopods, slugs. It sounds like you already have some though lol.

 

[Dry Desert]

Thank you so much!

As it's an African millipede it doesn't require high humidity, certainly not a soaking wet tank.
As long as it's slightly moist that will be fine.
Purchase some Naturally Organic Topsoil for substrate, not compost.
Take the h
eat mat out from underneath and place it on the back or side of the tank.
Inside if wooden, outside if glass.
For food they relish Cucumber, fish flake, Carrots,diced.and jelly pots.
If you also purchase good White hardwood they will enjoy that also oak leaves will also be enjoyed.
You really need to send clear photos of your worms for I.D.
I once purchased professional hand graded millipede specialist soil.
It was topsoil with pieces of moss, and plenty of slugs which took me forever to get rid of - rubbish.
Don't be paranoid about exact humidity numbers, moist substrate, slightly dry on the surface, it/ they will be quite happy.