Is this right?

[mike12348]

Well I've been doing alot of research on African Giant Millipedes and just wanted to make sure i got everything right...

Housing : 2x longer and 1x as long as the millipede
Temp : 70-80
Humidity : 70-80
Subtrate about 6 inches deep with oak leaves on the top.
Food : Leafy greens and some fruits

Is that about right? Also how many can i keep in a 20L aquarium(30" x 12" x 12")? Any more info would be great.

Thanks

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Sounds pretty good. Personally I'd go more for 75-85 as 70 is the lower end of their range, but it's not as though they're keel over if they're kept in the low 70's (they may become less active and aren't as apt to breed for you, however). Definitely avoid anything near or exceeding ~90 though.

You can use soil, peat, coconut fiber, or mixes thereof (6" is good) and the mixing that with hardwood leaf mulch (finer decomposing pieces) makes for an even better substrate. In addition to the oak leaves on the surface, you can add the pulpy cores of decomposing hardwood as well if you have them available. Since you're keeping them in an aquarium, you might want a hide of some sort as well or they're apt to mostly stay burrowed during the day.

As far as the # for a 20g, that's at your discretion and depends on their size, really. If you have giant 10" adults I would probably not exceed three (others would probably keep them more densely, but I like to give them plenty of space to molt without their tankmates interfering); youger pedes could be kept at a greater density but would most likely need to be given more space eventually.

How will you be heating? Remember, this species burrows to escape heat, so UTH are problematic. Also, how will you hold humidity in the 20g long (screen or glass/acrylic lid? ventillated how?).

 

[mike12348]

Thanks for the answer. To keep the humidity upi was going to cover 3/4 of the screen with plastic and mist once or twice a day. And for the heat i live in texas so its pretty warm down here so i'll probably use a 40watt bulb. Sound ok?

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Sounds like a good plan with the lid, that should allow ventillation but prevent rapid evaporation. I was remiss in my last post regarding what might make for a good hide, which I think will be even more important if you use light as a heat source; generally, I find corkbark favorable for millipedes as it is light weight and thus will not crush them if they burrow under it. Flat pieces or slightly arched pieces work very well, and I don't find that they munch it too much so it should last a while. It also doesn't seem to mold as quickly as some of the other woods used in tanks, which is beneficial for a humid environment. Depending on the depth of your leaves it may seem a bit of a gratuity, but even though I keep my bins very dark I tend to find most of my 'pedes curled up under the bark when I look in.

I would use a bulb with a low light output if that is your choice of heating. I can't say I know much about visible light spectrums in millipedes so I'm not 100% sure if they percieve infrared, but most invertebrates tend to see more on the ultraviolet end of the spectrum than the infrared end, so I'm thinking an infrared noctural heat light might be less stressful than a standard "white" light. (If anyone with more knowledge on the subject would like to chime in or correct, please do!) You can use side-affixed heating pads, but from what I gather they are not as efficient, so a light may be your preference in terms of energy input vs heat output.

 

[mike12348]

Thanks for all the help