Millipede tank

[Domestic goose1]

I already have a mardonius parilis and some armidallidium peraccae which I would like to move into a big tank probable 80x40 or similar and add other species off millipedes and possibly some beetles. Would this be possible and would it be alright with the 22x25cm heat mat i have on the current tank?

 

[BugLord]

(Sorry my message double sent)

 

[BugLord]

I would be cautious with a heat mat, one of the leading causes of death to millipedes is drying out. Millipedes dig under the ground to rehydrate and cool off; and if you have a heat mat under, there's no place for them to regulate humidity and temperature. I'm in the US and have no experience with this certain species, but from what I looked up (and with many millipedes), room temperature is fine for them (20ish-24 Celsius). So if you're house stays at a pretty constant temperature, there's no need for extra heating. A lot of different kinds of millipedes can live together given that their care requirements are the same; although I'm not sure about beetles with millipedes. Isopods are also sometimes a risk to molting or freshly molted millipedes (since they're soft, the isopods will munch on them).

Hope that helps!
Dagan H.

 

[Domestic goose1]

Thank you, The heat mat is on the side of the tank but my house is not heated during the day when at work and during the night so in the uk it might fall to around 17c the tank does often dry out even misting twice a day but I’m not sure of any other way to keep the temperature up

 

[BugLord]

Thank you, The heat mat is on the side of the tank but my house is not heated during the day when at work and during the night so in the uk it might fall to around 17c the tank does often dry out even misting twice a day but I’m not sure of any other way to keep the temperature up

That should be fine as long as it's not too strong and you manage their humidity well enough. What kind of tank are you using?

 

[MontePython]

Thank you, The heat mat is on the side of the tank but my house is not heated during the day when at work and during the night so in the uk it might fall to around 17c the tank does often dry out even misting twice a day but I’m not sure of any other way to keep the temperature up

Hi! I'm also in the UK and ran into the exact same problem during the winter. Eventually the way I managed my humidity was by placing a shallow water dish (which should be no issue for an S. fischeri/M. parilis, and even my juvenile S. servatius who is only about 10cm hasn't had any issues) close to the wall that has the heat mat to improve air humidity (it's also a handy 'just in case' tool for if things do get dry).

Re: the substrate, I would suggest possibly switching to watering periodically by creating a little hole near a corner and pouring in - I sometimes spread out between the corners - rather than misting, as that only really keeps the top moist and it's more important that the substrate beneath the surface is moist.

Right now, my tank is a 60cm x 30cm x 30cm (or thereabouts, I'm eyeballing it and it's a bowfront, so that skews the space a bit), and I've been using a ~15cm x 27.8cm 15watt mat (one of the Habistat high power ones) which works well, because I can position the mat above the substrate (to minimise drying) and it doesn't cover the WHOLE back, so there is a slightly cooler area towards one end (but only slightly cooler).

Since hooking it up to a pulse proportional thermostat (which I know some people like them and some people don't think it makes much difference, but I feel like it works well for me - ymmv), I've had a much easier time keeping my temperatures pretty steady? Every so often it'll fall down to like 21C if it was a rather cold night and I forgot to turn my space heater on, but during the day it holds pretty steady between 23-25C (occasionally it gets up closer to my upper limit which is around 27C, but obvs you can set that however you like).

But yeah, humidity wise, I think the main thing is keeping an eye on it and sometimes water rather than mist. Though if you're mainly looking to keep African spirostrepids (which is all I have in my tank until next week), they often live in regions that do go through drier seasons, and while it's important to keep the substrate moist, they seem to tolerate it if it gets slightly drier over the winter. So definitely do keep an eye on the moisture levels (I sometimes use the wooden dowel trick albeit carefully), but also don't panic if the surface gets a tiny bit dry.

(I hope this helps a little - I just saw your comment about trying to cope with temperatures in the UK without heat and was like "Oh man this was me in February!" and wanted to share what I've picked up so far)

Best,
Monte

 

[Domestic goose1]

Hi! I'm also in the UK and ran into the exact same problem during the winter. Eventually the way I managed my humidity was by placing a shallow water dish (which should be no issue for an S. fischeri/M. parilis, and even my juvenile S. servatius who is only about 10cm hasn't had any issues) close to the wall that has the heat mat to improve air humidity (it's also a handy 'just in case' tool for if things do get dry).

Re: the substrate, I would suggest possibly switching to watering periodically by creating a little hole near a corner and pouring in - I sometimes spread out between the corners - rather than misting, as that only really keeps the top moist and it's more important that the substrate beneath the surface is moist.

Right now, my tank is a 60cm x 30cm x 30cm (or thereabouts, I'm eyeballing it and it's a bowfront, so that skews the space a bit), and I've been using a ~15cm x 27.8cm 15watt mat (one of the Habistat high power ones) which works well, because I can position the mat above the substrate (to minimise drying) and it doesn't cover the WHOLE back, so there is a slightly cooler area towards one end (but only slightly cooler).

Since hooking it up to a pulse proportional thermostat (which I know some people like them and some people don't think it makes much difference, but I feel like it works well for me - ymmv), I've had a much easier time keeping my temperatures pretty steady? Every so often it'll fall down to like 21C if it was a rather cold night and I forgot to turn my space heater on, but during the day it holds pretty steady between 23-25C (occasionally it gets up closer to my upper limit which is around 27C, but obvs you can set that however you like).

But yeah, humidity wise, I think the main thing is keeping an eye on it and sometimes water rather than mist. Though if you're mainly looking to keep African spirostrepids (which is all I have in my tank until next week), they often live in regions that do go through drier seasons, and while it's important to keep the substrate moist, they seem to tolerate it if it gets slightly drier over the winter. So definitely do keep an eye on the moisture levels (I sometimes use the wooden dowel trick albeit carefully), but also don't panic if the surface gets a tiny bit dry.

(I hope this helps a little - I just saw your comment about trying to cope with temperatures in the UK without heat and was like "Oh man this was me in February!" and wanted to share what I've picked up so far)

Best,
Monte

Thank you very much this was extremely helpful and thorough, I will definitely try to water and put a small water dish by the heat meat aswell.

 

[MontePython]

Thank you very much this was extremely helpful and thorough, I will definitely try to water and put a small water dish by the heat meat aswell.

Glad it was helpful! Best of luck and I hope it helps a bit!

 

[Domestic goose1]

I

That should be fine as long as it's not too strong and you manage their humidity well enough. What kind of

That should be fine as long as it's not too strong and you manage their humidity well enough. What kind of tank are you using?

I am using a rectangular glass tank 40x30x30cm

 

[BugLord]

If you're really worried about keeping humidity inside the tank. Although the millipedes will become less visible than keeping them in a glass tank, a lot of hobbyists use plastic tubs, which hold in moisture and keep out a majority of pests.

 

[Domestic goose1]

If you're really worried about keeping humidity inside the tank. Although the millipedes will become less visible than keeping them in a glass tank, a lot of hobbyists use plastic tubs, which hold in moisture and keep out a majority of pests.

From my personal experience with plastic tubs the humidity is kept in well but mould and small mites seem to be quite common I can lower and raise the ventilation with the lid of the tank which may help with the humidity aswell

 

[BugLord]

Ahhh I see, that is a common issue with tubs. If you ever run into that problem I highly consider getting springtails!

What kind of lid is it?

 

[Domestic goose1]

Just a flat plastic panel it’s about 1cm thick

 

[Domestic goose1]

Ahhh I see, that is a common issue with tubs. If you ever run into that problem I highly consider getting springtails!

What kind of lid is it?

Not sure if I need to press reply before writing message. ^

 

[BugLord]

Oh then thats fine!! I was thinking of the metal mesh top for aquariums. But if it's plastic and covers everything, youre perfectly fine

 

[BugLord]

And no you don't, I'll get a notification even if you just comment on your own thread without replying me

 

[Domestic goose1]

Oh then thats fine!! I was thinking of the metal mesh top for aquariums. But if it's plastic and covers everything, youre perfectly fine

Thank you, very helpful I will definitely invest in some springtails

 

[BugLord]

Yes you totally should! They do practically everything isopods do, except eating baby millipedes and soft millipedes!