molting or dead millipede?

[spasskgirl]

Hey! I recently moved, and thought my Narceus Americanus millipede died because of the stress, but now it's been a while, and I see another half-curled millipede. It is moving its legs slightly, but for no use as it is just laying there on the side. I could not find any videos of millipedes going into the molt, do they always borrow for that process? Should I assume that if it's in C shape on top of the tank, it passed away? The only thing that I did differently recently is I made a bowl of wet woods mixed together, which they quickly turned into a bowl of wood and poop, and abandoned it.

 

[Ponerinecat]

Sounds like death... has the color changed at all?

 

[spasskgirl]

If it became paler, it's not obviously noticeable. Thank you, Ponerinecat. I didn't want to get rid of it before a confirmation.

 

[jocepede]

I also have narceus americanus and when they die they're usually in a C shape and slowly move their legs a little on their side like you described. It is probably passing or has passed, sorry.

 

[Arthroverts]

Millipedes sometimes do have surface molts, but this sounds much more like a dead/dying specimen.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[spasskgirl]

Thank you for your inputs!

I also have narceus americanus and when they die they're usually in a C shape and slowly move their legs a little on their side like you described. It is probably passing or has passed, sorry.

Do you know the reason?

 

[jocepede]

Thank you for your inputs!


Do you know the reason?

You're welcome! It might have died of old age or maybe a short fall or from being bumped around? They usually die like that from a fall but I'm not really sure. It is not molting because when they molt they cannot move their legs at all. I hope this helps!

 

[Arthroverts]

How large is it? Could it have been old age?

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[spasskgirl]

I have been receiving mixed reviews on coconut fiber. I used it for base. The milliped wasn't old, nor the largest, not even two inches long. I am blaming that substrate.

 

[Arthroverts]

You can’t jump to that conclusion without solid evidence for it however. The coco fiber was mixed in with all the other ingredients, right? What total percentage of it made up the substrate?

Myself and many other, more experienced keepers have used it for years without issue. It’s all a matter of using it correctly.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[spasskgirl]

Around 30%. The rest is NEHERP mix, black cottonwood, wood, moss, and oak leaves.

What is the crucial difference in using it? The percentage?

 

[Arthroverts]

Hmm. So long as there is enough rotting wood and leaves I strongly, strongly doubt it was impaction caused by coco fiber; remember that takes time to happen.

Using too much makes millipedes more likely to chew on it as they deplete the nutritious food substrate, and if the substrate is straight coco fiber that can be a problem. The crucial difference is making sure that they aren't having to eat it.

Thanks,

Arthroverts