Narceus gordanus dead or molting?

[pecopickle]

Found my smokey oaks that I got last month under one of my logs now (if you remember me, I fixed the humidity issue) and one of them seems molting but the springtails/mites around it worries me. The other one was next to it but was completely fine, who I have since buried since it refuses to uncoil and dig.

I read narceus loses its color quickly when it dies but nothing like that here. They were fine a few days ago, crowding around the moss underground while the surface was drying out from the last spraying.

 

[Nicholas Rothstein]

Uhhh sorry to break it to you, looks dead to me could it have gotten stuck under that log?

 

[Arthroverts]

Looks dead to me as well. If the mites weren't excessive and you didn't have the pesky pink springtails, then they shouldn't have been a problem. However, you want to avoid moving your millipedes unnecessarily; they will uncoil and burrow when their ready. They coil themselves up to groom themselves oftentimes as well. However, if it was refusing to uncoil, then it was likely either dying or severely stressed.

Can you describe your setup? A picture would be great if you have one.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[pecopickle]

Hi, Anthroverts.

My setup is basically just a critter keeper on the larger size using Bugsincyberspace's millipede mix. On one corner of it is a piece of frog moss and previously it had a very large piece of cork bark and a smaller one on the opposite half. In the past, I had issues with over-watering so this time around, I'm only watering it sparingly by dipping my fingers in the surface for dryness.
I've since thrown the larger cork bark away because it has made it difficult to spot dying ones before it was too late. The smaller one I've put at an angle on another corner and one of my ivories is using it. Most of the area has a layer or clumps of rotting oak leaves and I take out the remaining stems where its near depleted to replace with more leaves that i spray water on to rot.

As for the one coiling, that was the healthy smokey oak and I mostly moved it out to take the dead smokey out. It's buried itself now, I feel like that larger cork bark made many of my millipedes not bury themselves as much and it might have desiccated. The ivories on the other hand just lay on the surface and go into the moss for hydration, rarely burying themselves in the actual substrate.