Hi all, new poster here but I've been lurking for a while since I've been getting super into vivariums and arthropods lately.
I recently got my first set of ivory millipedes and I want to be sure I'm housing them properly. I currently have 4 of them in a 10 gallon aquarium. It has a screen top that I've mostly covered with plastic wrap until I can get some plexiglass to make a better lid. The substrate consists of ~5" of ABG mix from NEHERP, on top of a 2" LECA drainage layer separated by a screen. There's a layer of terrarium moss and magnolia leaves on the surface along with a small piece of cork bark. For food I've been giving them Repashy Bug Burger and Morning Wood, and I've recently introduced springtails to the setup.
My concern is with food, mostly. From what I understand, ABG mix is specifically designed to degrade slowly, so I'm wondering if it was a mistake to use that for millipedes since they need most of their food to be well rotted. I also want them to reproduce at some point and I've read that they're more inclined to lay eggs if there's lots of edible material in the substrate. I've considered getting some Traeger pellets to mix in and let rot, would that be a worthwhile addition? And will magnolia leaves work for leaf litter?
They don't SEEM uncomfortable in any way, but you know, they're bugs. It's hard to read them, and I really want the creepy crawlies to thrive. So, I'd welcome any advice from the vets around here. I can post pictures of the setup too, if that would help.
I recently got my first set of ivory millipedes and I want to be sure I'm housing them properly. I currently have 4 of them in a 10 gallon aquarium. It has a screen top that I've mostly covered with plastic wrap until I can get some plexiglass to make a better lid. The substrate consists of ~5" of ABG mix from NEHERP, on top of a 2" LECA drainage layer separated by a screen. There's a layer of terrarium moss and magnolia leaves on the surface along with a small piece of cork bark. For food I've been giving them Repashy Bug Burger and Morning Wood, and I've recently introduced springtails to the setup.
My concern is with food, mostly. From what I understand, ABG mix is specifically designed to degrade slowly, so I'm wondering if it was a mistake to use that for millipedes since they need most of their food to be well rotted. I also want them to reproduce at some point and I've read that they're more inclined to lay eggs if there's lots of edible material in the substrate. I've considered getting some Traeger pellets to mix in and let rot, would that be a worthwhile addition? And will magnolia leaves work for leaf litter?
They don't SEEM uncomfortable in any way, but you know, they're bugs. It's hard to read them, and I really want the creepy crawlies to thrive. So, I'd welcome any advice from the vets around here. I can post pictures of the setup too, if that would help.