New to millipedes and would very much appreciate some advice!

[Cavedweller]

No worries, it's better to be over-cautious than under-cautious.

That first tree looks kinda like a maple maybe (we don't have those here so I'm not sure), either way those all sound like fine trees (except for the cedar in the last pictures of course).

I wouldn't collect from the area with cigarette butts, but that pretty area by your house looks fine.

Something to keep in mind if your pede collection grows: Whenever I get a fresh batch of dead leaves, I only put them in one of my pede tanks at first, and then after there's no signs of pesticide exposure, I give them to the rest.

 

[pinkpolicebox]

Ah the store is having trouble now because they don't know if they can ship over state lines :/ Has anyone had millipedes shipped from Texas before?

 

[MrCrackerpants]

Ah the store is having trouble now because they don't know if they can ship over state lines :/ Has anyone had millipedes shipped from Texas before?

What species are they shipping?

 

[pinkpolicebox]

What species are they shipping?

African black millipedes. They said they would try to figure it out but that I would be better off having it shipped to or picked up by someone who lives in Texas and then have them ship out to me. I don't really understand that logic though because if it was illegal to ship over state lines wouldn't it not matter who was shipping it?

I already looked at the Oregon.gov website and found the list of allowed species and it said ABGs were fine, does anyone know if it's different for Texas?

 

[MrCrackerpants]

I am not sure about the shipping...African black millipedes...great species.

 

[pinkpolicebox]

Well they've said that they can't do it now I was so excited to finally find some too...

Thanks for all your help though everyone.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

Well they've said that they can't do it now I was so excited to finally find some too...

Thanks for all your help though everyone.

Ahhhh...sorry about that. : (

 

[Cavedweller]

Awww that sucks!

 

[pinkpolicebox]

Thanks to everybody's suggestions I do have ideas for some other species I may enjoy at least

I have just always loved ABGs, even since I was back in elementary school (a teacher of mine kept one of theirs in the classroom!). I wonder if there is some kind of forwarding service I could use? They did suggest I have it shipped to someone who could then ship it to me (but again, I don't understand why they could do that but not ship it straight to me, but I digress)

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

They did suggest I have it shipped to someone who could then ship it to me (but again, I don't understand why they could do that but not ship it straight to me, but I digress)

I imagine they are not sure and as a business they don't want to risk their own permits and licenses even if the risk were near zero (the return is minimal). An individual is not always under the same scrutiny and has less to lose. Regulations on businesses are getting tighter and tighter. If you think the increasing regulatory environment is difficult for individuals you should see the regulatory hoops large organizations must jump through, and each hoop has an associated fee and compliance cost.

 

[pinkpolicebox]

I imagine they are not sure and as a business they don't want to risk their own permits and licenses even if the risk were near zero (the return is minimal). An individual is not always under the same scrutiny and has less to lose. Regulations on businesses are getting tighter and tighter. If you think the increasing regulatory environment is difficult for individuals you should see the regulatory hoops large organizations must jump through, and each hoop has an associated fee and compliance cost.

Yeah I get that. I'm sorry I'm not trying to bash them or anything ):, I'm just frustrated because it went from '100% yeah we can do it' to 'never mind it's not legal' and then I saw on another thread that they did ship to someone else. I'm sure there must be a good reason though.

On a side note, could someone tell me if there are any other millipedes similar in color to ABGs ?

 

[Cavedweller]

Man I'm sorry to hear that.

Millipedes and More has West African black millipedes which grow nearly as big as ABGs, but are rather pricey.

The "ebony" color form of Florida ivory millipedes are probably your best bet here in the States. Not nearly the size of an ABG, but much easier to keep/breed. I plan to get some someday, I've only kept the standard form. I think Ken the Bug Guy has some in stock right now.

 

[pinkpolicebox]

So my plans have changed a bit and as such the enclosure I was going to use has also changed. I'm now using a 16"x11.25"x11" plastic Sterilite container and at the moment I'm working on adding ventilation. I don't have easy access to a drill so I have just been using a heated metal rod to make holes in the lid, but a little ways into it I realized I should probably get an opinion on the amount/size/spacing of the holes so here I am!



So the inner square on the lid where I have the holes is about 8"x12.5" and I have each hole spaced around half an inch apart. The space between rows is also about half an inch. My plan had been to do 4 rows on each side with the spacing as I just mentioned.

(Oh and I have been using this page as a rough guide.)

I know it's not too pretty, but what do you think?

 

[Cavedweller]

Those holes are about 1/4-1/3 inch wide, I assume? That should be fine for adults, but might be a bit big for babies. If the substrate isn't high enough for them to reach the lid then it should be fine though.

That's way more holes than you need for one area. Millipedes don't need nearly as much ventilation as centipedes. I usually scatter the holes evenly across the lid rather that concentrating them on the edges.

One thing to keep in mind with sterilite tubs is that you gotta make totally sure the lid is securely snapped on. I once discovered one of my Acladocrius crawling across the living room floor and discovered the lid was a little crooked and it had squeezed through.

Good luck!

 

[pinkpolicebox]

Those holes are about 1/4-1/3 inch wide, I assume? That should be fine for adults, but might be a bit big for babies. If the substrate isn't high enough for them to reach the lid then it should be fine though.

That's way more holes than you need for one area. Millipedes don't need nearly as much ventilation as centipedes. I usually scatter the holes evenly across the lid rather that concentrating them on the edges.

One thing to keep in mind with sterilite tubs is that you gotta make totally sure the lid is securely snapped on. I once discovered one of my Acladocrius crawling across the living room floor and discovered the lid was a little crooked and it had squeezed through.

Good luck!

I don't have a proper tape measure at the moment (I actually left it at the store where I bought this container!) but the holes seem to have a diameter of a little over an 1/8th of an inch. I believe the millipedes I'm expecting are somewhere around 3" at the moment. The second photo probably isn't all that helpful but hopefully it will give you a better idea of the height. I was trying to abide with your minimum of 1Lx1Lx2Lx rule for enclosure sizing.

Would you recommend that I cover up some of the holes I've already made? And I don't suppose you have a photo/reference of a better layout for ventilation do you?

I'm not TOO worried about the lid, this one is supposed to be some kind of special water tight container, but I will make sure to always double check when opening or closing!

 

[shebeen]

4 or 5 holes along the front and rear of the lid is all the ventilation you need. You can cover the excess holes with tape.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

4 or 5 holes along the front and rear of the lid is all the ventilation you need. You can cover the excess holes with tape.

Are you saying you put one hole on each corner? Do you allow any parts of the rotting wood or leaves (on the surface) to dry out or are they always moist?

 

[pinkpolicebox]

Hey look what I found!



So I thought you all might find this cool. I went out to the area I posted photos of earlier in this post to finally collect leaf litter and such and look what I found! I gotta say, I can't imagine there is any better sign that these leaves are okay for millipedes than finding a millipede (or a centipede? I actually have no clue) living in them! There were all kinds of other insects and worms and such as well, which reminds me, how do I go about cleaning these leaves? Some people have said to pasteurize, some said to sterilize, some said to soak them in water overnight. Does anyone have an opinion on the best way to go about preparing the leaves and and hardwood? I was thinking of just going by the instructions on this page

(Out of curiosity, does anyone have any idea what kind of millipede this is? I live in Oregon if that helps at all. I've looked it up online and I'm wondering if maybe he is the 'genus Harpaphe' mentioned here? He's not exactly that dark though...yeah I've got no clue! I brought him home with me but I'm probably going to go put him back now as i have no Idea what he needs in terms of care.)

Update: Been looking into this more and am now thinking Polydesmus angustus?

 

[Cavedweller]

How cool, it's so tiny! No idea what it is though. I make a rule of only collecting leaf litter if I find bugs living in it, better safe than sorry.

That baking process is what I use and it's never steered me wrong, unless you count the fungus gnat outbreak I get any time I set up a fresh terrarium (harmless but annoying).

Here's one of my tanks (sorry about the quality)

The holes are 1/8", like yours. There's a few on the lid too. The copy of Knightfall weighing down the lid is optional, I just use it 'cause my D. macracanthus climbs the underside of the lid sometimes

That hole size should be fine for 3" pedes, even plings as long as the holes a few inches above the substrate/any climbable objects.

 

[pinkpolicebox]

How cool, it's so tiny! No idea what it is though. I make a rule of only collecting leaf litter if I find bugs living in it, better safe than sorry.

That baking process is what I use and it's never steered me wrong, unless you count the fungus gnat outbreak I get any time I set up a fresh terrarium (harmless but annoying).

Here's one of my tanks (sorry about the quality)

The holes are 1/8", like yours. There's a few on the lid too. The copy of Knightfall weighing down the lid is optional, I just use it 'cause my D. macracanthus climbs the underside of the lid sometimes

That hole size should be fine for 3" pedes, even plings as long as the holes a few inches above the substrate/any climbable objects.

You are always just so incredibly helpful, thank you!! Can you also tell me your thoughts on substrate depth for a container the size of mine (11" tall)? And is it okay to leave any kind of fungus outbreak alone, or is there a way to get rid of it?

(Oh and sorry if I've already asked you this)