new to pedes! help a fella out?

[rynoro]

hey all!

oof, first post on arachnoboards! hope i’m doing this right...

anyway, cutting to the chase, i’m very interested in getting a millipede! there’s a local show (wheaton all animal expo) that i buy most (if not all) my inverts and snakes from. i’ve seen lots of pedes but i’m not sure what species and such. i’ve googled and googled and can’t find any solid info. so! a few questions before i buy:

1. do these guys have to be kept communally? i’ve seen tons of people housing them together but i wasn’t sure if they have to be housed together. i’d rather not wake up to find a hundred or so pedelings either

2. how long do these guys typically live for?

3. how easy is it to provide for them adequately?

4. any particular species to keep an eye out for?

thanks in advance for any and all help! i appreciate it

 

[AnimalNewbie]

I've heard Florida Ivory are good for beginners. As far as being communal I have one by itself so I'm curious about this too.

 

[Lithobius]

You can keep as many millies together as you can provide food for, basically. I kept 3 entirely different species together before, and I've got about 7 scarlets together. They just chill and eat their food, I can't say I've ever seen any be aggressive towards each other.

But you will get babies if you keep mixed-sex together so if you want to not get babies just sex them. I think there's photos on here of the different species, unlike centipedes, millipedes tend to be super easy to sex as males look like they're "missing" one pair of legs toward the front.

How long they live depends on the species.

It's super easy to provide for them, just give them substrate to burrow in, a piece of cork bark to hide under, leaf litter to munch on and some fresh fruit / veggies periodically. They like it a bit wetter so make sure whatever enclosure you use is ventilated but keeps in some humidity.

As far as species, you might be limited as to what the expo has. They're all about the same to care for, bigger ones need bigger containers is all. Just pick one you think looks nice and you'll be fine.

 

[Aquarimax]

hey all!

oof, first post on arachnoboards! hope i’m doing this right...

anyway, cutting to the chase, i’m very interested in getting a millipede! there’s a local show (wheaton all animal expo) that i buy most (if not all) my inverts and snakes from. i’ve seen lots of pedes but i’m not sure what species and such. i’ve googled and googled and can’t find any solid info. so! a few questions before i buy:

1. do these guys have to be kept communally? i’ve seen tons of people housing them together but i wasn’t sure if they have to be housed together. i’d rather not wake up to find a hundred or so pedelings either

2. how long do these guys typically live for?

3. how easy is it to provide for them adequately?

4. any particular species to keep an eye out for?

thanks in advance for any and all help! i appreciate it

Lifespan varies by species, some of the smaller species like bumblebees only live a couple of years, while some others can live a decade or more.

They are fairly simple to care for, provided that you can offer them a high-quality, nutritious substrate...the importance of suitable substrate for the long-term health of millipedes cannot be overstated. For an excellent substrate recipe, see the post by @mickiem http://arachnoboards.com/threads/my-very-fussy-millipede-substrate.302303/

Orthoporus species seem to be common at expos In the US, probably because they can be collected in the wild. These do not seem to reproduce much, if at all, in captivity, but seem to be fairly hardy. I have never kept them.

I have kept and/or currently keep Cameroon train millipedes (Mardonius parilis acuticonus), Spirostreptus species #1, Flamelegs (Trigoniulus macropygus), Ivory millipedes (Chicobolus sprinigerus), Bumblebee millipedes (Anadenobolus monilicornis) and Scarlet millipedes (Trigoniulus corallinus).

In my experience, Bumblebees and Scarlets are probably the easiest to breed...just try and stop them! The bumblebees are said the need temperatures above 72 F. I keep mine warm and have never had issues. I keep both species together in a 6-quart tub. They are doing well. They are colorful, but quite small, maxing out at just over two inches.

I have had less experience with ivory millipedes so far. I kept a trio for a while a couple of years ago...they lasted for quite some time and then died without reproducing. I have a sexed pair now, and have seen mating activity, so I am hoping for babies. These are a favorite of many people who see them...their patterns are beautiful! They are both longer and thicker than bumblebee or scarlet millipedes, and do fine at room temperatures.

Flamelegs were my first millipedes, and one of my favorites. Their colors are stunning! They get to about 4 inches long, and bred for me fairly well, at normal room temperatures. I ending up selling a good number of them, but sadly, my colony crashed a while ago. This species tends to do that.

I only have 1 Spirostreptus species #1 at the moment, but I am soon going to remedy that. This African species is quite long, my lone specimen is probably 7 inches long or so, but fairly slender. This species doesn’t coil quite like others...it is more of a globular form than a flat, ‘cinnamon roll’ shape. These seem to breed readily for others. Unfortunately I lost one of the pair shortly after obtaining them, so I have never bred them, but hope to do so.

I really like my Cameroon Train millipede...it is large, about 6 inches long (and growing!j it almost matte black. I started with a trio a couple of years ago, and saw quite a bit of mating. No offspring though. I think I may have found someone who owns a female...

I hope this helps answer your questions.

To give you and idea of size and appearance, here is a video of my millipedes from a couple of years ago:

 

[Arthroverts]

Bugs In Cyberspace has a good care sheet that got me started, here it is....
http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/Live_Pet_Millipede_Care.html

Also this website has good information...
http://petmillipede.weebly.com

Check them out, and good luck!

 

[LawnShrimp]

1. Millipedes don't have to be kept communally. But I find that it is a lot more enjoyable to keep several together, and makes care easier as well. Breeding isn't so bad, and not all species make thousands of babies at once (although some do). In fact, I find that breeding is a good way to ensure you always have millipedes around in case something happens to the adults.

2. Small species like bumblebees live for around 2-5 years, larger species like A. gigas can live up to 7-10 years with proper care. With most species, people breed them so that when the adults die, the babies replace them. Keeping them like this makes millipedes more of a 'culture' than individual pets, and proper cultures can persist indefinitely.

3. Care is extremely easy for most species. All of them need substrate as deep as the milli is long, which can be up to 6 inches for most good beginner species. You also need sterile leaf litter and dead hardwood for substrate. There is a good mix available on BugsInCyberspace but it is a little lacking on wood. I suggest that you go to a nearby forest or park and look for stumps or downed branches from oaks, maples, or other broadleaf trees. If the remaining wood is soft enough to be pulled apart by hand, and has a whitish-pale color, it is excellent for millipedes and you should collect as much of it as you can. Oak, maple, magnolia, and other tree leaves can be harvested off of the ground. All substrate materials should be sterilized through baking or microwaving. Humidity and room temperature (some like it warmer) are a must for all species. Vegetable and fruit scraps as well as dog/fish food are useful weekly supplements.

4. Orthoporus spp. (desert millipedes) are some of the largest US millipedes, getting up to 4-6 inches for most localities. They never reproduce in captivity and come in a wide variety of colors from dark brown to light yellow. They do prefer drier, deeper substrate, and warmer temps than other millipedes. All other best beginner species such as Narceus americanus (Pink Footed/American Giant), N. gordanus (Smoky Oak), Chicobolus spinigerus (Ivory), Trigoniulus corralinus (Scarlet/Rusty), and Anadenobolus monilicornis (Bumblebee) breed like mad, especially the last three species.

I suggest reading the threads by @mickiem such as this one. The stickied thread under Myriapods is also a good source.