Orthoporus ornatus + Armadillididium maculatum?

[Chris52]

Hello! I was just watching my millipedes go about their business, and I came up with a rather strange idea. I currently have my Texas Gold Orthoporus ornatus housed with my other millipedes, and it tends to stay on the drier side of the container or on the piece of bark. At the moment, I'm trying to start a colony of Armadillidium maculatum
(zebra pillbugs), which need drier conditions than most isopods. Since they appear to have similar preferences, and feed on the same things, what if they were housed together? I think this would involve a lot of guessing and experimentation since this would never occur in the wild, and as far as I know, no one has ever attempted this. Any thoughts on this pair?

 

[ErinM31]

Idk, I'd probably keep them separate. I've kept Armadillidium maculatum longer than any of my other inverts -- needless to say, they've been forgiving of my newbie mistakes and less than ideal conditions, so they may be adaptable, but mine seem to like a higher level of moisture and humidity than Orthoporus ornatus, which need a high level of ventilation. Maybe the A. maculatum would just burrow more under these conditions?

 

[Aquarimax]

Hello! I was just watching my millipedes go about their business, and I came up with a rather strange idea. I currently have my Texas Gold Orthoporus ornatus housed with my other millipedes, and it tends to stay on the drier side of the container or on the piece of bark. At the moment, I'm trying to start a colony of Armadillidium maculatum
(zebra pillbugs), which need drier conditions than most isopods. Since they appear to have similar preferences, and feed on the same things, what if they were housed together? I think this would involve a lot of guessing and experimentation since this would never occur in the wild, and as far as I know, no one has ever attempted this. Any thoughts on this pair?

My guess is that the A. maculatum would do really well...perhaps at the expense of your O. ornatus. I have read threads about newly molted millipedes being attacked by isopods...not specifically A. maculatum, but there is a possible risk there.

I agree with @ErinM31 that zebra pillbugs are pretty adaptable. I keep my A. maculatum in well-ventilated, fairly dry enclosures, and they breed like rabbits.

 

[Chris52]

Okay. I think I won't attempt to mix these species, but I do feel like I should give my O. ornatus a better environment.

 

[pannaking22]

I agree with keeping them separate just to be safe. And giving your pedes a better environment is always a good thing if you have a way to do it (or want help since we're all here offer ideas/opinions! )

 

[Chris52]

I agree with keeping them separate just to be safe. And giving your pedes a better environment is always a good thing if you have a way to do it (or want help since we're all here offer ideas/opinions! )

Yep. What substrate do you use for these guys? I guess moisture retention would be less of problem.

 

[ErinM31]

I use the BIC millipede substrate mixed with coir and sand as recommended by @Mastigoproctus and that has seemed to work well (see his specific advice on keeping Orthoporus ornatus). Because I was uncertain about exactly how much moisture they would need, I also added some sphagnum moss to one corner of the ten gallon tank and made that area wettest. Most of the substrate was much drier and they also had a large branch to climb and a well-ventilated lid -- basically offering them a variety of microhabitats within my tank, or such was my intent with the setup (you can also see my O. ornatus enclosure in the thread I've linked).