pink dragon - care info?

[ivalice]

hi all! i've been looking at millis lately and i noticed there's a lack of info about pink dragon millipedes, though they've been around for a while now. they're definitely not what i'll start with (probably bumblebee!) i admit i'm VERY curious about them. has anyone kept them or currently has them?

 

[KuneHere]

80-90% humidity, diet- fungi, lichen, moss, wood, they live for a short time but multiply fast.

 

[ivalice]

80-90% humidity, diet- fungi, lichen, moss, wood, they live for a short time but multiply fast.

oh, interesting, thanks! i hear they climb a fair bit from a seller?

 

[KuneHere]

They are very active so they climb more out of curiosity than being aboreal imo

 

[Lordosteous]

They do indeed require high humidity, but also keep in mind that stuffy conditions will kill them. Lost a whole starter colony that way once. It can be a tricky thing to balance. Just make sure that the enclosure has some ventilation and at least 3 inches of headroom between the top of the substrate and lid so air can circulate.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

They do indeed require high humidity, but also keep in mind that stuffy conditions will kill them. Lost a whole starter colony that way once. It can be a tricky thing to balance. Just make sure that the enclosure has some ventilation and at least 3 inches of headroom between the top of the substrate and lid so air can circulate.

Lots of ventilation and wet : damp substrate I’d imagine same as i keep my pampho . Ofc then You need organic bedding and all the stuff millipedes need to thrive , wood that’s crumbly..

 

[ivalice]

They do indeed require high humidity, but also keep in mind that stuffy conditions will kill them. Lost a whole starter colony that way once. It can be a tricky thing to balance. Just make sure that the enclosure has some ventilation and at least 3 inches of headroom between the top of the substrate and lid so air can circulate.

oh thanks too! yeah i can imagine it's hard to maintain sometimes, but that trick sounds good. maybe this is an exceedingly stupid question, but are they a strictly hands-off species? i can't find anything specifically about the quantity of hydrogen cyanide they tend to produce, but given they're strikingly aposematic i assume it's a fair amount.

 

[Lordosteous]

Technically yes, you can handle them, but I wouldn't recommend it except when necessary for a couple reasons. HCN is indeed highly toxic, but can't absorb through your skin. You can only ingest it through a cut, orifice, or by breathing it in, so the risks there are minimal unless you rub your eyes after being sprayed or go around sniffing them. However, they're pretty small and fragile, and adults can move pretty fast for a millipede, so the biggest risk is actually to them by falling or being crushed accidentally. Excess handling can also impose undue stress on them resulting in death or shortened lifespans, and Polydesmids especially are more sensitive to stressors of all kinds than typical round millipedes.
TLDR: Absolutely not the right species if your main interest is in handling, but you can handle them safely when necessary.

 

[SilverfishMom]

What size tank???

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

What size tank???

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