Rotten wood source?

[Sterls]

Does anybody have a good place, either online or brick and mortar, which would be a good source for rotten wood? I was hoping to mix up my own millipede substrate but I've had a much easier time finding safe (organic / chemical free) leaf litter than rotten wood. Obviously I could go out to the woods, but most of the rotten trees I encounter in the national forest are pine, and I'd prefer to limit the risk of introducing wild-borne pathogens or parasites. Thanks!

 

[BepopCola]

I had some good luck finding ziplocks of rotting wood on eBay recently. I think it was labeled as beetle larva food. BUT who knows where they source their wood from.

If you have some already established substrate, you can use oak wood pellets, like the Traeger grill kind. Soak them, expand them, and mix them into established substrate to seed in the beneficial bacteria that the millipedes need. Allow some time for the bacteria to spread. However, it'll end up rotting faster than shredded natural wood would, so you'll need to be on top of when to enrich/replace the substrate.

 

[mantisfan101]

Bugsincyberspace.com

 

[VolkswagenBug]

If you're worried about parasites and pathogens, just boil/bake the wood. Pretty much everything dies at those temperatures.

 

[Sterls]

Appreciate the responses y'all!