Tips and Feedback for this Bumblebee Millipede enclosure.

[Mister Badger]

I am going to be an owner of two Bumblebee Millipedes soon, these are my very first bugs and will arrive in a day or more, two of them are going to be living here and I would like feedback on the living space in the picture. I'll also upload the Millipedes living in their home when they arrive. I have also ordered a hiding space on amazon. (PS the orange container holds water).

 

[Arthroverts]

First off, do you have any rotting wood or leaves in there? Those are millipedes main food sources (rotting wood especially for bumblebee's), and I don't see any in there. They will not do well if you plan on feeding them just fruits and veggies.

Secondly, the substrate is way too dry with too much ventilation, which will quickly desiccate your millipedes. You need to moisten the substrate to the point where it is moist to the touch but you can't squeeze more than a few drops of water out of it with your hands, and cover most, if not all the ventilation holes up top.

Thirdly, the rock in the corner of the enclosure; since millipedes burrow so much, they can quickly undermine it and cause it to come crashing down on them, killing them in the process.

Finally, the water dish is a little too big, as bumblebee's only get to about two inches long and can get their moisture from the substrate. I would suggest either using a bottle cap or forgoing the use of a water dish at all and instead to pour water into a corner to prevent drowning.

I'm sorry if my assessment seems a little harsh, but I really don't want (and I'm sure you don't either) your first entry into the wonderful world of millipedes to end with the deaths of your prized critters.
Here are two excellent resources on millipede care for further reading if you like:
http://petmillipede.weebly.com/ and http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/Live_Pet_Millipede_Care.html

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[Mister Badger]

First off, do you have any rotting wood or leaves in there? Those are millipedes main food sources (rotting wood especially for bumblebee's), and I don't see any in there. They will not do well if you plan on feeding them just fruits and veggies.

Secondly, the substrate is way too dry with too much ventilation, which will quickly desiccate your millipedes. You need to moisten the substrate to the point where it is moist to the touch but you can't squeeze more than a few drops of water out of it with your hands, and cover most, if not all the ventilation holes up top.

Thirdly, the rock in the corner of the enclosure; since millipedes burrow so much, they can quickly undermine it and cause it to come crashing down on them, killing them in the process.

Finally, the water dish is a little too big, as bumblebee's only get to about two inches long and can get their moisture from the substrate. I would suggest either using a bottle cap or forgoing the use of a water dish at all and instead to pour water into a corner to prevent drowning.

I'm sorry if my assessment seems a little harsh, but I really don't want (and I'm sure you don't either) your first entry into the wonderful world of millipedes to end with the deaths of your prized critters.
Here are two excellent resources on millipede care for further reading if you like:
http://petmillipede.weebly.com/ and http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/Live_Pet_Millipede_Care.html

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

I understand, your feedback is amazing and necessary, your help is appreciated. I needed some help from someone who is an expert. I will fix it up and get back with the results.

 

[Mister Badger]

First off, do you have any rotting wood or leaves in there? Those are millipedes main food sources (rotting wood especially for bumblebee's), and I don't see any in there. They will not do well if you plan on feeding them just fruits and veggies.

Secondly, the substrate is way too dry with too much ventilation, which will quickly desiccate your millipedes. You need to moisten the substrate to the point where it is moist to the touch but you can't squeeze more than a few drops of water out of it with your hands, and cover most, if not all the ventilation holes up top.

Thirdly, the rock in the corner of the enclosure; since millipedes burrow so much, they can quickly undermine it and cause it to come crashing down on them, killing them in the process.

Finally, the water dish is a little too big, as bumblebee's only get to about two inches long and can get their moisture from the substrate. I would suggest either using a bottle cap or forgoing the use of a water dish at all and instead to pour water into a corner to prevent drowning.

I'm sorry if my assessment seems a little harsh, but I really don't want (and I'm sure you don't either) your first entry into the wonderful world of millipedes to end with the deaths of your prized critters.
Here are two excellent resources on millipede care for further reading if you like:
http://petmillipede.weebly.com/ and http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/Live_Pet_Millipede_Care.html

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

I followed the advice and came back as I said, I even got a spray bottle to moisten the area. I also forgot to mention the brown stuff that looks like dirt is actually Coconut Fiber substrate. Pretty Good Stuff.

 

[The Mantis Menagerie]

View attachment 314981
I followed the advice and came back as I said, I even got a spray bottle to moisten the area. I also forgot to mention the brown stuff that looks like dirt is actually Coconut Fiber substrate. Pretty Good Stuff.

I do not think pine needles are a good idea. I do not have that much experience, but usually hardwood leaves are specified in care guides.

 

[Fearlesswallaby]

Coconut fiber isn’t sufficient substrate for millipedes. Order a millipede substrate online

 

[Mister Badger]

I do not think pine needles are a good idea. I do not have that much experience, but usually hardwood leaves are specified in care guides.

When they arrive, I will see if they are ok with the Pine Needles, it is a mix of Pine Needles and Hardwood Leaves. If they only eat the leaves and ignore the Pine Needles, I will remove the pine straw and replace it with with more leaves.

 

[Fearlesswallaby]

When they arrive, I will see if they are ok with the Pine Needles, it is a mix of Pine Needles and Hardwood Leaves. If they only eat the leaves and ignore the Pine Needles, I will remove the pine straw and replace it with with more leaves.

Resinous leaves and bark (such as pine) are toxic to them. They will probably eat it and then die.

 

[Mister Badger]

Coconut fiber isn’t sufficient substrate for millipedes. Order a millipede substrate online

I have no more money I can use to purchase online and this coconut substrate being bad is news to me, I however, would love to know if there is a way to improve upon it myself and make it sufficient. Such as making the Coconut Fiber Substrate part of something greater. I have made a lot of mistakes and i'm very glad people are willing to help.

 

[Fearlesswallaby]

I have no more money I can use to purchase online and this coconut substrate being bad is news to me, I however, would love to know if there is a way to improve upon it myself and make it sufficient. Such as making the Coconut Fiber Substrate part of something greater. I have made a lot of mistakes and i'm very glad people are willing to help.

You can use it as a base for sure. Add some organic peat moss, hardwood leaves such as oak, and decaying hardwood bark. If you can’t get the pest moss it’s fine, the oak leaves and bark will hold them over until you can afford to buy a millipede substrate. Look up YouTube videos about millipede care! There’s lots of good ones out there. Good luck!

 

[Mister Badger]

Resinous leaves and bark (such as pine) are toxic to them. They will probably eat it and then die.

I am very glad you told me this, I will fix this immediently, your help and others are required for the Bumblebee Millipedes happy life in the new household, i'm not great at expressing gratitude, but just know I am very grateful.

 

[Arthroverts]

@Fearlesswallaby, pine needles will not kill millipedes if the whole substrate is not made out of it. It is the wood that you have to worry about. @Mister Badger, a few pine needles here and there are fine, they aren't eaten however and therefore should not make up the bulk of the leaves in the enclosure; therefore, you want to remove about 90% of the needles you have in there now. All softwoods can be potentially dangerous, so for safety's sake go with hardwoods.

You don't have to buy a substrate online: from my experience, I have found that the substrate, though important, is not as good as having a thick layer of rotting hardwood leaves and wood on the surface. The substrate mix that I make usually goes like this: moist coco fiber as the base, which I then mix in with rotting leaves and rotting wood (I use aspen bedding for snakes for the wood, as this will start to decompose and is a good source of food) with a little bit of sphagnum moss. I then top it off with a lot of rotting wood and leaves, usually about two inches thick on the surface if I can and moisten the whole thing with a spray bottle. Then I just replenish this top layer when necessary, and only change out the substrate entirely when it is obvious there is no food left in it, i.e it has been reduced to complete frass. That's it! You can make your own this way, or again look at making your own in the links provided up above.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[baconwrappedpikachu]

While I agree that you don't necessarily need to purchase substrate online, since you are a beginner I would suggest purchasing a bag online at least for the first few months.

The guy I bought my millipedes from sells pre-made milli substrate for like $15 with free shipping -- super affordable and worth it, in my opinion, to know your millipedes will be healthy and suitably fed from the start.

You don't have to always use purchased substrate but it's great to have as a beginner since they really need suitable substrate to be able to survive, it's what they live in AND eat!

I think with bumblebees the substrate and decomposed/rotting leaf litter/compost/etc is especially important, because from what I've seen my bumblebee pedes are much less likely to eat veggies and fruits. My florida ivories will absolutely destroy fresh fruits and veggies when I add them into their enclosure, but the bumblebees seem to really prefer the decomposing leaf/wood matter.

Anyways, best of luck with them! Mine are pretty shy, I only ever see them at night, but they are super cute.

 

[Mister Badger]

It's me, I'm back! I have made so many changes that the only thing that didn't change is the box itself. I changed the drinking container with the lid of the first drinking container I tried, I made a substrate with the coconut fiber, rotting leaves and wood from trees safe for Millipede consumption, I even added tape to the top of the container to help with everything drying out. Finally, I got a spray bottle to help with humidity. The lid is less than one inch deep. There is quite a bit of dirt in the container as well as tasty leaves and wood. I think they'll love it! Thoughts?

 

[Arthroverts]

It looks much better! I'm sure your future millipedes will love it!
Is the water dish made out of metal? If it is, it could rust and contaminate the water and soil around it, but that is the only possible problem I see!

Good job!

Arthroverts

 

[baconwrappedpikachu]

I agree, it looks great! One thing to make sure of is that the millis can't reach the lid where the sticky tape is. If the substrate is high enough that the millipedes can stretch and reach the lid, they WILL stretch up and reach the lid. They can't climb the plastic sides, but they can stand pretty tall up against it, and they are able to grip the lid and climb around on that. Goofy little things. I didn't realize the substrate was high enough for mine to reach, and one of my bumblebees climbed up and out and fell off the shelf and died. It was heartbreaking, but luckily it clued me in before any more got away.

Anyways, I would just make sure they can't reach the tape, or tape the other side of it so they can't accidentally touch the sticky part if they do make it up onto the lid. I can't tell how tall the enclosure is so it may be plenty of space to keep them from being able to make it to the lid. Bumblebees are pretty small millis after all, so you very well may have enough space already I just would be sure to keep that in mind.

Looks awesome! Post pics once you get the millis in there!

 

[Mister Badger]

I agree, it looks great! One thing to make sure of is that the millis can't reach the lid where the sticky tape is. If the substrate is high enough that the millipedes can stretch and reach the lid, they WILL stretch up and reach the lid. They can't climb the plastic sides, but they can stand pretty tall up against it, and they are able to grip the lid and climb around on that. Goofy little things. I didn't realize the substrate was high enough for mine to reach, and one of my bumblebees climbed up and out and fell off the shelf and died. It was heartbreaking, but luckily it clued me in before any more got away.

Anyways, I would just make sure they can't reach the tape, or tape the other side of it so they can't accidentally touch the sticky part if they do make it up onto the lid. I can't tell how tall the enclosure is so it may be plenty of space to keep them from being able to make it to the lid. Bumblebees are pretty small millis after all, so you very well may have enough space already I just would be sure to keep that in mind.

Looks awesome! Post pics once you get the millis in there!

Don't worry about them reaching the top, the lid is a little bit over 4 inches above the leaves, making it just out of reach for the 2-3 inch millipedes.

 

[Fearlesswallaby]

Your new enclosure looks lovely and I am so glad that you were able to put it together! I am sure that they will be very happy 'pedes

 

[baconwrappedpikachu]

Don't worry about them reaching the top, the lid is a little bit over 4 inches above the leaves, making it just out of reach for the 2-3 inch millipedes.

Awesome! Yep, shouldn't be a problem! Looks great... enjoy your new pedes!