URGENT HELP NEEDED: dying Archispirostreptus Gigas

Spamgraveyard

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 26, 2020
Messages
4
Hello all.

Today I found one of my A Gigas millipedes limp on the floor of his enclosure. I am afraid he may be dying or already dead and I would appreciate anything that any of you can do to help or at least answer a few questions. First I will attempt to explain the scenario, and I will also answer any questions you may have as best I can. I apologise that this description will be very lengthy, I want to give you a clear and detailed idea of the situation.

I have two of these millipedes, I bought them in january, they are both aprox 20 centimetres in length so not fully grown for their species which I am fairly certain is Archispirostreptus Gigas. At the time they both appeared to be in good health and until today I have had no cause for concern. One is male, the other female. their enclosure is 60 centimetres by 40 centimetres, containing 3-5 inches of substrate composed of coco fiber, sphagnum moss, some soil containing small chunks of wood, a bit of leaf litter. it also contains two plants, one of which died due to lack of sunlight, the other is doing ok. i also included a hollow log of cork bark (aprox 40 cm) and a half-shell of a coconut which serve as hiding spaces. there is a heat pad attached to the back of the tank which is also connected to a temperature regulator, which has a sensor that is threaded through he top of the tank. inside the tank i also included two thermometers in different places to keep track of the temperature myself. i have kept the soil in one half of the tank humid (about 60-80% humidity), but have allowed the other half to be more dry so that the inhabitants can hydroregulate. mould has occasionally been a small issue, but i have always removed it as soon as i notice it.
the tank also contains a colony of springtails and a colony of isopods (not sure exactly what species, some kind of porcellio i think). these colonies have both been thriving, the isopods have increased in number considerably. i have regularly provided fresh food, usually bananas and cucumber which appear to have been favoured by the millipedes. for the first few months i did not see them very often as they always hid inside the cork bark, and i did not wish to disturb them, however i did observe that the food seldom went untouched (i think the isopods also like eating the cucumber). after a few months they became more active, exploring the enclosure a lot more than they had previously. the male in particular was always exploring at night, the female only came out occasionally, but still more frequently than before. i wondered if the increase in activity was due to the increase in temperature resulting from the change in season, but dismissed this because i had monitored and controlled the temperature inside the tank and always had it somewhere between 24-26 degrees c.
recently i had noticed that they have become very inactive. the male had been under the coconut shell for several days, the female i have not seen, i have assumed that she is at her regular place inside the cork bark. i continued to provide food for them which has disappeared by the next day although i am not sure how much is eaten by the millipedes and how much is eaten by the isopods. i always place the food easily within reach of the millipedes so they would not have difficulty finding it. i was not worried during this recent period of inactivity because it was not extremely unusual, and i can kind of see under the coconut shell so i could tell that even though the male had stayed curled up under there, he was still kind of moving around. i had been concerned about one thing, i had not noticed any evidence of moulting from either millipede. i know they are not full grown yet so i was expecting it, but i do not know how frequently they are supposed to moult. they did spend most of their time hidden inside a log where i cant see them so i suppose it is possible they might have moulted at some point. but i have not seen any evidence of it, and i did not wish to go poking around and disturbing them too much.

this evening, at around midnight, i saw that the male was outside of the coconut on the opposite side of the tank. at first i was pleased to see that it was active again, but when i looked at it's head something didn't seem right. I'm not sure exactly what, it was not injured in any way that i could see but i got worried so i opened up the enclosure and gently picked up the millipede. i have not handled them often, only when i put them into the tank and once when i was cleaning some stuff and one of them was in the way. on both occasions they immediately curled up, this time when i picked up the male it's body was limp. it did still curl up after a second, but it's body seemed very weak. it's legs were still moving and twitching just as they always do, but it did not try to walk or anything. i put it back down on the soil in roughly the same place it had been before and closed the tank up. i did check the temperature, it was at 26 degrees c, not at all abnormal. the weather is getting very hot where i live, but i do not think the heat caused this. firstly i have been monitoring the temperature in the tank, it has not risen above 27 degrees c. the room i keep the tank in does not even get that hot, even in the summer. there is a large tree outside the window that keeps sunlight from getting in. additionally i have heard that millipedes burrow when they get too hot, but i have not noticed any evidence of burrowing behaviour in the tank.

obviously i am very worried about this millipede, (i'm also worried about the female but she is out of sight so i don't know how she is doing, i don't want to disturb her if i can help it). i suspect that there is nothing i can do but wait and see what happens, but i would appreciate any suggestions or additional information anyone can give me. i have never kept millipedes before, i was under the impression that it was not difficult. i do not think i have done anything wrong with their setup or care, but again i am open to and appreciative of any suggestions you may have, and even if there is nothing i can do to help this millipede, i would at least like to know why this happened.

many thanks.

small update, after writing all of this out i checked the tank again. the millipede has uncurled, and most of his legs are still active a few are even gripping the ground. however the legs toward the front of the body are all motionless, the antenna are motionless, the head in general is motionless. for the time being i am assuming that he has died and that the activity in the rest of his body is due to his nervous system still being active. i am hoping that the female has not died as well, but even if i do lose both of them i think i will still keep the tank for the sake of the isopod colony. they have proven to be enjoyable pets all by themselves.
nevertheless i am very saddened by what has happened, but i still would like some feedback. if this millipede died because i did something wrong i want to know because my female might still be alive and if so i don't want to loose her too.
 

Spamgraveyard

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 26, 2020
Messages
4
another small update. i discovered that the isopods appeared to be attempting to eat the dead millipede, presumably to them it's just a source of protien. consequently i feel that including the isopods in the setup may have been a bad idea. if my millipedes had moulted the isopods may have taken the opportunity to eat them while soft and vulnerable. i removed the millipede and placed into a smaller plastic enclosure which i placed inside the tank. this way the isopods will not be able to get to it. for now i am unsure what i should do with the body.
additionally, i have seen the female through a small crack in the cork bark. she is very much alive and moving around. given the above i am considering creating a new setup for her, possibly in the smaller enclosure i mentioned earlier, as it would be impossible to remove all the isopods from the larger tank.
 

MadMilli

Arachnoknight
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
Messages
190
Hello,

I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news but if you haven’t discovered it at the time that I’m writing this I’m almost certain that he is passing away. My ivory millipede had a very similar death with the legs twitching and there was no valid reason for the death to have occurred, it was extremely random. I am a keeper of two Archispirostreptus gigas myself so I’m familiar with the species, but I can almost certainly tell you that the behavior you’re witnessing is what I saw before my ivory died. I read through **most** of what you wrote, although it’s late for me right now so admittedly I had to skip through some of it, but I don’t believe that there is any outstanding reason for why it died. I am so sorry for your loss and hope that my prediction isn’t the case, it’s always hard to lose a millipede especially one of that species.
 

MadMilli

Arachnoknight
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
Messages
190
Hello,

I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news but if you haven’t discovered it at the time that I’m writing this I’m almost certain that he is passing away. My ivory millipede had a very similar death with the legs twitching and there was no valid reason for the death to have occurred, it was extremely random. I am a keeper of two Archispirostreptus gigas myself so I’m familiar with the species, but I can almost certainly tell you that the behavior you’re witnessing is what I saw before my ivory died. I read through **most** of what you wrote, although it’s late for me right now so admittedly I had to skip through some of it, but I don’t believe that there is any outstanding reason for why it died. I am so sorry for your loss and hope that my prediction isn’t the case, it’s always hard to lose a millipede especially one of that species.
One more thing though, one time one of my gigas molted on the surface above ground and it looked like it was dying. Don’t remove the body until the springtails and isopods start to decompose it so you know for sure, you never know it could be just some freak behavior.
 

ConstantSorrow

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 21, 2020
Messages
129
Let me preface this by saying I don't keep millipedes. Or isopods, for that matter.
But I just listened to a podcast from Tom Moran the other day in which he was discussing how isopods ate his.....scorpions? I know Porcellio was specifically mentioned, in terms of isopods, as well. You might want to give it a listen.
Anyway, if you can get the female out safely, I would do that and get her into a new enclosure.
But like I said, I have zero personal experience here. Hopefully someone else can either back me up or has better info.
 

sheamurray17

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
2
Hey,

I would deifnitely agree with the comments above dont remove it until decomposition becomes obvious.
There are many reasons in captivity why millipedes decline in health. Reading your first post I would personally change things about your setup slightly.
Firstly i would make your subtrate the same level of humidity throughout if your substrate is the correct level of moisture The decomposition of the substrate can continue providing food for the millipedes and allowing them to form moulting chambers, egg laying etc. If too dry it can cause dessication.
Secondly I would remove all of your substrate coco fibre is not great for millipedes, it had no nutritional content and can caude impaction if it expands inside of the millipede. You are best using deciduous forest humus, decaying deciduous leaves and wood - all of which is the main source of food for your millipedes.
Everything else sounds pretty spot on in terms of husbandry sometimes we just can’t prevent things like this happening, sorry for your loss.
 

BugLord

Arthropod Rancher
Joined
May 2, 2020
Messages
178
I agree with @sheamurray17 , sounds like there isn't too much nutrients in the substrate for your millipedes to consume. You need about 50% hardwood leaves and rotting hardwood within the substrate for nutrition.

Here's a good guide, you don't have to follow it word by word considering some items you won't be able to find; but the general agreement through all different recipes is large amounts of rotting hardwood leaves and hardwood



Hope that helps, and sorry for your loss,
Dagan H.
 

BugLord

Arthropod Rancher
Joined
May 2, 2020
Messages
178
Isopods are also a risk with millipedes, I would just keep springtails with your millipedes.

Dagan H.
 

Spamgraveyard

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 26, 2020
Messages
4
Many thanks to everyone who has replied. the millipede has definitely died and i have not removed it from the tank. before it stopped moving completely i placed it on a a small upside-down plastic tub which is sitting on the substrate. i did this to prevent the isopods from getting to it, however the symbiotic mites living on it's body would be able to migrate back into the enclosure and hopefully find the other millipede. as of writing this the mites still have not disembarked the dead individual, presumably they do not realise it is dead.

i never would have included isopods or coco fiber in the setup if i had known they were potentially hazardous, and it is obvious that i will need to set up a new enclosure and substrate for the female. in response to DaganH specifically, the substrate in the tank does contain large amounts of decomposing wood chunks and leaf-litter mixed in with the soil and coco-fiber. given that i will need to create a new substrate i very much appreciate the link you included in your post. i cant help noticing however that this person has also used coir (which is coco fiber) and oak pellets that also expand when wet.

one again thanks to everyone who responded i appreciate it very much.
 

radjess331

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Messages
73
Their substrate really should be rotting wood. It’s been almost a decade since I’ve had them. But rotting wood and leaves should make up like 60-80% then add sand and peat and long fiber sphagnum.
As for cohabitating. Dwarf purples are the only species I’ve had long term that are completely safe. They won’t eat something till it is literally stinky.
and to minimize mold you need a ton of springtails.
supplement feeding with veggies that won’t constrict calcium. So squashes, melons, roots etc.
large calcium chunks. Places to hide. Water dish since this species will actually utilize a watering dish.
 

radjess331

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Messages
73
If it is still alive. A tarantula er room setup will work for millipedes too. Including premade food like the green cricket squares that are food and water. Add a few of those incase it gets hungry. They don’t mold as quickly as fresh veggies.
 

Madnesssr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Messages
262
I am sorry for your loss. It isn’t easy loosing a pet. But maybe we can help the other one thrive.

You have received a lot of good advice. Here is my 2 cents worth. I highly recommend removal of the coco fiber as it can cause impaction and provides no nutritional value to your millipede. I know several breeders that have experienced this first hand.

What has worked for me is a mixture of 50% organic top soil and 50% crumbling rotten hardwood with tons of leaves mixed in. You want to make sure that none of this has come in contact with pesticides or herbicides. I will eventually use flake soil in place of the organic top soil, but mine is still brewing. I also add crumbled egg shells and cuttlebone for a calcium source. I add live moss to my moist end to help keep humidity in. The millipede seem to love to dig molt chambers under it too. I add lots of rotten crumbled hardwood and leaves on top of the rest of the substrate, along with bark for hides and drift wood for climbing.

You also want your substrate to be much deeper. As a rule of thumb, you want it to be as deep as the longest millipede you plan on housing.

After several discussions with others breeders, I removed all isopod from my millipede enclosures. I left the springtail. I lost my very first ivory to isopod while they were molting.

You will find that each millipede breeder keeps theirs a little different from the next. You have to find what works best for you.
 

Spamgraveyard

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 26, 2020
Messages
4
another update: i have seen the female again this evening while she was eating some cucumber, she is very much alive and appears to be absolutely fine. i have been considering using a small paintbrush to remove the mites from the dead male. is this a good idea? is there anything else i could to to encourage them to migrate?

Additionally i would like to ask if anyone has any specific products that they recommend as a substrate for millipedes? i have looked around online and it is difficult to find things that i can actually buy due to the virus situation.
i have been considering getting this:


but i can't see a complete ingredients list for it. is this any good?

one final question, i mentioned before that i included a half coconut shell in the setup as a thing they could hide under. on one occasion about a month ago i saw one of the millipedes eating directly from the rim of the shell, or at least that is what it looked like it was doing. could this be a potential hazard for millipedes? as previously discussed coco fiber is an impaction hazard and it is made from coconut shells. is it safe to use a coconut shell in my setup?
perhaps i am just being paranoid?

once again, thanks everyone for all your input so far, i am grateful to all of you.
 

Spideymom

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 18, 2019
Messages
15
I’m sorry about your loss. That’s a complete bummer. I’m fairly new to this forum. From my understanding and for future reference I was told not to house millipedes with isopods as they are known to eat the millipedes while they are molting as they crave calcium and they most definitely can kill the millipedes in molt. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong. I do keep both isos and pedes and will never house them together. Better safe than sorry.
 

Nephaleim

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 28, 2019
Messages
94
Hello all.

Today I found one of my A Gigas millipedes limp on the floor of his enclosure. I am afraid he may be dying or already dead and I would appreciate anything that any of you can do to help or at least answer a few questions. First I will attempt to explain the scenario, and I will also answer any questions you may have as best I can. I apologise that this description will be very lengthy, I want to give you a clear and detailed idea of the situation.

I have two of these millipedes, I bought them in january, they are both aprox 20 centimetres in length so not fully grown for their species which I am fairly certain is Archispirostreptus Gigas. At the time they both appeared to be in good health and until today I have had no cause for concern. One is male, the other female. their enclosure is 60 centimetres by 40 centimetres, containing 3-5 inches of substrate composed of coco fiber, sphagnum moss, some soil containing small chunks of wood, a bit of leaf litter. it also contains two plants, one of which died due to lack of sunlight, the other is doing ok. i also included a hollow log of cork bark (aprox 40 cm) and a half-shell of a coconut which serve as hiding spaces. there is a heat pad attached to the back of the tank which is also connected to a temperature regulator, which has a sensor that is threaded through he top of the tank. inside the tank i also included two thermometers in different places to keep track of the temperature myself. i have kept the soil in one half of the tank humid (about 60-80% humidity), but have allowed the other half to be more dry so that the inhabitants can hydroregulate. mould has occasionally been a small issue, but i have always removed it as soon as i notice it.
the tank also contains a colony of springtails and a colony of isopods (not sure exactly what species, some kind of porcellio i think). these colonies have both been thriving, the isopods have increased in number considerably. i have regularly provided fresh food, usually bananas and cucumber which appear to have been favoured by the millipedes. for the first few months i did not see them very often as they always hid inside the cork bark, and i did not wish to disturb them, however i did observe that the food seldom went untouched (i think the isopods also like eating the cucumber). after a few months they became more active, exploring the enclosure a lot more than they had previously. the male in particular was always exploring at night, the female only came out occasionally, but still more frequently than before. i wondered if the increase in activity was due to the increase in temperature resulting from the change in season, but dismissed this because i had monitored and controlled the temperature inside the tank and always had it somewhere between 24-26 degrees c.
recently i had noticed that they have become very inactive. the male had been under the coconut shell for several days, the female i have not seen, i have assumed that she is at her regular place inside the cork bark. i continued to provide food for them which has disappeared by the next day although i am not sure how much is eaten by the millipedes and how much is eaten by the isopods. i always place the food easily within reach of the millipedes so they would not have difficulty finding it. i was not worried during this recent period of inactivity because it was not extremely unusual, and i can kind of see under the coconut shell so i could tell that even though the male had stayed curled up under there, he was still kind of moving around. i had been concerned about one thing, i had not noticed any evidence of moulting from either millipede. i know they are not full grown yet so i was expecting it, but i do not know how frequently they are supposed to moult. they did spend most of their time hidden inside a log where i cant see them so i suppose it is possible they might have moulted at some point. but i have not seen any evidence of it, and i did not wish to go poking around and disturbing them too much.

this evening, at around midnight, i saw that the male was outside of the coconut on the opposite side of the tank. at first i was pleased to see that it was active again, but when i looked at it's head something didn't seem right. I'm not sure exactly what, it was not injured in any way that i could see but i got worried so i opened up the enclosure and gently picked up the millipede. i have not handled them often, only when i put them into the tank and once when i was cleaning some stuff and one of them was in the way. on both occasions they immediately curled up, this time when i picked up the male it's body was limp. it did still curl up after a second, but it's body seemed very weak. it's legs were still moving and twitching just as they always do, but it did not try to walk or anything. i put it back down on the soil in roughly the same place it had been before and closed the tank up. i did check the temperature, it was at 26 degrees c, not at all abnormal. the weather is getting very hot where i live, but i do not think the heat caused this. firstly i have been monitoring the temperature in the tank, it has not risen above 27 degrees c. the room i keep the tank in does not even get that hot, even in the summer. there is a large tree outside the window that keeps sunlight from getting in. additionally i have heard that millipedes burrow when they get too hot, but i have not noticed any evidence of burrowing behaviour in the tank.

obviously i am very worried about this millipede, (i'm also worried about the female but she is out of sight so i don't know how she is doing, i don't want to disturb her if i can help it). i suspect that there is nothing i can do but wait and see what happens, but i would appreciate any suggestions or additional information anyone can give me. i have never kept millipedes before, i was under the impression that it was not difficult. i do not think i have done anything wrong with their setup or care, but again i am open to and appreciative of any suggestions you may have, and even if there is nothing i can do to help this millipede, i would at least like to know why this happened.

many thanks.

small update, after writing all of this out i checked the tank again. the millipede has uncurled, and most of his legs are still active a few are even gripping the ground. however the legs toward the front of the body are all motionless, the antenna are motionless, the head in general is motionless. for the time being i am assuming that he has died and that the activity in the rest of his body is due to his nervous system still being active. i am hoping that the female has not died as well, but even if i do lose both of them i think i will still keep the tank for the sake of the isopod colony. they have proven to be enjoyable pets all by themselves.
nevertheless i am very saddened by what has happened, but i still would like some feedback. if this millipede died because i did something wrong i want to know because my female might still be alive and if so i don't want to loose her too.
Hello! I know it has been a long time.
I have the exact same issue as you. Today I found one of my pedes limp.what struck me is how similar our cases and setups were. However, i tend to interact with my millipedes and watch them a lot.

And there is something I'm 90% sure js the issue.

And that is Coco fiber.

I noticed pieces of Coco fiber sticking out of my pedes butt. I noticed it on all my pedes. I noticed it too on the one that went limp. Im certain its causing impaction.

I'm worried but I'm trying my hardest to help the limp pede. I put her is a separate container, with some millipede food and water, above my fridge where it's warm. I hope it will help her digest and pass it easier. I've immediately removed my pedes from the Coco fiber as well.

Tomorrow ill be purchasing some newer and better substrate for these guys.
 

MillipedeTrain

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
78
Hello all.

Today I found one of my A Gigas millipedes limp on the floor of his enclosure. I am afraid he may be dying or already dead and I would appreciate anything that any of you can do to help or at least answer a few questions. First I will attempt to explain the scenario, and I will also answer any questions you may have as best I can. I apologise that this description will be very lengthy, I want to give you a clear and detailed idea of the situation.

I have two of these millipedes, I bought them in january, they are both aprox 20 centimetres in length so not fully grown for their species which I am fairly certain is Archispirostreptus Gigas. At the time they both appeared to be in good health and until today I have had no cause for concern. One is male, the other female. their enclosure is 60 centimetres by 40 centimetres, containing 3-5 inches of substrate composed of coco fiber,
Hello, I am just going to come out and be blunt when I say this, but the coconut fibre is the problem and is what is killing your millipede(s). It is absolutely urgent that you remove both of your millipedes from the coconut fibre ASAP. Millipedes cannot digest coconut fibre of any kind, it is NOT decayed. It is as though they may as well be eating sand and even if they could it is completely lacking in nutrients. A German scientist has dissected millipedes that died from being kept on coco fibre and found out that they experienced an extremely painful death caused by impaction. It is absolutely not safe for millipede consumption and even when kept on a 50/50 mix it will shorten the lifespan on the millipede eventuality causing death

Cocofibre/cocohusk in my opinion and many others a terrible carrier substrate for millipedes. Not only does it kill by causing impaction and from providing no nutrients. It also must be constantly kept damp because as it dries, cocofibre pulls moisture out of millipedes causing dehydration which is another way it can kill your millipedes. It’s an all around terrible substrate and it frustrates me so much that inexperienced keepers have gone around making care sheets using cocofibre fibre which in turn teaches people how to kill their millipedes. It causes impaction in millipedes and I have personally experienced this and had deaths with my own millipedes. You need a nutritionally diverse substrate as the substrate is one of the most important aspects in keeping millipedes as they eat the substrate, breed in the substrate and molt in the substrate.

A healthy substrate should consist of copious amounts decayed leaves and decayed hardwood that comes from trees like Alder, maple, oak, birch, beech, cottonwood the kind of decayed wood that crumbles into mush in your fingers. You can collect this from your local forest and look for wild millipedes and isopods thriving in the wood and that is a good indication that it is safe. Pick out all the wild millipedes and Isopods and let them go. Find yourself a bunch of different types of mosses that have never been exposed to pesticides or chemicals so you can take them home, rinse them and boil them for half an hour on medium/high heat. As for all the wood you collected you take the wood home, put it on a metal tray with tinfoil covering the tray and break up the wood into smaller pieces so it bakes dry faster and then bake it until it is fully dry. The amount of time it takes always varies so that is why you must have a spray bottle handy just incase and sit by the oven to keep an eye on it and stir and turn the wood chunks every so often. Once it is thoroughly baked I mulch it all with my hands into what I like to call “wood dirt” but I still leave some bigger chunks for the millipedes too. Then I get my carrier soils. I use organic black earth which contains Peat Loam (which is the sediment of decayed organic matter that is harvested from below peat moss bogs, therefore it is more nutritional than peat moss alone) my soil also contains humus which is literally am incorrectly named label applied to aged compost. For whatever reason, they call aged organic compost as humus. It is great for millipedes. Not only that I use another soil called Organic golf green which contains peat moss, more humus and compost. You must NEVER use any soil that contains fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides or any added chemicals or fertilizers for plants to grow as these will kill your millipedes. Use organic ONLY!
So I mix ample amounts of each soil into my bins, then I add an almost equal amount of my mulched baked decayed wood and crumbled leaves and boiled moss and lichen and mix them into extra part of my substrate so that every inch of substrate contains bits of each ingredients. After I am done mixing I add extra mulched decayed wood and leaves onto the top and I add about an inch or two inch thick layer of decayed leaves onto the top because they act as a barrier and prevent the soil from drying out too quickly and give the millipedes a place to feel safe and secure in.

This is how I make my substrate and everyone is welcome to use my method if they like and I am not saying anyone had to use it I am simply offering this information on how to create a nutritionally diverse substrate as it has never done me wrong and the millipedes have been breeding and happily thriving. It takes a lot of work to make but the substrate will last a long time and you continually add extra decayed wood and leaves to the top. However when the soil all begins to look like black little pellet poops all the way through to the very bottom every handful you pick up that means you are in dire need of a substrate change and it is absolutely important that you do a full substrate change as when there is nothing but poops throughout the entire substrate and no more wood and leaves epidemics can break out and cause harm to your millipedes. It is well worth to spend the time needed to create a nutritionally diverse substrate for happy, healthy ‘Pedes. If you or anyone else has any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask me. 😊

On another note, it is generally a good idea to NEVER keep isopods with millipedes. Isopods are extremely opportunistic voracious little critters and will EAT millipede eggs, babies and even molting millipedes! I do not recommend keeping them together under any circumstances as even healthy adult millipedes can be attacked by isopods.
 
Last edited:

MillipedeTrain

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
78
I’m sorry about your loss. That’s a complete bummer. I’m fairly new to this forum. From my understanding and for future reference I was told not to house millipedes with isopods as they are known to eat the millipedes while they are molting as they crave calcium and they most definitely can kill the millipedes in molt. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong. I do keep both isos and pedes and will never house them together. Better safe than sorry.
You’re absolutely correct, it is generally not a good idea to ever keep millipedes and isopods together unless maybe you have an excessively prolific millipede species and you’re using the isopods to help keep the millipede population down is the only reason I would ever keep millipedes and isopods together…but even then…I would rather just separate the males from the females for awhile than have my poor millipedes become dinner. 😩
 

Nephaleim

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 28, 2019
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Hello, I am just going to come out and be blunt when I say this, but the coconut fibre is the problem and is what is killing your millipede(s). It is absolutely urgent that you remove both of your millipedes from the coconut fibre ASAP. Millipedes cannot digest coconut fibre of any kind, it is NOT decayed. It is as though they may as well be eating sand and even if they could it is completely lacking in nutrients. A German scientist has dissected millipedes that died from being kept on coco fibre and found out that they experienced an extremely painful death caused by impaction. It is absolutely not safe for millipede consumption and even when kept on a 50/50 mix it will shorten the lifespan on the millipede eventuality causing death

Cocofibre/cocohusk in my opinion and many others a terrible carrier substrate for millipedes. Not only does it kill by causing impaction and from providing no nutrients. It also must be constantly kept damp because as it dries, cocofibre pulls moisture out of millipedes causing dehydration which is another way it can kill your millipedes. It’s an all around terrible substrate and it frustrates me so much that inexperienced keepers have gone around making care sheets using cocofibre fibre which in turn teaches people how to kill their millipedes. It causes impaction in millipedes and I have personally experienced this and had deaths with my own millipedes. You need a nutritionally diverse substrate as the substrate is one of the most important aspects in keeping millipedes as they eat the substrate, breed in the substrate and molt in the substrate.

A healthy substrate should consist of copious amounts decayed leaves and decayed hardwood that comes from trees like Alder, maple, oak, birch, beech, cottonwood the kind of decayed wood that crumbles into mush in your fingers. You can collect this from your local forest and look for wild millipedes and isopods thriving in the wood and that is a good indication that it is safe. Pick out all the wild millipedes and Isopods and let them go. Find yourself a bunch of different types of mosses that have never been exposed to pesticides or chemicals so you can take them home, rinse them and boil them for half an hour on medium/high heat. As for all the wood you collected you take the wood home, put it on a metal tray with tinfoil covering the tray and break up the wood into smaller pieces so it bakes dry faster and then bake it until it is fully dry. The amount of time it takes always varies so that is why you must have a spray bottle handy just incase and sit by the oven to keep an eye on it and stir and turn the wood chunks every so often. Once it is thoroughly baked I mulch it all with my hands into what I like to call “wood dirt” but I still leave some bigger chunks for the millipedes too. Then I get my carrier soils. I use organic black earth which contains Peat Loam (which is the sediment of decayed organic matter that is harvested from below peat moss bogs, therefore it is more nutritional than peat moss alone) my soil also contains humus which is literally am incorrectly named label applied to aged compost. For whatever reason, they call aged organic compost as humus. It is great for millipedes. Not only that I use another soil called Organic golf green which contains peat moss, more humus and compost. You must NEVER use any soil that contains fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides or any added chemicals or fertilizers for plants to grow as these will kill your millipedes. Use organic ONLY!
So I mix ample amounts of each soil into my bins, then I add an almost equal amount of my mulched baked decayed wood and crumbled leaves and boiled moss and lichen and mix them into extra part of my substrate so that every inch of substrate contains bits of each ingredients. After I am done mixing I add extra mulched decayed wood and leaves onto the top and I add about an inch or two inch thick layer of decayed leaves onto the top because they act as a barrier and prevent the soil from drying out too quickly and give the millipedes a place to feel safe and secure in.

This is how I make my substrate and everyone is welcome to use my method if they like and I am not saying anyone had to use it I am simply offering this information on how to create a nutritionally diverse substrate as it has never done me wrong and the millipedes have been breeding and happily thriving. It takes a lot of work to make but the substrate will last a long time and you continually add extra decayed wood and leaves to the top. However when the soil all begins to look like black little pellet poops all the way through to the very bottom every handful you pick up that means you are in dire need of a substrate change and it is absolutely important that you do a full substrate change as when there is nothing but poops throughout the entire substrate and no more wood and leaves epidemics can break out and cause harm to your millipedes. It is well worth to spend the time needed to create a nutritionally diverse substrate for happy, healthy ‘Pedes. If you or anyone else has any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask me. 😊

On another note, it is generally a good idea to NEVER keep isopods with millipedes. Isopods are extremely opportunistic voracious little critters and will EAT millipede eggs, babies and even molting millipedes! I do not recommend keeping them together under any circumstances as even healthy adult millipedes can be attacked by isopods.
Hello! I'm so saddened I have realized this too late. My pede has been limp since yesterday, and I still see her legs moving. I'm going to put her somewhere warm and hope it helps her pass the Coco fiber. I don't have much hope though as it may have ruptures her insides.

I have a composter in my back yard. I was hesitant to use the compost because it's full of various animals, but now I think I should try it. Would sterilizing be a wise idea? I usually put things like that in the oven, to sterilize it for about half an hour. Do you have any more tips on sterilizing soil? Another question; is it okay to just leave cuttlefish bone laying in the ground? Can they scrape it and consume the calcium or do they need it as dust.. Like, how do I go about the calcium, I have a massive cuttlefish bone.
Also... Is there anything I can do to help my pedes pass the Coco fiber? Like increased temperature, perhaps. I can see pieces of Coco fiber sticking out of ones butt and they are still active. I want them to pass it asap.


Sorry for so many questions! I realize you're knowledgeable on the topic, and I really want my remaining two pedes to be healthy.
 
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