Hey guys!
bit of a long one but I would massively appreciate some advice from someone more experienced than me.
I've trawled through a few topics and I couldn't find anything conclusive but a lot of topics were from a few years back so I thought I'd share some photos and ask you good experienced folks for help.
I've recently acquired my first millipede (at SEAS convention in the UK). I have kept a few inverts before and have always loved millipedes so I thought I'd try my hand at it. I had planned on buying some rainbow millipedes as I liked their colouration, but as I was looking around the con a friend called me over to a stall and showed me a cup with a gorgeous millipede in it.
https://imgur.com/OdUKEvE
The top of the cup merely identified it as 'MILIPEDE SARAWAK BORNEO 20£' and I decided to buy. (I'm aware of the controversies around buying wild-caught animals, but there was also a six or seven-year-old boy there who was hanging off his mum's arm trying to convince her to buy it for him, and I figured that if I didn't take it someone would, and at least I knew i'd try my best to give it everything it needed.)
The seller seemed to know next to nothing about the millipede, simply telling me to feed it oranges and that it was a male, and that he'd sold the female separately.
After showing the millipede to several more-experienced millipede keepers/sellers/breeders at the show, I was informed that it was arboreal, needed four mistings a week, and that the oranges would only provide hydration and no nutrition. I was advised to feed moss and Cambridge nutrition feeder insect gut load pellets.
I have since taken my millipede home and got him set up. After reading that the enclosure should be at least twice the length of the animal's body, I upgraded him to an exo terra mini wide and plan on replacing the top with acrylic to help keep the humidity up.
https://imgur.com/vLhs7lQ
It's a bit basic but if anyone can suggest any improvements to me, please do!
The setup is a little bioactive with tropical springtails, tropical isopods, and tropical moss.
I also was surprised to find a pill millipede inside my millipede's cup at the bottom, curled into a sphere. After reading up on how badly they do in captivity, I was dismayed - I would have never bought it intentionally being such a novice, yet alone knowing the complete lack of any real success with them. I saw it walking around a little but it appears to have died soon after.
https://imgur.com/U5zBrHG
Now with a bit of context, I was hoping I could have some questions answered.
Q1. The first, most glaring question is 'what species is my millipede?'
I'm aware that it looks like a flame-leg, and there's some speculation over these colourations being some kind of morph. However, I must point out that my millipede has absolutely no red or coloured banding on his body at all. his legs are a bright fuchsia and yellow, and he has a bright red bottom (that looks a bit like a clam) with a large black telson spike. He is also over 20cm long. from my understanding, flame-leg millipedes tend to max out around 10cm. In my research, I also read accounts from photographers in Borneo claiming they have seen them up to 30cm long.
https://imgur.com/NkryFDb - compared to my forearm
https://imgur.com/99iBaS0 - in his viv
https://imgur.com/MeW2F7c - close-up of legs and a mite
https://imgur.com/jVjXAZh - with a ruler
https://imgur.com/MEcBPVQ - his bottom and telson spike
This leads me to believe that he is not a colour morph variant, but rather a different species. I don't know if anything has been concluded about this, but I asked on a Facebook group for millipedes and while the pictures got some 110 likes, no one had an answer for me.
Q2. my millipede seemed very hungry once I got him home, and ate the pellets and a large piece of cucumber and some courgette with great gusto. he also seems to drink water droplets off of the glass a lot. I haven't seen him eating any dead leaves. is that normal?
Q3. My millipede has a grey ring a little over two thirds down his body. Can anyone confirm if this is an injury?
https://imgur.com/TWNhahP
it doesn't seem to bother him, but I was curious about it.
Q4. What does millipede poop look like? when I googled for it I saw pictures of small balls. I noticed my millipede excreting a strange gooey green stuff from between his little red clam butt.
https://imgur.com/5PkBbvL
you can see it here as a blob on the cucumber, and I found some more in the enclosure. the consistency kinda reminds me of 'boogers'. I thought it might be because he's only eating the cucumber, but I'm not sure if this is normal or not. it doesn't smell or anything.
Q5. is there anything glaringly obvious that I'm doing wrong? since I just found the pill millipede dead, I'm concerned that there's something wrong with my setup that might affect my large millipede. I am aware that I have no idea how old either of them is, and that pill millipedes are notorious for dying pretty fast in captivity. I did not see it eat at all. the large millipede seems happy and fine and burrows and wanders around and eats enthusiastically but if anything should be improved for him please do tell me. (perhaps I'm being paranoid but better safe than sorry!)
https://imgur.com/a/7mi91
here is an additional imgur album with all the pictures I have shown here, as well as several that I have found on the internet of the same species. Most of the images are from photographers who have travelled to Borneo and don't seem to be identified by qualified 'experts'. Many call it a flame-leg Millipede, and I've also seen it called a Borneo giant millipede, but I think this might be more descriptive than factual as a search for this as a common name turned up no results.
Thank you for sticking with me to read all of this! I look forward eagerly to hearing a response.
all the best from Ines and Udon c:
bit of a long one but I would massively appreciate some advice from someone more experienced than me.
I've trawled through a few topics and I couldn't find anything conclusive but a lot of topics were from a few years back so I thought I'd share some photos and ask you good experienced folks for help.
I've recently acquired my first millipede (at SEAS convention in the UK). I have kept a few inverts before and have always loved millipedes so I thought I'd try my hand at it. I had planned on buying some rainbow millipedes as I liked their colouration, but as I was looking around the con a friend called me over to a stall and showed me a cup with a gorgeous millipede in it.
https://imgur.com/OdUKEvE
The top of the cup merely identified it as 'MILIPEDE SARAWAK BORNEO 20£' and I decided to buy. (I'm aware of the controversies around buying wild-caught animals, but there was also a six or seven-year-old boy there who was hanging off his mum's arm trying to convince her to buy it for him, and I figured that if I didn't take it someone would, and at least I knew i'd try my best to give it everything it needed.)
The seller seemed to know next to nothing about the millipede, simply telling me to feed it oranges and that it was a male, and that he'd sold the female separately.
After showing the millipede to several more-experienced millipede keepers/sellers/breeders at the show, I was informed that it was arboreal, needed four mistings a week, and that the oranges would only provide hydration and no nutrition. I was advised to feed moss and Cambridge nutrition feeder insect gut load pellets.
I have since taken my millipede home and got him set up. After reading that the enclosure should be at least twice the length of the animal's body, I upgraded him to an exo terra mini wide and plan on replacing the top with acrylic to help keep the humidity up.
https://imgur.com/vLhs7lQ
It's a bit basic but if anyone can suggest any improvements to me, please do!
The setup is a little bioactive with tropical springtails, tropical isopods, and tropical moss.
I also was surprised to find a pill millipede inside my millipede's cup at the bottom, curled into a sphere. After reading up on how badly they do in captivity, I was dismayed - I would have never bought it intentionally being such a novice, yet alone knowing the complete lack of any real success with them. I saw it walking around a little but it appears to have died soon after.
https://imgur.com/U5zBrHG
Now with a bit of context, I was hoping I could have some questions answered.
Q1. The first, most glaring question is 'what species is my millipede?'
I'm aware that it looks like a flame-leg, and there's some speculation over these colourations being some kind of morph. However, I must point out that my millipede has absolutely no red or coloured banding on his body at all. his legs are a bright fuchsia and yellow, and he has a bright red bottom (that looks a bit like a clam) with a large black telson spike. He is also over 20cm long. from my understanding, flame-leg millipedes tend to max out around 10cm. In my research, I also read accounts from photographers in Borneo claiming they have seen them up to 30cm long.
https://imgur.com/NkryFDb - compared to my forearm
https://imgur.com/99iBaS0 - in his viv
https://imgur.com/MeW2F7c - close-up of legs and a mite
https://imgur.com/jVjXAZh - with a ruler
https://imgur.com/MEcBPVQ - his bottom and telson spike
This leads me to believe that he is not a colour morph variant, but rather a different species. I don't know if anything has been concluded about this, but I asked on a Facebook group for millipedes and while the pictures got some 110 likes, no one had an answer for me.
Q2. my millipede seemed very hungry once I got him home, and ate the pellets and a large piece of cucumber and some courgette with great gusto. he also seems to drink water droplets off of the glass a lot. I haven't seen him eating any dead leaves. is that normal?
Q3. My millipede has a grey ring a little over two thirds down his body. Can anyone confirm if this is an injury?
https://imgur.com/TWNhahP
it doesn't seem to bother him, but I was curious about it.
Q4. What does millipede poop look like? when I googled for it I saw pictures of small balls. I noticed my millipede excreting a strange gooey green stuff from between his little red clam butt.
https://imgur.com/5PkBbvL
you can see it here as a blob on the cucumber, and I found some more in the enclosure. the consistency kinda reminds me of 'boogers'. I thought it might be because he's only eating the cucumber, but I'm not sure if this is normal or not. it doesn't smell or anything.
Q5. is there anything glaringly obvious that I'm doing wrong? since I just found the pill millipede dead, I'm concerned that there's something wrong with my setup that might affect my large millipede. I am aware that I have no idea how old either of them is, and that pill millipedes are notorious for dying pretty fast in captivity. I did not see it eat at all. the large millipede seems happy and fine and burrows and wanders around and eats enthusiastically but if anything should be improved for him please do tell me. (perhaps I'm being paranoid but better safe than sorry!)
https://imgur.com/a/7mi91
here is an additional imgur album with all the pictures I have shown here, as well as several that I have found on the internet of the same species. Most of the images are from photographers who have travelled to Borneo and don't seem to be identified by qualified 'experts'. Many call it a flame-leg Millipede, and I've also seen it called a Borneo giant millipede, but I think this might be more descriptive than factual as a search for this as a common name turned up no results.
Thank you for sticking with me to read all of this! I look forward eagerly to hearing a response.
all the best from Ines and Udon c:
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