First off I must apologize for the days I missed blogging. Since I am new enough to this that I don’t have a reserve of blog posts at the ready for days I just don’t have time for it, that’s what happens. :(
Alright now, on to millipedes—how to care for them in captivity. If you read my previous post about them, you learned about them in the wild. Captive care emulates their natural environment. So, why keep them as pets?
One of my biggest reasons when I first got into keeping millipedes was that to me, they looked like a snake and bug combined, which are two of my favorite things. If you don’t like snakes, then forget what I just said. ;) Millipedes move slowly, are perfectly harmless, and can’t bite, though they may try to nibble you, especially if you just handled fruit or vegetables without washing your hands afterwards. If you have an A. gigas, (African Giant Black millipede), which can grow to be 12” long, the nibbling might turn into a slight pinch, but they’re one of the world’s largest millipedes, if not the largest, so most of the millis in the world fall far short of being able to pinch you. :) A. gigas are very rare in the pet trade in the U.S. these days, however, since they don’t breed well in captivity and importing them was made illegal some time ago due to the cleaner mites they carry that also seem to like grain quite a lot.
Getting Your Pet
Unlike cockroaches, I very much recommend finding your first millis around your home. Though you might find many invade your house periodically, they can’t infest it because they need moisture and usually houses are so devoid of moisture that they desiccate. Anyway, look places that stay moist, such as under flat rocks, stepping stones and rotting logs. It depends on where you are located what species of millipede you will find, but it doesn’t really matter since care for all of them is relatively the same, and can be kept communally. If you can’t find a millipede for some reason, they can also be bought online, just like cockroaches. Just enter “buy pet millipedes” in Google and the first website that pops up is one I have ordered from in the past and been very pleased with.
Housing
Millipedes don’t require much space at all. Once again, kritter keepers work very well for this purpose, but any deep container of the right dimensions will work just fine. All they need is a container 2x the length of your longest millipede, and the length of your longest milli in width. For depth, put at least 3-4 inches of moist peat moss, but deeper is always better because to molt they make a small chamber underground. Mix a good amount of baked oak leaves (remember, to get rid of uninvited guests) into the substrate and you’re almost good to go. They need oak leaves because they will eat them, and oak leaves are high in calcium, something they need for strong exoskeletons. Hiding places are optional, but they do help the tank not look so barren. If you use something from outside (such as bark,) be sure to bake it. Then add a food dish and you’re done!
Food
You can feed millipedes much the same as cockroaches, which I outlined in a prior post. One of my millipede’s favorite things was apple, but they will eat most any fruit or vegetable, and they do seem to enjoy dry cat or dog food once in a while as well. Stay away from acidic things like tomatoes or oranges though. Depending on the species of millipede you have, you may find they prefer to simply munch their substrate, (in this case, the peat moss and oak leaves,) and avoid all the extra edibles you provide. If that’s what happens, then that’s alright too. Make sure to remove any fruit or vegetables before it molds, however.
And that’s how you care for millipedes. Simple, right? Just make sure they stay moist, and they should live long, healthy lives and breed (babies are a happy byproduct of satisfied millis.) Questions or comments are always welcome, just hit the comment number link by this post and you’ll be presented with a form for leaving your thoughts behind. :)
Alright now, on to millipedes—how to care for them in captivity. If you read my previous post about them, you learned about them in the wild. Captive care emulates their natural environment. So, why keep them as pets?
One of my biggest reasons when I first got into keeping millipedes was that to me, they looked like a snake and bug combined, which are two of my favorite things. If you don’t like snakes, then forget what I just said. ;) Millipedes move slowly, are perfectly harmless, and can’t bite, though they may try to nibble you, especially if you just handled fruit or vegetables without washing your hands afterwards. If you have an A. gigas, (African Giant Black millipede), which can grow to be 12” long, the nibbling might turn into a slight pinch, but they’re one of the world’s largest millipedes, if not the largest, so most of the millis in the world fall far short of being able to pinch you. :) A. gigas are very rare in the pet trade in the U.S. these days, however, since they don’t breed well in captivity and importing them was made illegal some time ago due to the cleaner mites they carry that also seem to like grain quite a lot.
Getting Your Pet
Unlike cockroaches, I very much recommend finding your first millis around your home. Though you might find many invade your house periodically, they can’t infest it because they need moisture and usually houses are so devoid of moisture that they desiccate. Anyway, look places that stay moist, such as under flat rocks, stepping stones and rotting logs. It depends on where you are located what species of millipede you will find, but it doesn’t really matter since care for all of them is relatively the same, and can be kept communally. If you can’t find a millipede for some reason, they can also be bought online, just like cockroaches. Just enter “buy pet millipedes” in Google and the first website that pops up is one I have ordered from in the past and been very pleased with.
Housing
Millipedes don’t require much space at all. Once again, kritter keepers work very well for this purpose, but any deep container of the right dimensions will work just fine. All they need is a container 2x the length of your longest millipede, and the length of your longest milli in width. For depth, put at least 3-4 inches of moist peat moss, but deeper is always better because to molt they make a small chamber underground. Mix a good amount of baked oak leaves (remember, to get rid of uninvited guests) into the substrate and you’re almost good to go. They need oak leaves because they will eat them, and oak leaves are high in calcium, something they need for strong exoskeletons. Hiding places are optional, but they do help the tank not look so barren. If you use something from outside (such as bark,) be sure to bake it. Then add a food dish and you’re done!
Food
You can feed millipedes much the same as cockroaches, which I outlined in a prior post. One of my millipede’s favorite things was apple, but they will eat most any fruit or vegetable, and they do seem to enjoy dry cat or dog food once in a while as well. Stay away from acidic things like tomatoes or oranges though. Depending on the species of millipede you have, you may find they prefer to simply munch their substrate, (in this case, the peat moss and oak leaves,) and avoid all the extra edibles you provide. If that’s what happens, then that’s alright too. Make sure to remove any fruit or vegetables before it molds, however.
And that’s how you care for millipedes. Simple, right? Just make sure they stay moist, and they should live long, healthy lives and breed (babies are a happy byproduct of satisfied millis.) Questions or comments are always welcome, just hit the comment number link by this post and you’ll be presented with a form for leaving your thoughts behind. :)