Ivory Millipedes

Twentytwenty

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
81
I am considering buying some ivory millipedes from Stampstarantulas and wanted to ask a few questions before buying.
1: Do they secrete anything staining or dangerous when scared? If so can anyone direct me to a species that does not?

2: Is there an optimal tank size for 3 or 4 of them? I have a 15 gallon tank, but I'm worried that will be too big.

3: Where can I buy the substrate?

4: What species can live with Ivories?

I have kept exotic reptiles for my whole life so I have pet experience, but I want to start keeping invertebrates.
 

Cavedweller

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
1,064
I highly recommend ivories as a starter species. The poison millipedes secrete isn't dangerous as long as you don't get it in your mouth or eyes, might stain your hands for a few days though.

If you can get to a woody area that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides, you can collect dead leaves for them. Here's my caresheet that covers the basics, including substrate.

3 or 4 will have plenty of space in a 8-12" plastic tub, 15 gallons is waaaay too big for them. If the tank is really big you might not see them often, though this is an active species. These guys do breed easily in captivity, so keep in mind you could wind up with a lot of babies. They should do alright with any other similarly sized millipede. I kept mine with a 6" giant pinkleg millipede for a year and a half without incident, but then he began attempting to mate with the 4" female ivory so I had to separate them out of concern for her safety.
 

Twentytwenty

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
81
I highly recommend ivories as a starter species. The poison millipedes secrete isn't dangerous as long as you don't get it in your mouth or eyes, might stain your hands for a few days though.
Do they secrete a lot of the staining poison and if it dries can I touch my face/eyes/mouth?
Also does the stain spray out of the pede or does it just ooze out?
 

Cavedweller

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
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1,064
Just wash it off with soap and water and you'll be fine. It just oozes out in a small amount. I've heard that it can spray out of some arboreal species, but there are very few of those in the US hobby so you don't need to worry about that. You don't need to worry, millipedes are really a pretty benign pet, African giant black pedes used to be sold as children's pets back when they were legal to import after all.
 

Twentytwenty

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
81
I forgot to ask, is 50% wood chips 50% peat moss with dead leaves on top good for bedding?
I don't have access to rotting wood, but I got plenty of leaves today for when I order them.
Additionally, do the plings sell fast or will people trade them for other species? If they breed often I probably won't keep all of them or any of them.
 
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Cavedweller

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
1,064
They need leaves mixed into the substrate, not just on top. If you're going to add fresh wood chips, I'd wait for them to decompose a bit before adding the pedes.

They produce one clutch a year, but that can be 100+ pedelings. Ivories aren't particularly "valuable" since they're a US species, but you might find dealers willing to buy them. If you're worried about having babies to deal with, you could try only buying males (females might have already mated).
 
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