Millipedes Substrate.

TheInv4sion said:

I currently have my millipedes housed in coco peat with oak leaves and rotting wood all mashed in. Is this okay? Can they eat the coir or should I switch to all decaying wood and leaves.

Click to expand...

wastedwoodsman said:

I generally add a little bit of repti-sand (sand from walmart in the pet section roughly 8-9 bucks) becauseit has calcium added and keps the substrate from compacting as bad with snake and ground cuttlefish bone. You the cocofiber with mixed pieces of oak and crushed leaves in the substrate but leave a laer of oak leaves on the top of the substrate. Make sure to add a couple light rocks or some different surfaces for the to climb on to avoid limb rot you can also look at my AGB thread as I have pictures of my tanks setup and I talked more about my substrate there. Keep in mind the better the substrate the better the millipedes will be because they eat the substrate too!

Click to expand...

CrawlinChaos said:

That's an interesting point about limb rot and having something to climb on. I've personally never had limb rot crop up, though I did receive an animal with it once, who sadly passed away a short time later (thought his/her children live on!). I think having leaves on the surface probably helps too, because the leaves will dry out on top faster than the substrate will, so the millies can keep their feet dry at least some of the time walking around on them.

Click to expand...

TheInv4sion said:

Leaves seem like an easy fix. I'll probably add both leaves and rocks.

Click to expand...

wastedwoodsman said:

Just make sure the rocks arent heavy so if they tunnel under them it wont crush them! Best of luck!

Click to expand...

CrawlinChaos said:

Actually, what's much better than rocks is tree bark. A lot of people buy cork bark from vendors because its extremely light. Personally, I just go find a dead tree and rip the bark off with my bare hands, lol. And then bake it, of course.

Click to expand...

CrawlinChaos said:

I suppose if it started to rot, than yes, they could eat the bark. But, I've been out in enough woods in my day to have observed that when you have a rotting tree, the bark is the last thing to go. But, I think its still better than rocks in most cases. More natural and gives them lots of textured surface to climb on. If you can get a curved piece of bark, they can hide under that too. Plus, its very satisfying to go rip that bark off yourself....at least in my opinion, lol.

Click to expand...

CrawlinChaos said:

SDCP has got a point. You should avoid heavy objects. Like I said, people like to use cork tree bark because its so light for that very reason. I find bark from more commonly available trees is fine weight wise, in my opinion, especially if you bake it really good to remove all the moisture.

Click to expand...