Is Miracle Gro soil good for millipedes?

KevinsWither · Jul 6, 2015

It is organic, and my tomato plants have grown fine in it.

ratluvr76 · Jul 6, 2015

KevinsWither said:
It is organic, and my tomato plants have grown fine in it.

I wouldn't use miracle gro soil for any inverts... fertilizers aren't generally good for animals. Even organic fertilizers release chemical compounds that can be toxic at some level to inverts in general. I wouldn't risk it.

KevinsWither · Jul 6, 2015

Would backyard soil work? It has no pesticides or anything in it. I live in Arizona. Please answer.

ratluvr76 · Jul 6, 2015

Some people use it for my tarantulas but not having any experience or knowledge of millipedes I'd wait for an answer from someone with a bit more experience. My personal thoughts on soil would be to get a bag of topsoil from your local home improvement store, tractor supply store, even Walmart has it. It's like 1.50 for forty pounds. Just make sure it doesn't have pesticides, fertilizers or any other chemicals in it.

The Snark · Jul 6, 2015

Think natural native environment. Forest floor, brush or grassland detritus layer. The soil is only for shelter and habitat for the micro-organisms that break down the detritus. Pedes and Co. thrive on the complex breakdown of the available organic material. Cleaned, seed and organism free potting soils are near useless to them.

KevinsWither · Jul 6, 2015

So if I let an organic apple peel rot on the soil, would it be good for millipedes?

Cavedweller · Jul 6, 2015

They're better off just eating the apple, if you leave it to rot it will cause mold.

I'm not sure what you're after with soil. Keeping millipedes on straight soil or cocofiber will slowly starve them. The substrate mix I've had success with is 50% cocofiber (this helps prevent mites and retains moisture), 25% dead, rotten leaves (i honestly don't know where you can acquire this in Phoenix), 25% shredded rotten wood (you can also add aspen shaving pet bedding or hardwood barbecue chips, which will eventually rot in the bioactive substrate).

truecreature · Jul 6, 2015

If you need the leaves or wood, bugsincyberspace.com sells them in the substrate section

KevinsWither · Jul 7, 2015

Thank you. Actually, would it work if I mix the soil with wood chips (that are safe for millipedes) along with dead leaves. Also, there is some bacteria and other things in the shipping cup that the millipede had on it and I kept it wet.

Cavedweller · Jul 7, 2015

Are you talking that Miraclegro still? Even if it's organic I wouldn't risk it.

KevinsWither · Jul 7, 2015

No, actually it would be aged potting soil. It has been out for months and bugs are going on it (note, they are only native pill bugs). And it is dried. It will be rehydrated with aged tank water from a healthy aquarium.

KevinsWither · Jul 7, 2015

Also, I made the millipede's habitat today. The millipede itself is only an inch long. And it has shredded wood and carrots in it. But it burrowed.

Here is my millipede. Is it the arizona desert millipede?

Cavedweller · Jul 7, 2015

Alright, if pillbugs are living in the potting soil it's probably safe for millipedes. You really don't need to go all fancy with aged aquarium water and stuff. I suggest you save that stuff for watering plants.

That soil looks pretty moist, you might wanna dry it out a little. Also that's waaay too many carrots for such a small millipede to eat before it gets moldy. A small sliver would be better.

That looks more like a full grown Julida to me. I've never kept them but I don't imagine they're difficult to care for.

KevinsWither · Jul 8, 2015

Cavedweller said:
Alright, if pillbugs are living in the potting soil it's probably safe for millipedes. You really don't need to go all fancy with aged aquarium water and stuff. I suggest you save that stuff for watering plants.

That soil looks pretty moist, you might wanna dry it out a little. Also that's waaay too many carrots for such a small millipede to eat before it gets moldy. A small sliver would be better.

That looks more like a full grown Julida to me. I've never kept them but I don't imagine they're difficult to care for.

Thank you for the tips. And is this an immature desert millipede or a full grown Julida? It is only an 1 inch 3/4. And I checked on Bugguide.net and they (Julida) only appears on June in Arizona. Plus it was captured during breeding season of the centipedes.

Hisserdude · Jul 8, 2015

Yeah, not a desert milliped, just a julida, probably near full grown. They don't get too big.

SDCPs · Jul 21, 2015

There's no way it can eat all those carrot pieces XD

Is Miracle Gro soil good for millipedes?

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