- Joined
- Mar 1, 2014
- Messages
- 1,087
Within the next month or so, I am going to receive my first millipedes-- 10 juvenile flamelegs from SDCPs.
A few months ago, I began collecting the items I would need. I have a gallon bag stuffed full of dry oak and maple leaves, as well as several pieces of rotting wood and old bark. The bark is from fallen maple trees, the rotting wood could be oak, maple, or possibly fir...hopefully not fir. Allhave been sanitized in the oven.
I have plenty of coco fiber, and I can easily get more if I run out.
I have several thriving colonies of the springtails that sell on bugsincyberspace as giant springtails (Folsomia candida.)
I have researched the needs of millipedes, and I think I'm prepared to care for them. Their needs are not much different from the various species of isopods I keep, though they need deeper substrate for successful molting.
The last piece of the puzzle is the enclosure. I've got a 10-gallon aquarium I'm not really using, and if I were to get a glass lid I could use that. However, as SDCPs explains on his millipede site, it is important to keep the population density fairly high in order to outcompete pests, such as fungus gnats. (I had a moderate issue with fungus gnats with some of my isopods a while ago when they were getting established...now the isopod density is high enough that I never see a single gnat.)
I am wondering if I should use a smaller container for this reason. I tried to find some 3-gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck containers in my area, as they seemed worth investigating, but apparently they've been discontinued. I am also wondering which plastic containers you millipede keepers use, and pros and cons of each container. Brand, dimensions, and capacity would all be great to know.
Thank you!
A few months ago, I began collecting the items I would need. I have a gallon bag stuffed full of dry oak and maple leaves, as well as several pieces of rotting wood and old bark. The bark is from fallen maple trees, the rotting wood could be oak, maple, or possibly fir...hopefully not fir. Allhave been sanitized in the oven.
I have plenty of coco fiber, and I can easily get more if I run out.
I have several thriving colonies of the springtails that sell on bugsincyberspace as giant springtails (Folsomia candida.)
I have researched the needs of millipedes, and I think I'm prepared to care for them. Their needs are not much different from the various species of isopods I keep, though they need deeper substrate for successful molting.
The last piece of the puzzle is the enclosure. I've got a 10-gallon aquarium I'm not really using, and if I were to get a glass lid I could use that. However, as SDCPs explains on his millipede site, it is important to keep the population density fairly high in order to outcompete pests, such as fungus gnats. (I had a moderate issue with fungus gnats with some of my isopods a while ago when they were getting established...now the isopod density is high enough that I never see a single gnat.)
I am wondering if I should use a smaller container for this reason. I tried to find some 3-gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck containers in my area, as they seemed worth investigating, but apparently they've been discontinued. I am also wondering which plastic containers you millipede keepers use, and pros and cons of each container. Brand, dimensions, and capacity would all be great to know.
Thank you!