Though I obviously had some success using the methods described in this video, please keep in mind that this video is OLD and that much better information for breeding and husbandry of millipedes is now available. Here is a much more recent video collaboration on millipedes with Kevin Nasser: ua-cam.com/users/live5gLfqvNXSYk?feature=share
Just found out my millipede laid eggs today!! I was not planning on breeding but I guess the 2 millipedes i got were a male female pair (what luck huh). Thanks for this vid!!
I have an aquarium I use for photographing small creatures I find around the property. The latest being millipedes. I have been putting dead leaves and other foods in the tank when I noticed I had quite a few tiny little white worm looking critters feasting on a leaf, to my surprise, I had baby millipedes! I've never seen such tiny animals with so many legs, I'm very happy knowing they don't need shoes.😂
One of the best ideas I’ve seen on how to care for millipedes he did a quick run down with every topic which is awesome I don’t really like when people take 5 mins on each topic job well done thanks I’ve subscribed 😁
I found an injured orange flat-backed millipede in my garden, so I took it in and gave it a nice safe habitat. I figured it was lonely, so the next one I saw went in the enclosure too. Within an hour of being placed together they had mated, and I just found eggs under a piece of their bark lmao
Yeah I just need a millipede care guide since the ones arround my apt building (in nebraska) are apparently suicidal so I have to save like 6+ from the pool every day
I have my Gigas millies in a multi species set up with GALS, spring tails, earth worms, isopods and ants. I don't change the substrate, I just add more in when needed.
@@Aquarimax it's been running 4 years andfor 3 of those I've not needed to change the substrate. I do mix it up once a month to loosen it, aerate it and mix in new substrate. I took a couple of cups of soil from my garden with worms etc in it and that made all the difference! Before I put that in 3 years ago it needed changing which was a hassle and a half! I also collect wild twigs and sticks covered in moss and lichen etc. In the autumn fungi spring up in the tank and the snails loooove them.
Been wanting to get a millipede for a long while. Remember my grandma and I saw the large African species as a little girl at a science event. They let me hold them with my grandma and it was amazing. Its an amazing memory I have of my grandma and would love to get some to both remember her by and enjoy them.
Only problem I’ve found is that they’re hydrophobic! Isopods are even worse! You can mix it into some soil and it works ok but not always easy to mix in. Still nutritious for plants but having them in your plants soil in pots can really be rough on some plants
super informative video Rus! Thanks a ton for sharing so much of your experience and knowledge...that set-up behind you in the video is super nice. Enjoy your weekend!
thank you! very informative, your videos are always such high quality. one question: is it safe to keep multiple species of millipedes in one enclosure? Also, how much should I be worrying about mold? Their fecal pellets seem to get moldy quite quickly, but a good majority of their waste is in the substrate, making it hard to remove... Should I worry?
Mason Vaughan Thank you! You can often keep several species of millipede together, although it is not ideal if you want to breed them. Do you have springtails with them? They will be a great help controlling the mold. Large fuzzy patches of mol can be cause for concern, but a little on their fecal pellets is not quite as serious.
I just collected about 23 adult and 3 baby bumblebee millipedes from a park here in central Florida! I got very lucky because I’ve agates washed a colony of them but I can’t see paying ten and fifteen dollars for such a small millipede… so I also scooped up what I thought was a land planeria and I tossed it in the container with the millipedes… I also collected lots of substrate and leaf litter from exactly where they were all piled up… once I got home and started to get the enclosure ready I saw the “land planeria” and I looked closer and saw a tongue flick!! It’s a Bimini blind snake!! They are all females so they have babies that are basically clones of the mother… I’m sure she was there to feast on freshly hatched millipede “larva “ since they eat termites and ants eggs and larvae but there were no ants or termites around! I’m hoping that it will eat the micro baby earth worms I put with it and if not I’m going to throw some of my panda king isopods in with it so maybe it can eat fresh born baby isopods… all my other species are too big other than my dwarf whites which I have less of than I do panda kings. I’d love to see a video on Bimini blind snakes since there’s more than I thought online about keeping them as pets I even found them for sale online! They were about $30 for medium sized ones plus $45 shipping… funny enough they said you can request males and females but no guaranties…. There are no males!!! 😅 I was looking for unicorn snails when I found all the millipedes and the snake… very cool finds today!! But what topped it all off was when I got home tonight and sat on my porch a giant black bear walked right up to the porch behind me! He then walked through my front yard and across the road into my neighbors and then he did a little hopping trot and he disappeared onto the back of her side yard then I heard a bunch of crashing noises from him going back into the woods where it’s very thick lol he made his own trail! We are always on the news for our bears but this is the closest I’ve ever had one get to me since I’ve lived in this neighborhood… all of this on my sons ninth birthday! Really nifty! Figured I’d share!! What would you (anyone with experience) say is a bumblebee millipedes favorite food that you can give them? And I also have two reddish brownish millipedes I caught awhile back armor the same size as the bumblebee’s any idea what kind they are ? All are caught in central Florida… I put those two in with the bumblebee’s… wonder if they can crossbreed 🤔
I love millipedes! I had a small one i found in our yard, and kept him/her? for a while. Oddly enough, i absolutely HATE centipedes, i don't know what it is about them, they're just, gross. Anyway, keep up the great husbandry and videos, they've helped a lot!
Never kept millipedes before, but I'm interested. How fast do they breed? Do I need to worry about overpopulation, or do they usually self-regulate? I'd like a stable population, but I don't want to end up with more millipedes than I can handle!
I was going to get pill bugs because I wanted a bug pet but when I going to get decor for my pill bugs, I saw a millipede nearby my washing and immediately, I changed my mind and had the millipede as my pet. I watched another video of telling the gender of a millipede but there was only one way, so I then watched this video on breeding millipedes and there was a lot of help. Thank u so much. ;D. P.S I wanted to breed also
Thanks for the great vid! I do have a small question. How do you Sterilize/or not your eggshells? Also do you take eggshell's membrane? And do you add wood pieces into the substrate or just leaving on the top of the substrate?
I usually heat eggshells in the oven for an hour or so at 200 F. I leave the membrane on. I do both with wood pieces. Recently I have started using flake soil-based substrate, which is excellent for millipedes.
I recently were "gifted " Some Ivory and Pink leg millipedes someone had purchased on a whim at a reptile show. I am pretty sure they were wild caught. When I got them, they were very lethargic and not moving a whole lot. I set them up like my red and bumblebee millipedes but they have slowly died off. I am wondering about moisture and temperature levels, I feel bad they did not make it but they were such impressive animals, I am thinking of purchasing some captive born specimens. I have a good substrate that is working well with all of my isopods and the two species of millipede I do have. Before I acquire these I want to insure that they are set up properly in regards to temp and moisture. My lab at the University is at 77-79 degrees, humidity is about 50%. However I kept them on a bottom shelf that is a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of my enclosures. I am concerned that maybe the enclosures were not wet enough. I do put sphagnum moss in one end of the enclosure that is wetter and light spraying on the surface. I also made sure that the substrate was deeper than the millipedes were long. I autoclave all of my leaves moss and small sticks before putting them into the enclosures, I also have a healthy number of springtails. They were so lethargic that I tried putting their tails in a shallow flat dish of water to maybe help hydrate them as I read that many millipede species can absorb water from their tail region. Any suggestions please?
Generally speaking, captive -bred millipedes will do much better for you than wild caught, so that should help a lot from the start. Millipedes will do poorly if the substrate is too damp…just make sure that you can feel some moisture when you squeezable handful, without being able to wring a droplet out of it.
Aquarimax Pets You’d think so, but my female millipedes are pro-choice, so they’re ripping out the babies from each other’s womb, eating the fetuses, then high-5 each other. I think my millipedes might be sick. :)
hello, ive got a question, idk if you’ll respond, but i have a millipede enclosure of ‘pedes found in my local area (wisconsin). recently i put some leaves from a park inside, and i noticed those tiny white bugs crawling around, just like the ones that were with your baby millipedes. theres a bunch of them- i wanted to know if you knew what they were? im welcome to any new insects in my enclosure, but id like to know what they were. thank you! 🐌🪱🐜🐛🪰🪲
Depending on number of millipedes and volume of substrate, I recommend changing the substrate every 3-6 months. I would definitely add springtails, but not necessarily isopods.
Hi! I'm not sure if you still reply to these or not, but I have a narceus americanus pair I've been trying to breed. I'm pretty sure i have eggs, but as it's shown, you can't particularly tell until they show up! However, last night when I went to check on them, there was a very small, cinnamon-roll shaped creature, sat under one of the hides. I have no clue if it was a baby or not, because it didn't seem to be that light color, or that c-shaped thing as you stated, but instead a darker 'shell', and had a tight coil (it almost looked like a snail shell from the top) I did reluctantly pick it up and look on the bottom of it, and it's not the same on the bottom so it couldn't be a snail of any sort, and so I put it in a deli cup to make sure it's still safe and secure and I'm treating it as if it's a baby millipede just to be sure. Do you have any idea what it could be? I know it's not much without pictures, but I did my best to describe. I've had no help figuring out what it is anywhere else.
Sounds like it could very well be a millipede, it it might be a juliid millipede that is adult at a small size, depending on how long it is and how many legs it has at that size. It is not uncommon for juliid millipedes to come in to setups of other millipedes on rotted wood, with leaf litter, or other collected items.
If I buy 1 breeding pair of Ivory millipedes, is a 30x30x40cm enclosure filled with 14cm of substrate good foor breeding them? What age/size do the small pedes become fertile?
@@Aquarimax im new to this hobby of keeping millies and isopods. And im watching all of your videos about them. Thankyou so much. And i'd like to know if this substrate works well for them? This video was already 2years ago and can i have a suggestions from you 😊❤ btw. Thankyou so much.
Great video. Do you see the egg shell disappearing from the substrate over time? I've been using cuttlebone. But, if I could use eggshells, that would save me a trip to the pet store :) Thanks, Wally
Supreme Gecko It’s hard to say if I can actually tell if it disappears...I think it does...but it seems to be working so far. I have used cuttlebone too, and reptile calcium powder. It’s easy to see the latter disappear.
I used to H@TE millipedes. Growing up, I was told they were "venomous if touched." And that statement is not true. But I grew up most of my life believing that. Only now that I'm getting into isopods, am I kind of able to look at them differently. So thank you!
I love millipedes! I'd very much like to own some! I live in the States, (not sure if you do too), and I have no idea how to get them other than finding them randomly in my yard. (Millipedes are hard to find here even in less populated wooded areas).
Wingedcat Person I can’t find anything but tiny millipedes in my area, but they are readily available online. peter at bugsincyberspace always has several species available. 😊👍
Hi rus i hope u read this do u ever breed pill millipede if u not plis make vidio about it I so confuse how to make different male and female Sorry for my english im not to good at it
My isopods and my millipedes can stay more than 6 months without maintenance. I have aeration but the coconut fiber stays wet. I divided my substrate, a wet part and a dry part. Large species can live with all the species of dwarf isopods in my cultures?
One of the attractions of both Isopods and millipedes is that they can live with little maintenance. I have found that to be true as well, although I have also found that they become much more productive if I offer simple maintenance several times a week. I have heard of people keeping dwarf isopods with large millipedes successfully, but I have also heard of freshly molted millipedes being eaten that way...although I am not sure if they were dwarf isopods. 👍
@@Aquarimax Thank you for the reply. Thus in my case I think I do not need them as I am raising some millepeds found in central Italy (probably Pachyjulus oenologus)
Victor G It depends on the species, but abg by design contains a lot of organica that break down extremely slowly, and thus are not accessible to the millipedes. I would recommend organic compost instead.
Hi,I'm curious if springtails or isopods would help by having them in the millipedes tank.I'm about to buy a rainbow millipedes pair and I wanted to make the enclousure sooner and thought about adding springtails to prevent fungus.Thanks & love your videos, really helped me up.Keep going ! Edit: Rewatched more closely and I saw springs with the millipedes, so I guess they will be helpfull
wMgabi glad you enjoy my videos!! Springtails are a good addition 👍 isopods can sometimes eat molting millipedes, so I recommend against them as millipede enclosure-mates.
My interest is in millicompost, I'm looking for good species and systems to use for using millipedes in the use of soil creation. I would prefure species native to Southern Washington State, would you happen to have any recommendations?
I am not very familiar with the species in your area, but I wish you good luck with your project. Millicomposting with local species seems like a good way to go!
@@Aquarimax I understand, thank you for your time & the video. I've been rasing Red Wigglers in fungal compost for the last few years, but I'm looking to switch from vermiculture to myripoda. With the worms being non natives and potential invasives, and research on millicompost showing it's higher quality it seems to me to be both the right thing in terms of ethics & in terms of soil quality.
I'd just go out into the woods nearby, find a rotten log, and tear it to pieces. Grab any pieces without ants, and chuck 'em in a bucket. A couple buckets full of that stuff mixed into your bin will start a whole colony of native composters. If you want to check for millipedes, go at night after a rain and they'll be feckin EVERYWHERE on those rotten logs
Selwyn Rodda Thanks! Generally l, most millipedes’ humidity and substrate moisture level needs are met by making air the substrate feels d’amo to the touch but doesn’t drop when you squeeze it. Temperatures generally between 72 and 80 F are suitable.
Hi I loved your video and got the supplies to do this for my millies. But I was told on the Facebook millipede group that “If you haven't fermented the hardwood pellets they're useless as millipedes can't digest cellulose or lignan” Is this true? Please help, I have millies awaiting new substrate and would love your input on this
The wood pellets are not nutritious until they have fermented, that is true. With some of the easier millipedes species, especially if you already have someproperly decayed wood in the enclosure, this just means you have a time release food item, but for some other species , it is vital to have flake soil (fermented wood pellets)
Any tips on your favorite place to purchase Ivory or bumble bee millipedes? It looks like Bugs and Cyberspace has both. Also, do you think I would be able to keep them together? It's be my first time keeping millipedes (I only have kept blue death feigning beetles so far). I know you've said Ivory millipedes are a good place to start for a beginner but what about the bumble bees? (I just think both of them are so beautiful!) Any advice for a first timer would be appreciated! (and feel free to direct me to any of your previous videos that you think might be helpful for me). Thank you!!!
macarmenadoree Bugsincyberspace is a great place to get them. Some of my ivories are from there. Bumblebees are just as easy, as long as you can keep them a little on the warm side...between 72 and 78 F. Here is my basic care video on ivories: ua-cam.com/video/5uSYmGMiKWc/v-deo.html
I have a pair of North American Millipedes that I recently collection and I'm pretty sure on of them laid eggs (giant pile of pellets in the same spot in the enclosure). How long would you guess before the little ones emerge from these casings?
Though I hate to be the bearer of ambiguous news, they may just be millipede frass. If you do have millipede eggs, I am not exactly sure how lon that species takes to hatch, but you can start keeping an eye out in about two months.
Aland Gomez Great questions! 1. Dechlorinated water is better for a healthier bacterial populatioje substrate, and it is unclear whether chlorinated water hurts millipedes or not, so it is for safety. 2. I heat-treat the leaves for about 30 minutes at 200 F. 3. Although some people have used them as a cleanup crew. I do not. I feel that in many cases, millipede toxins could harm the other inhabitants of the enclosure, and the millipedes could also be harmed.
Suggestion for cheap/free DIY (small or medium) water bowl for millipedes? (bumblebee) I don't feel like using a lot of hot glue on styro-foam cup again.
@@Aquarimax I thought I heard you or someone else, say that they may not breed without a water dish. I've only heard 1 person say it 1 time. I went ahead and coated the inside of the bottom of my styrofoam cup with hot glue and it now holds water. I'm wanting my bumblebee and rusty reds to breed.
@@FusionDeveloper interesting. I have bred several species of millipedes without a water dish. I’m not saying a water dish is necessarily bad (as long as they can’t drown), but mine haven’t needed one.
What species are suitable for feeding to reptiles? I'm asking because i want to use them in bioactive vivariums. Once without noxious tastes or toxins?
Tristan Simpson While a few reptiles (such as certain monitor lizards) have techniques for removing the toxins from millipedes, I don’t know of any species I would recommend as feeders. Most, if not all, produce some sort of noxious fluid when threatened.
I brought some of my garden plants in from outside over summer and I noticed a few millipedes and centipedes in them. I like millipedes and had wondered if my native NY state millis would do well in captivity. However I had not separated them until a week ago. For years I had forgotten about them in my plants until I went to repot and there were tons of millipedes. When the leaves fall off my plants I tend to leave them there to rot cause I did sprinkle isopods and springtails around my plants to help with fungus and compete with the fungus gnats in my house. Apparrently the millipedes had plenty to eat in my pots and the population exploded. (This worked really well btw I have almost no fungus gnats anymore) So yeah depending on where you live some garden millipedes should breed readily following the keep moist and same compost bedding he's using. My thing is the chance for giving your pets a parasite you might not have seen or a disease from outside creatures is high if you start keeping and using native millipededs or isopods in bioactive tanks. I did take that risk and put millis with my retired very old corn snake and he hasn't been troubled. They are now everywhere in his tank doing a good job along with the isopods and springtails. I wish there was a way for me to know if they were safe for my other tanks. The ones I've had indoors in plant pots now for like two-three years I mean not taking more from outside.
i found millipedes near my house so i just use the dirt there and they've been breeding and i pretty much do nothing the water is good everything seems very easy and i'm from cali idk what species i have here they're all brownish
Did anyone had cases of dwarf isopods (or any isos for tgst matter) eating millipedes' babies? I noticed one time thst they were fighting over shiny small object where couple of days ago i saw a millipede's baby, so im wondering... Maybe reason that i dont get any reproduction of mills is because of isos...
Though I obviously had some success using the methods described in this video, please keep in mind that this video is OLD and that much better information for breeding and husbandry of millipedes is now available. Here is a much more recent video collaboration on millipedes with Kevin Nasser:
ua-cam.com/users/live5gLfqvNXSYk?feature=share
Are you saying that YOU have an updat3ed video or just in general?
The video linked in the comment is my video, with a millipede specialist as a guest
If I turned into a bug, I'd try crawling to your place.
The Poke'Saurus 😂👍 I love it!
😄😄
same
Insect rizz
You are the Bob Ross of the insect world😆
JustAnotherInsectNerd 😆👍 Is it the beard? My voice? Both? I know it’s not the hair...
@@Aquarimax Bob Rus
@@Kuwagattai 😆👍
Just use this universal rule....
Chicks are thick.
Boys are toys
*_THICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC_*
Just found out my millipede laid eggs today!! I was not planning on breeding but I guess the 2 millipedes i got were a male female pair (what luck huh). Thanks for this vid!!
You read my mind and made a millipede video and it was really, really good.
Ian Brush Thank you Ian! I am glad you liked it!
I have an aquarium I use for photographing small creatures I find around the property. The latest being millipedes. I have been putting dead leaves and other foods in the tank when I noticed I had quite a few tiny little white worm looking critters feasting on a leaf, to my surprise, I had baby millipedes! I've never seen such tiny animals with so many legs, I'm very happy knowing they don't need shoes.😂
One of the best ideas I’ve seen on how to care for millipedes he did a quick run down with every topic which is awesome I don’t really like when people take 5 mins on each topic job well done thanks I’ve subscribed 😁
Great upload.
You have a really great talking voice, makes listening so easy.
Pan's Central Express Thank you! I am glad to hear that. 👍
I found an injured orange flat-backed millipede in my garden, so I took it in and gave it a nice safe habitat. I figured it was lonely, so the next one I saw went in the enclosure too. Within an hour of being placed together they had mated, and I just found eggs under a piece of their bark lmao
Yeah I just need a millipede care guide since the ones arround my apt building (in nebraska) are apparently suicidal so I have to save like 6+ from the pool every day
As a child I became aware of them and they are pleasant to see and touch. Thank you for the video, I enjoyed it.
I have my Gigas millies in a multi species set up with GALS, spring tails, earth worms, isopods and ants. I don't change the substrate, I just add more in when needed.
Gemma Kathleen sounds like quite an ecosystem! It may take a long to an me before the substrate is exhausted if you keep adding more 👍
@@Aquarimax it's been running 4 years andfor 3 of those I've not needed to change the substrate.
I do mix it up once a month to loosen it, aerate it and mix in new substrate.
I took a couple of cups of soil from my garden with worms etc in it and that made all the difference!
Before I put that in 3 years ago it needed changing which was a hassle and a half!
I also collect wild twigs and sticks covered in moss and lichen etc. In the autumn fungi spring up in the tank and the snails loooove them.
Gemma Kathleen ah, mixing in new substrate will definitely extend the life of the substrate you use. It sounds like yours is very bioactive as well. 👍
Your old videos keep showing up and it seems to be what I needed to know lol 😆 great video
Awesome, informative video. My daughter caught one in the garden, now she wants it as a pet.
Been wanting to get a millipede for a long while. Remember my grandma and I saw the large African species as a little girl at a science event. They let me hold them with my grandma and it was amazing. Its an amazing memory I have of my grandma and would love to get some to both remember her by and enjoy them.
You should definitely get into millipedes for both of those reasons!
@@Aquarimax :-D Will do
lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovethis. thanks so much!!!
I started breeding millipedes for experimenting with their castings. Read they're just as fantastic as worm castings.
I have heard something similar!
Only problem I’ve found is that they’re hydrophobic! Isopods are even worse!
You can mix it into some soil and it works ok but not always easy to mix in. Still nutritious for plants but having them in your plants soil in pots can really be rough on some plants
super informative video Rus! Thanks a ton for sharing so much of your experience and knowledge...that set-up behind you in the video is super nice. Enjoy your weekend!
thank you! very informative, your videos are always such high quality. one question: is it safe to keep multiple species of millipedes in one enclosure? Also, how much should I be worrying about mold? Their fecal pellets seem to get moldy quite quickly, but a good majority of their waste is in the substrate, making it hard to remove... Should I worry?
Mason Vaughan Thank you! You can often keep several species of millipede together, although it is not ideal if you want to breed them. Do you have springtails with them? They will be a great help controlling the mold. Large fuzzy patches of mol can be cause for concern, but a little on their fecal pellets is not quite as serious.
your videos are good and I learn a lot form them.
So much good info on your channel! Glad to have stumbled on it. Funny that you sound almost exactly like Peter from BIC. :)
Gwyntomology Thank you! I never realized that, but I can recognize a similarity now that you mention it...😊👍
Very informative. Thank you.
I just collected about 23 adult and 3 baby bumblebee millipedes from a park here in central Florida! I got very lucky because I’ve agates washed a colony of them but I can’t see paying ten and fifteen dollars for such a small millipede… so I also scooped up what I thought was a land planeria and I tossed it in the container with the millipedes… I also collected lots of substrate and leaf litter from exactly where they were all piled up… once I got home and started to get the enclosure ready I saw the “land planeria” and I looked closer and saw a tongue flick!! It’s a Bimini blind snake!! They are all females so they have babies that are basically clones of the mother… I’m sure she was there to feast on freshly hatched millipede “larva “ since they eat termites and ants eggs and larvae but there were no ants or termites around! I’m hoping that it will eat the micro baby earth worms I put with it and if not I’m going to throw some of my panda king isopods in with it so maybe it can eat fresh born baby isopods… all my other species are too big other than my dwarf whites which I have less of than I do panda kings. I’d love to see a video on Bimini blind snakes since there’s more than I thought online about keeping them as pets I even found them for sale online! They were about $30 for medium sized ones plus $45 shipping… funny enough they said you can request males and females but no guaranties…. There are no males!!! 😅 I was looking for unicorn snails when I found all the millipedes and the snake… very cool finds today!! But what topped it all off was when I got home tonight and sat on my porch a giant black bear walked right up to the porch behind me! He then walked through my front yard and across the road into my neighbors and then he did a little hopping trot and he disappeared onto the back of her side yard then I heard a bunch of crashing noises from him going back into the woods where it’s very thick lol he made his own trail! We are always on the news for our bears but this is the closest I’ve ever had one get to me since I’ve lived in this neighborhood… all of this on my sons ninth birthday! Really nifty! Figured I’d share!! What would you (anyone with experience) say is a bumblebee millipedes favorite food that you can give them? And I also have two reddish brownish millipedes I caught awhile back armor the same size as the bumblebee’s any idea what kind they are ? All are caught in central Florida… I put those two in with the bumblebee’s… wonder if they can crossbreed 🤔
I love millipedes! I had a small one i found in our yard, and kept him/her? for a while. Oddly enough, i absolutely HATE centipedes, i don't know what it is about them, they're just, gross. Anyway, keep up the great husbandry and videos, they've helped a lot!
Doodle dude Thank you, I am glad you enjoy my videos! 😊👍
Thank you for the amazing videos you inspired me to keep millipedes, they are very happy thanks for all your help!
Moombuhs Delighted to know that my videos have helped you keep these remarkable creatures successfully! 😊👍
Never kept millipedes before, but I'm interested. How fast do they breed? Do I need to worry about overpopulation, or do they usually self-regulate? I'd like a stable population, but I don't want to end up with more millipedes than I can handle!
yess, i loved that. 'don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.' excellent.
farley pants 🤣👍
I was going to get pill bugs because I wanted a bug pet but when I going to get decor for my pill bugs, I saw a millipede nearby my washing and immediately, I changed my mind and had the millipede as my pet. I watched another video of telling the gender of a millipede but there was only one way, so I then watched this video on breeding millipedes and there was a lot of help. Thank u so much. ;D. P.S I wanted to breed also
I just have two and didn't know they were a breeding couple and I picked up some cucumber and than saw some babies
Quandos são filhotes de que tamanho eles ficam ??????
depende da espécie, mas geralmente não mais do que alguns milímetros
Great vid Russ! Will you ever keep Narceus americanus?
Roach Ant Thank you! I may well keep them someday 👍
Thanks for the great vid!
I do have a small question. How do you Sterilize/or not your eggshells? Also do you take eggshell's membrane? And do you add wood pieces into the substrate or just leaving on the top of the substrate?
I usually heat eggshells in the oven for an hour or so at 200 F. I leave the membrane on.
I do both with wood pieces. Recently I have started using flake soil-based substrate, which is excellent for millipedes.
Thank you!
I appreciate that~
Flake soil seems interesting and nice, hope you can cover this topic on a vid soon! Keep up great work.
Learnt alot 🙂. Thx!. Btw, do they affect the small plants growing near them?Or do they benefit them?
6:08 you will see an instant transmission technique of a super saiyan
I recently were "gifted " Some Ivory and Pink leg millipedes someone had purchased on a whim at a reptile show. I am pretty sure they were wild caught. When I got them, they were very lethargic and not moving a whole lot. I set them up like my red and bumblebee millipedes but they have slowly died off. I am wondering about moisture and temperature levels, I feel bad they did not make it but they were such impressive animals, I am thinking of purchasing some captive born specimens. I have a good substrate that is working well with all of my isopods and the two species of millipede I do have. Before I acquire these I want to insure that they are set up properly in regards to temp and moisture. My lab at the University is at 77-79 degrees, humidity is about 50%. However I kept them on a bottom shelf that is a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of my enclosures. I am concerned that maybe the enclosures were not wet enough. I do put sphagnum moss in one end of the enclosure that is wetter and light spraying on the surface. I also made sure that the substrate was deeper than the millipedes were long. I autoclave all of my leaves moss and small sticks before putting them into the enclosures, I also have a healthy number of springtails. They were so lethargic that I tried putting their tails in a shallow flat dish of water to maybe help hydrate them as I read that many millipede species can absorb water from their tail region. Any suggestions please?
Generally speaking, captive -bred millipedes will do much better for you than wild caught, so that should help a lot from the start. Millipedes will do poorly if the substrate is too damp…just make sure that you can feel some moisture when you squeezable handful, without being able to wring a droplet out of it.
Most my male millipedes were removed from the aquarium; however, they get to visit their babies on Wednesday and every other weekend.
Thunderstorm V2.0 Frink You will probably end up with more babies in the future then 👍
Aquarimax Pets You’d think so, but my female millipedes are pro-choice, so they’re ripping out the babies from each other’s womb, eating the fetuses, then high-5 each other. I think my millipedes might be sick. :)
Brilliant video Rus. Really good info and inspiration for everyone.
Thank you MIck! 👍
Dear sir
If I want to sell milipedes.
How can i do this ???
Me: *doesnt own a single pet*
UA-cam: hey, you wanna learn to breed millipedes?
Johnny Waffles 🤣 The algorithm is a funny thing.
@@Aquarimax interesting video though. Glad I watched it
what if you have too many and dont have enough space for them?
About how long would you estimate it takes for Baby millipedes to grow to a more independent or juvenile size?
If the leaves break up they give good stuff to the soil I think
hello, ive got a question, idk if you’ll respond, but i have a millipede enclosure of ‘pedes found in my local area (wisconsin). recently i put some leaves from a park inside, and i noticed those tiny white bugs crawling around, just like the ones that were with your baby millipedes. theres a bunch of them- i wanted to know if you knew what they were? im welcome to any new insects in my enclosure, but id like to know what they were. thank you! 🐌🪱🐜🐛🪰🪲
The ones I have are springtails, and they are beneficial as a cleanup crew with millipedes 👍🏼
Thank you Aquarimax Pets, very cool.
Michael Seale Thank you!
The subscribe fish gets me every time.
🤣
Also, how often would you suggest you change the substrate generally? And do you suggest having springtails and other isopods added?
Depending on number of millipedes and volume of substrate, I recommend changing the substrate every 3-6 months. I would definitely add springtails, but not necessarily isopods.
@@Aquarimax Appreciate the feedback! Very helpful :-)
Do you think worm castings could be used in place of the organic compost? Also what is the ideal temperature for Ivory millipedes?
Quite possibly, if there are enough of the other ingredients. Temps in the mid 70s should be great.
@@Aquarimax Thanks Russ!
What is the benefits by keeping or breeding this insects. Please specify
firoz alam basically just because they are interesting. Unlike isopods, they are not good feeders and generally not great as a cleanup crew either.
what kind of millipedes are these? especially the kind with a lot of white.
You are probably referring to ivory millipedes…one of my favorites!
Yes, the Chicobolus spinigerus IVORY MILLIPEDES. They look really great. Unfortunately, you can't buy them here in Germany.
@@Phantomas1974 I wish you could !
Hi! I'm not sure if you still reply to these or not, but I have a narceus americanus pair I've been trying to breed. I'm pretty sure i have eggs, but as it's shown, you can't particularly tell until they show up! However, last night when I went to check on them, there was a very small, cinnamon-roll shaped creature, sat under one of the hides. I have no clue if it was a baby or not, because it didn't seem to be that light color, or that c-shaped thing as you stated, but instead a darker 'shell', and had a tight coil (it almost looked like a snail shell from the top) I did reluctantly pick it up and look on the bottom of it, and it's not the same on the bottom so it couldn't be a snail of any sort, and so I put it in a deli cup to make sure it's still safe and secure and I'm treating it as if it's a baby millipede just to be sure. Do you have any idea what it could be? I know it's not much without pictures, but I did my best to describe.
I've had no help figuring out what it is anywhere else.
Oh, and just to mention this to be certain about this, I did put some of the millipede substrate in the cup, I didn't just leave it alone in the cup!
Sounds like it could very well be a millipede, it it might be a juliid millipede that is adult at a small size, depending on how long it is and how many legs it has at that size. It is not uncommon for juliid millipedes to come in to setups of other millipedes on rotted wood, with leaf litter, or other collected items.
@@Aquarimax Interesting. I'll keep an eye on it, thank you!
If I buy 1 breeding pair of Ivory millipedes, is a 30x30x40cm enclosure filled with 14cm of substrate good foor breeding them? What age/size do the small pedes become fertile?
You could breed some in there. I am not sure exactly when they become fertile, but I have had females about 2.5 to 3 inches reproduce.
Is raw sawdust edible for them? Thankyou 😊
Raw sawdust is not really nutritious or digestible for them, the lignins need to decompose. 👍🏼
@@Aquarimax im new to this hobby of keeping millies and isopods. And im watching all of your videos about them. Thankyou so much. And i'd like to know if this substrate works well for them? This video was already 2years ago and can i have a suggestions from you 😊❤ btw. Thankyou so much.
What are the tiny bugs crawling around in your substrate and are those safe to have with your millipedes?
Steve Robey those are springtails, and they help keep the millipede enclosure clean 👍
Great video. Do you see the egg shell disappearing from the substrate over time? I've been using cuttlebone. But, if I could use eggshells, that would save me a trip to the pet store :) Thanks, Wally
Supreme Gecko It’s hard to say if I can actually tell if it disappears...I think it does...but it seems to be working so far. I have used cuttlebone too, and reptile calcium powder. It’s easy to see the latter disappear.
I used to H@TE millipedes. Growing up, I was told they were "venomous if touched." And that statement is not true. But I grew up most of my life believing that. Only now that I'm getting into isopods, am I kind of able to look at them differently. So thank you!
Right! Many millipedes have a poison, which varies greatly in severity, but not a venom. Glad to see that you connection to isopods is helping!
Would a hydration station be beneficial for millipedes, or would they bulldoze the sphagnum into the rest of the substrate?
I find that they use it less due to burrowing, and they do tend to bury it over time. That said, it does not harm to offer one
I love millipedes! I'd very much like to own some! I live in the States, (not sure if you do too), and I have no idea how to get them other than finding them randomly in my yard. (Millipedes are hard to find here even in less populated wooded areas).
Wingedcat Person I can’t find anything but tiny millipedes in my area, but they are readily available online. peter at bugsincyberspace always has several species available. 😊👍
Hi rus i hope u read this do u ever breed pill millipede if u not plis make vidio about it
I so confuse how to make different male and female
Sorry for my english im not to good at it
Hi! I have never had the opportunity to work with pill millipedes. Maybe someday!
I wanna have a millipede and its name will be "Mr. Walker" 🥰
Hahaha
???
@@toffeenotdog because he walks with his many legs.
What was the species at 0:09 with the bright yellow legs? Looked so cool!
Those are flameleg millipedes, Trigoniulus macropygus. One of my favorites!
My isopods and my millipedes can stay more than 6 months without maintenance. I have aeration but the coconut fiber stays wet. I divided my substrate, a wet part and a dry part.
Large species can live with all the species of dwarf isopods in my cultures?
One of the attractions of both Isopods and millipedes is that they can live with little maintenance. I have found that to be true as well, although I have also found that they become much more productive if I offer simple maintenance several times a week. I have heard of people keeping dwarf isopods with large millipedes successfully, but I have also heard of freshly molted millipedes being eaten that way...although I am not sure if they were dwarf isopods. 👍
Thanks foe the video. What about light and heat? Do millepedes need those?
Millipedes tend to hide from light, and room temps are fine for most. Some tropical millipedes benefit from being kept at 72 F or a little above
@@Aquarimax Thank you for the reply. Thus in my case I think I do not need them as I am raising some millepeds found in central Italy (probably Pachyjulus oenologus)
Can I feed my millipedes oranges or lettuce?
They will eat a lot of fruit and veggies, just make sure that they have plenty of nutritious substrate.
Good video, Rus!
Critter Girl Thanks Critter Girl!
Would a organic abg soil with some wood and leaves be ok?
Victor G It depends on the species, but abg by design contains a lot of organica that break down extremely slowly, and thus are not accessible to the millipedes. I would recommend organic compost instead.
Can I use repti-calcium to mix into their substrate?
Average T Keeper I do sell supplies for them 👍 You could probably use repti-calcium as your calcium source in the substrate.
how to know if millipedes are gravid?
what species of melliepieds i can keep together? (the most and the biggest) and i am sorry for my english im not native speaker
Is it harmful to place newly fallen leaves in the enclosure? Wanted to add color.
not the OP, but as long as you bake them to remove pests and germs I would think itd be ok.
Hi,I'm curious if springtails or isopods would help by having them in the millipedes tank.I'm about to buy a rainbow millipedes pair and I wanted to make the enclousure sooner and thought about adding springtails to prevent fungus.Thanks & love your videos, really helped me up.Keep going ! Edit: Rewatched more closely and I saw springs with the millipedes, so I guess they will be helpfull
wMgabi glad you enjoy my videos!! Springtails are a good addition 👍 isopods can sometimes eat molting millipedes, so I recommend against them as millipede enclosure-mates.
@@Aquarimax Yeah they also kinda eat the same stuff so they compete for the food.I'll just use isopods, thanks !
wMgabi I think you mean springtails, right?
@@Aquarimax Yeah mb I meant springtails.
wMgabi All good! 👍
My interest is in millicompost, I'm looking for good species and systems to use for using millipedes in the use of soil creation.
I would prefure species native to Southern Washington State, would you happen to have any recommendations?
I am not very familiar with the species in your area, but I wish you good luck with your project. Millicomposting with local species seems like a good way to go!
@@Aquarimax
I understand, thank you for your time & the video.
I've been rasing Red Wigglers in fungal compost for the last few years, but I'm looking to switch from vermiculture to myripoda.
With the worms being non natives and potential invasives, and research on millicompost showing it's higher quality it seems to me to be both the right thing in terms of ethics & in terms of soil quality.
I'd just go out into the woods nearby, find a rotten log, and tear it to pieces. Grab any pieces without ants, and chuck 'em in a bucket. A couple buckets full of that stuff mixed into your bin will start a whole colony of native composters. If you want to check for millipedes, go at night after a rain and they'll be feckin EVERYWHERE on those rotten logs
Some more info about substrate moisture levels, temp, humidity, would be appreciated. Otherwise, good vid!
Selwyn Rodda Thanks! Generally l, most millipedes’ humidity and substrate moisture level needs are met by making air the substrate feels d’amo to the touch but doesn’t drop when you squeeze it. Temperatures generally between 72 and 80 F are suitable.
@@Aquarimax Thanks Rus. Much appreciated!
will cucumber work???
They will certainly eat cucumber, though I would recommend offering other foods as well 👍🏼
Hi I loved your video and got the supplies to do this for my millies. But I was told on the Facebook millipede group that “If you haven't fermented the hardwood pellets they're useless as millipedes can't digest cellulose or lignan”
Is this true? Please help, I have millies awaiting new substrate and would love your input on this
The wood pellets are not nutritious until they have fermented, that is true. With some of the easier millipedes species, especially if you already have someproperly decayed wood in the enclosure, this just means you have a time release food item, but for some other species , it is vital to have flake soil (fermented wood pellets)
Could you use mesquite wood pellets?
I haven’t tried those, I am not sure.
Thank you sir it was very helpful
Temjen Ozukum glad to hear that!
Any tips on your favorite place to purchase Ivory or bumble bee millipedes? It looks like Bugs and Cyberspace has both. Also, do you think I would be able to keep them together? It's be my first time keeping millipedes (I only have kept blue death feigning beetles so far). I know you've said Ivory millipedes are a good place to start for a beginner but what about the bumble bees? (I just think both of them are so beautiful!) Any advice for a first timer would be appreciated! (and feel free to direct me to any of your previous videos that you think might be helpful for me). Thank you!!!
macarmenadoree Bugsincyberspace is a great place to get them. Some of my ivories are from there. Bumblebees are just as easy, as long as you can keep them a little on the warm side...between 72 and 78 F. Here is my basic care video on ivories: ua-cam.com/video/5uSYmGMiKWc/v-deo.html
@@Aquarimax Thank you so much!!!!
Do ivories and bumblebees do well in shared enclosures? I have a couple ivories and I plan on getting some bumblebees soon. Thank You.
Did u ever breed narceus gordanus(smokey oak millipedes)? im thinking starting a colony. Awsome vid man:)
infamous420 hip hop Thank you for watching! I haven’t kept that species, at least not yet. 👍
Does this also go for breed giant African millipedes?
Sturdy diamond 67 sort of. The same tactics apply, but the success rate is lower.
Have you breed smokey oak millipedes or pink foot millipedes?
I haven”t bred either of those...yet.
I have a pair of North American Millipedes that I recently collection and I'm pretty sure on of them laid eggs (giant pile of pellets in the same spot in the enclosure). How long would you guess before the little ones emerge from these casings?
Though I hate to be the bearer of ambiguous news, they may just be millipede frass. If you do have millipede eggs, I am not exactly sure how lon that species takes to hatch, but you can start keeping an eye out in about two months.
are pelmatojulus linguatus a first choice species???
rafael gutierrez carrasco That is not a species I have worked with, so I am not sure...Anyone with experience with this species care to chime in?
@@Aquarimax thanks, allso is ligulatus not linguatus sorry
I got a couple of questions if you could answer
1. Why dechlorinated water
2. Do you sanitize the leaves
3. Are millipedes used as a clean up crew
Thx
Aland Gomez Great questions!
1. Dechlorinated water is better for a healthier bacterial populatioje substrate, and it is unclear whether chlorinated water hurts millipedes or not, so it is for safety.
2. I heat-treat the leaves for about 30 minutes at 200 F.
3. Although some people have used them as a cleanup crew. I do not. I feel that in many cases, millipede toxins could harm the other inhabitants of the enclosure, and the millipedes could also be harmed.
@@Aquarimax I see. I hope to get my tanks going soon so your info is much appreciated. Thx for the response.
Suggestion for cheap/free DIY (small or medium) water bowl for millipedes? (bumblebee)
I don't feel like using a lot of hot glue on styro-foam cup again.
To be honest, I don’t provide a water dish to my millipedes. If the substrate is properly hydrated, they do well without one.
@@Aquarimax I thought I heard you or someone else, say that they may not breed without a water dish.
I've only heard 1 person say it 1 time.
I went ahead and coated the inside of the bottom of my styrofoam cup with hot glue and it now holds water.
I'm wanting my bumblebee and rusty reds to breed.
@@FusionDeveloper interesting. I have bred several species of millipedes without a water dish. I’m not saying a water dish is necessarily bad (as long as they can’t drown), but mine haven’t needed one.
How often should I change the substrate? Every month alright?
Lane Hansen generally, less often is actually better. I shoot for every 3-6 months.
@@Aquarimax thank you!!
Do ivories and bumblebees do well in shared enclosures? I have a couple ivories and I plan on getting some bumblebees soon. Thank You.
The Anime Fanbase individuals could probably coexist, but as they breed over time, one species will probably outcompete the other.
@@Aquarimax Thanks for the info!
Would wood shaving aspens or oak sawdust work if I have to substitute for oak leaves?
Kenneth Reyes Those are good additions, but you’d still need some leaves, though not necessarily oak.
What species are suitable for feeding to reptiles? I'm asking because i want to use them in bioactive vivariums. Once without noxious tastes or toxins?
Tristan Simpson While a few reptiles (such as certain monitor lizards) have techniques for removing the toxins from millipedes, I don’t know of any species I would recommend as feeders. Most, if not all, produce some sort of noxious fluid when threatened.
What other types of millipede as well as ivory ones dont burrow. much and where can I buy them im in Ohio.
One issue I had was compost mites, they are horrible things and get everywhere.
How about breeding garden millipedes?
B It depends on the species, but many common garden species will breed if kept as described in this video.
I brought some of my garden plants in from outside over summer and I noticed a few millipedes and centipedes in them. I like millipedes and had wondered if my native NY state millis would do well in captivity. However I had not separated them until a week ago. For years I had forgotten about them in my plants until I went to repot and there were tons of millipedes. When the leaves fall off my plants I tend to leave them there to rot cause I did sprinkle isopods and springtails around my plants to help with fungus and compete with the fungus gnats in my house. Apparrently the millipedes had plenty to eat in my pots and the population exploded. (This worked really well btw I have almost no fungus gnats anymore) So yeah depending on where you live some garden millipedes should breed readily following the keep moist and same compost bedding he's using. My thing is the chance for giving your pets a parasite you might not have seen or a disease from outside creatures is high if you start keeping and using native millipededs or isopods in bioactive tanks. I did take that risk and put millis with my retired very old corn snake and he hasn't been troubled. They are now everywhere in his tank doing a good job along with the isopods and springtails. I wish there was a way for me to know if they were safe for my other tanks. The ones I've had indoors in plant pots now for like two-three years I mean not taking more from outside.
How can I breed fewer of these? I have way too many in my garden in the summer. :(
Vivian Tristesse do you find they damage your garden plants?
@@Aquarimax No, not at all. I just feel creeped out by them tremendously. It's selfish, really.
Hi. Would you use this with slaters?
Linden Edwards Hi! Yes, this substrate is what I use for all of my isopods too. 👍
Oooh bumblebee millipede are amazing
Things Happen YT yes they are...super colorful!
Are the little moving things spingtails
I had those get in my house i think from putting soil i used.
Dan Yep, springtails make a great cleanup crew for millipedes. 👍
i found millipedes near my house so i just use the dirt there and they've been breeding and i pretty much do nothing
the water is good
everything seems very easy and i'm from cali idk what species i have here they're all brownish
There are many species in California. What are their maximum sizes?
@@Aquarimax i'm not sure if they are fully grown yet but so far they're about 2 inches in length
maybe i could send you a picture some how
Oh RIP I thought this was a live stream, haha well good vid!
Brandon Smith LOL 😂Thanks!
Would reptile calcium powder work instead of the eggshells?
JustAnotherInsectNerd Yes, I have used reptile calcium too. 👍
How can you tell if they've laid an egg or not?
Norwegian Death that can be difficult for many species. I usually know when I see tiny millipedes.
@@Aquarimax okay! Thank you anyways!
@@Aquarimax one last question. How would you treat a injury on a millipede?
Norwegian Death generally if the injury is minor, the millipede can correct the problem in the next molt or two.
Did anyone had cases of dwarf isopods (or any isos for tgst matter) eating millipedes' babies? I noticed one time thst they were fighting over shiny small object where couple of days ago i saw a millipede's baby, so im wondering... Maybe reason that i dont get any reproduction of mills is because of isos...
i think I've heard of that happening (anecdotal evidence though)