Because bugs aren't just for breakfast anymore...

Millipedes

African giant black millipedes

   These are the famous AGBs. An excellent species for the novice to the advanced. Very easy to care for. Suitable substrate is 6 or more inches of potting soil or peat. Soil should be damp but not wet. Supply a small water dish. Keep the tank covered both for the humidity and the fact that these are notorious escape artists due to the leverage inherent in their large sizes. One the the millipedes in this picture was one foot long when last measured and this is by no means the largest. These seem to prefer cucumber above all else. To provide a more balanced nutrition, we also provide apples, corn, and wet cat food from time to time. Previously this section included information on calcium supplementation, but recent evidence indicates that even the exoskeleton in isolation is typically only 9% calcium, needs which can easily be met within the constraints of a vegetable diet . Mating is a beautiful affair with the male and female coiling and raising the front part of their bodies, much like the classic pose of a cobra. They then entwine the front parts of their bodies around each other and mating can continue for hours until transfer of the sperm packet is achieved. The female builds are compact ball of substrate and actually takes it into her rectum to extract excess water. It is then expelled. These can be distinguished from actual fecal pellets by the precise roundness, like a seed. Many failed attempts to breed these easy breeders are due to the eggs mistakenly being discarded. If your goal is to breed these, do not change the substrate unless absolutely necessary. The young millipede typically passes through more than one stage of development within the pellet before emerging. Ours are currently producing many young.

   Orthoporus ornatus, the Sonoran Desert millipede, can be brown and yellow banded, as with specimens from New Mexico, or solid chocolate, as with many from Arizona. This species is fairly large, sometimes up to 7 inches. Color varies from brown and reddish brown to orange brown. These often come out several minutes after a monsoon season rain. A deep substrate is very beneficial to them as in the wild they spend very little time on the surface in an attempt to conserve water. It has been suggested that a winter cooling off period may be beneficial, but no research has been done to confirm this need in captivity. Our ornatus appear to breed as readily as our African Giant Blacks. Reports are that young may be especially slow to mature. It may be worthwhile to isolate young of various sizes and log their development to increase knowledge in this area.

    This is a fire millipede. Maximum size appears to be about four or five inches, but ours have not stopped growing yet. We keep ours on a moist substrate of soil mixed with leaf litter and well rotted wood and supplement with apple and cucumber.

    This is a Vietnamese rainbow millipede. We care for them in much the same way as the fire millipedes. These have been reported by many keepers as being difficult, and our experience has been the same. We have never seen one larger than four inches and it is possible that many specimens being imported are simply dying of old age. However. recent evidence shows that, like the pill pedes, successful culture may hinge upon a cooler temperature range.

Pill Millipedes

   Though very similar in appearance to a woodlouse or pill bug, these are in fact millipedes. These come from the Asian rainforests and have been reported to reach a maximum size when rolled up somewhere between a golf ball and a tennis ball. These do quite well for us in the warmer side of the temperature range in very high humidity. We keep ours in what is basically a compost mixture of soil, leaves, and well rotted wood. We have also introduced several  varieties of local fungi to the soil, but these have not been proven to be necessary. There is a lot of confusion as to how to tell a pill bug (wood louse) from a true pill millipede. The easiest method is that the pill millipede has the ability to tucks its head into the 'ball' whereas the pill bug does not. Lately these are becoming more widely available and reasonably priced. However, they remain one of the more challenging species to keep, if not impossible. Central to this may be a need to keep them under cooler conditions. Click Here for a Pill millipede caresheet. Note: since the posting of this care sheet, most of the people apparently successfully keeping this species all experienced massive and complete die offs. We do not recommend this species as long term captives. We cannot in good conscience offer a species for sale when it is apparent to us that the requirements for its care and survival remain unknown. Just our opinion but you might wish to question the wisdom of those who do. The bottom of the caresheet gives an update on the reasons why we feel this way.