Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Right now I keep my african black millipede in a 20 gallon long tank with half the floor covered in reptibark and the other half with a reptibark/bedabeast mix. Does that sound good? Or should I use something different?

I have a heat mat under the tank. I know the glass gets quite hot but its not overly warm on the bedding surface. Would my millipede be in danger of burns if he were to burrow down too far? Should I put the heater on the side of the tank instead?

And where can I get a cuttlebone? I have no idea what oak leaves look like and i wanted to have a source of citchin.

Thanks for the help.

You can find Cuttlebones basicaly wherever you can find bird feed, which means most pet stores. Cuttlebones are what bird keepers give to thier birds. Just make sure it sais cuttlebone. You can scrape it with a knife over your pede's food.

robtszymanski mentions something in these forums that sounds like a great idea, but I haven't personaly used it since I haven't used a heat mat. I get plenty of heat here. He mentioned that he places the heat mat under just half of the terrarium. This way your millipedes have a variation of temperatures in their terrarium and can move to wherever they feel most comfortable.

I've read there is a problem with the soil drying out from the bottom up if the heat mat is placed underneath the tank. I realy don't know if this is a problem having not used a heat mat myself.

I'm not sure what reptibark or bedabeast is made of, so I realy don't have any thought on that, but if you can find them, there are some pretty apealing ideas shared in these forums as to what other people have been using in their terrarium.

The heating pads in the pet stores, some get hotter than others. In the past, i had a problem with the soil drying out. One could put more gravel in the bottom. Example: instead of 1" layer of gravel maybe 3" gravel, then the soil on top (?) or keep the soil moist all of the time. Don't forget PLANTS! without plants, pedes won't live too long. Even young pedes.. Read some of the messages i posted elsewhere on the millipede fourm and what other's say... There's a lot of good info people give here at the millipede forum! and i'm looking to trade some local millipedes here that get up to 4" long and another local forest species that are more slender but get up to nearly 6" long.. robt

Coconut fiber mixed with rotten wood would make a good base.
A heating pad under the cage can be deadly. Many millipede breeders keep even the exotics as temps down to 60F for long periods (it would seem breeding bins often end up on the basement floor
Chitin is a complex nitrogenous compound with little calcium. Cuttlebone is sold in pet stores, grocery and department stores for pet birds that need calcium for bone growth and egg production.

Elytra and Antenna

Than how should I go about heating my tank? It can get quite cold once the winter hits. Maybe it I made the substrate deeper and put something under the substrate that my millipede wouldnt be abke to burrow through?

How cold?

Around two inches of medium to large aquarium gravel on the bottom should be pretty tough for them to burrow through.