My new inverts

[Schlyne]

:DD

I venturned into the world of millipedes today...and now I have a pet box of dirt.

http://img213.exs.cx/img213/5996/trio5rb.jpg
http://img167.exs.cx/img167/4021/milipedelegs5zt.jpg

I bought 1.2 of these guys...I'll probably be overrun down the road.
I was told these are african and kinda like the african giant millipedes. Closest match I've found is Ghana Red Banded.

[cagecrafters]

now I have a pet box of dirt

ROFL.....

That was too funny. Kewl little pedes thou... Good luck with them.

[Schlyne]

Yeah, the stuff I had on hand was too small for the most part, so they went in what used to be the feeding box of death. (Very well scrubbed, and it hasn't been used in a long time).

I was originally told they'd get a lot bigger than 5 to 6", and since there's three of them, the underbed box seemed perfect for adult size..and it was either that or a 10 gallon tank..which is really too small for 3 of these guys. They burrowed into the big underbed box of substrate and have disappeared :P

Pet dirt indeed.

Philip Vosjoli has keep african giant black milipedes in a large community style setup with crested geckos and had bioactive substrate going. I don't like mixing species from different sections of the world as a whole, but if I ever get the large crested gecko cage going with live plants and bioactive substrate I might add a pede or two to that setup. I've had the live plants since I bought the geckos, but the plants don't do well in the cage setup the cresteds are in now.

[liljerzeedevil]

You are so brave. Im getting better with all your "pets" though, they are all to kewl!

[drgrim775]

Cool/Creepy little buggers....what do you feed those guys?

[Kitt]

I agree that millepedes have to be the most boring pet ever, in terms of actually DOING stuff..... Those are some GORGEOUS ones you've got there, though -- love the black and red. And the feel need crawling across your hand :D

[Amelia]

Those definately look neat, I usually just see the giant plain old black ones, I guess we will be getting some inverts soon too, erik now has the bright idea to get into some tarantulas, I have already made a small list of the ones I found that I want (im sure there will be more though), its the pretty and the fuzzy ones that I like so far.

[Schlyne]

If you want to see a really nice huge list of tarantulas, milipedes, centipedes, scorpions..check www.swiftinverts.com (most species have pictures) I haven't bought from him yet, but he has the largest selection of any dealer I've seen. I usually buy my stuff from www.botarby8s.com, simply becuase Charles shows up at Lee's Swap from time to time, and I don't have to pay shipping.

[dubs]

those are wicked cool. where did you get those?

[Schlyne]

I bought those at Lee Watson's Swap in Streamwood IL from one of the regular dealers. I haven't seen millipedes identical to this group for sale on the net, but I did find a caresheet on them on the net. I have no idea what the scientific name is for these guys either, but there are a ton of millipede species out there.

Milipedes will eat fruit, wood. When I put the susbstrate box together I threw in a bag of spaghnum moss which I didn't like since it was full of sticks and bark (I had bought it for humid hides). The milipedes will eat the bark. Aspen shavings are safe for them to eat, so I tossed in some of those. They have 3 baby carrots, but I'm not sure if they're not interested in the carrots, or if they're just stuffing themselves on the rest of the food. Dead leaves work well, but it's the wrong season for that out here. Millipedes have also been seen munching on a dead cricket before.

[DeadIrishD]

Amelia, I am unsure if you looked into them yet, but I'd suggest a chilean rose tarantula G. Rosea I belive is the scientific name.

[Schlyne]

Those definately look neat, I usually just see the giant plain old black ones, I guess we will be getting some inverts soon too, erik now has the bright idea to get into some tarantulas, I have already made a small list of the ones I found that I want (im sure there will be more though), its the pretty and the fuzzy ones that I like so far.

Just about any Brachypelma, Grammostola and probably Aphonopelma species would make a good starter T. Aphonopelma's are probably the slowest growing species out there though. Pink Zebra Beauty (Eupalaestrus campestratus) is also an excellent starter.

If you want a good starter arboreal, Avicularia avicularia is the way to go. Arboreal's aren't really that handleable, considering speed and ability to jump.

Also, the Green Bottle Blue (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens), makes an excellent starter if you're not into handling.

My first T was acutally a Chaco Golden Knee, or Grammastola aureostriata.

Stay away from old world T's until you get some experience in.