mixing species

[Animal34343]

Hi, I am considering buying some african giant black millipedes. In the rhac book by de Vosjoli, Fast, and Repashy it suggests these millipedes to help keep the cages clean by eating fecal matter and things that are decomposing but they won't touch their eggs. So I was wondering if anyone has had any experience using these in Uroplatus enclosures, I suspect that they should be fine in with them. any help is appreciated

 

[Animal34343]

i read that the millipedes excrete a poison from their skin when disturbed, but i also remember seeing a show a few weeks back, i think on animal planet called animals behaving badly where lemurs in the rainforests of madagascar love them because when they find them they bite them just enough to annoy the millipedes and then they lick the poison off of them and it kind of gets them high. i figured that since these lemurs do this all the time and are still alive that it must be a pretty mellow drug, but seeing as how the millipedes are so large i wouldnt think that my uroplatus would attack them and even if they did it would just be a few quick bites before they figured out they couldnt eat it so there really wouldnt be enough time for it to release the poison in their mouth. does anyone else have any ideas on this subject or experiences with them?

 

[lessthantito]

IF you do this make sure that your tank is large enough I had one in a tank w/ 1 crested gecko and they never bothered each other but the gecko got stressed because he didn't have enough space and the tank was over 30 gallons

 

[Pelle]

i don´t see why you should mix millipedes with your Uroplatus, if you want millipedes why don´t keep them in separate tanks?

/Pelle

 

[Animal34343]

all the tanks are tall enough and all my uroplatus seem to stay near the top and rarely are on the ground. the millipedes purpose is not for a pet but rather to help maintain the condition of the substrate in the tanks such as mold, feces, feeder remnants, and the occasional fruit fly problem. so i figured the millipedes will help control the waste on the floor which should eliminate the mold and flies

 

[Phantasy]

You should just look into spring-tail cultures. They do the same thing, are tiny so they won't stress your geckos, and do a good job dealing with decomposing dead plant matter and feces.


Much respect,
-Matt

 

[defaced]

Springtails and isopods do the same thing and are proven out in different herp circles (dart frogs).

 

[the moof]

LOL Animal34343, the poison that these creatures excrete works as a bug repellent for the lemurs, as well as an effective deodorant i imagine... hehe. you forget completely however, that the lemurs have an entirely different immune system to that of our FAR more fragile geckos; one that can even handle consuming highly toxic things for humans, such as eucalyptus leaves (pure eucalyptus leaves are dangerous to humans in high concentration), and the various fruits and berries of the Mad forest. ^^ however, i agree with phantasy and defaced, that it would be a good alternative to consider springtails.

best regards,
Mark

 

[Animal34343]

ok so maybe the show was more for comedy rather than complete truth or or i probably wasnt paying that much attention either way i remember them licking the millipedes and then basically going crazy. anyways where can i get springtails and how big are they, ive read that uros will eat them, i think. i dont want to have to continually buy them. do they fly at all?

 

[the moof]

you should be able to find them at a local reptile dealer. they're quite a common dart frog food source. they cannot fly.

it is possible that the excretion also has hallucinogenic properties. i wouldn't know all i know is that it's a good insect repellent ^^

 

[dactylus]

These are the species of springtail readily avaible.

Tropical springtail
(Folsomia candida)
A thin micro white species with an elongate body from tropical America. Excellent for controlling fungal or mould growth (size up to 3mm)


Tropical springtail
(Seira sp.)
A small white species from Brazil (size up to 4mm). Very prolific.


European black springtail
(Tomocerus longicornis)
Large temperate species (size up to 8mm)



I used Folsomia candida on a regular basis until I got Lepidodactylus lugubris, they kept wiping out the colonies. I'd put in a new colony, it was like christmas for the lugubris. They'd all sit at the bottom of the tank picking off every springtail that came to the surface. A deeper substrate and a switch to the more prolific Seira sp. outwitted the lugubris.

 

[dactylus]

You could if your tank is large enough mix species.

I have for many years kept Cyrtodactylus with Henkels....

....Tank size 900mmW x 1100mmH x 600mmD, Naturalistic heavy planted, cork tubes and many braches.
One pair of Uroplatus henkeli, and one pair of Cyrtodactylus louisianadensis. Both bred successfully

....Current tank setup 1200mmW x 1200mmH x 600mmD, Naturalistic heavy planted. Loads of those bendable artificial vines.
One pair of Uroplatus henkeli, one pair of Cyrtodactylus pulchellus, and one group of Rhacodactylus ciliatus (1:4).
Again all have bred successfully, never had any problems. All three species use the vines as walkways. I've seen no interspecies aggression in the three years of being kept otgether.

 

[Animal34343]

is there any other kind of insect like a beetle or anything that can be used instead of springtails? a few of my tanks have screen doors or sides that nearly run the heigth of the cage so i would be worried that they would get out and become established in my house since they are such prolific breeders

 

[camo]

Yes...there is one. I know you know what meal worms are correct. Well you can put them in meal and feed them apples fruit that stuff and they will turn into a pupa. You can take the pupa and place it in another set up preferably with a moist paper towel in the bottom and lay them on top. And in about a week or more they turn into beetles. Its super simple stuff and these beetles eat all of the waist and such so they are perfect for you.

http://www.chameleonsdish.com/Images/Feeders/Lifecycles/mealworms.jpg

 

[Animal34343]

are you talking about regular mealworms or the big zoophobas/super worms. if i put them in with my henkeli would they try to eat them, and if they did would the shells be too hard to digest? thats why i was considering millipedes, they are big enough where the uros shouldnt try to eat them. sorry for all the questions but i dont want to screw up and have something happen to my leaftails. thanks for all the responses

 

[dactylus]

"zoophobas/super worms. if i put them in with my henkeli would they try to eat them, and if they did would the shells be too hard to digest? "


My henkels love them, and have no problems digesting them.
I would however not recommend them for tank cleaning duties, eggs would be eaten by these!


An alternative to springtails would be wood louse,

 

[camo]

I understand sorry for making myself unclear. Ok- just use your standard meal worm NO SUPERWORMS. They never need to be fed to gecko because they can eat the gecko through the inside out. Anyway, get like 2 critter keepers from the pet store to do this. Dont put the meal worms directly inside of the cage. In the keepers put the worms in one and put the pupa in another. Make sure when the pupa turn into beetles to not leave them in there cuz the get hungry. If you want me to elaborate some more just tell me

 

[Animal34343]

did you mean that the worms or the beetles eat the geckos from the inside out because i feed the worms to my leos and mali uromastyx all the time and havent had any problems yet.

 

[camo]

the super worms do that! meal worms and the beetles do not. What do you use?

 

[Animal34343]

i feed them the superworms, i have been for a while. i normally drop in a few and let them go at it or even hand feed them sometimes. now that i know the superworms do that ill have to start getting regular mealworms or waxworms.