Cherokia georgiana
Cherry Millipede: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A small Eastern-US flat-back millipede kept as a display colony. Named for the almond-cherry scent of its cyanide-based defensive fluid. Cool, moist, temperate leaf-litter care. Adults reach only about 1-1.5 in.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 2: BeginnerSetup: Cool moist temperate flat-back millipedeHandling: Brief contact tolerated, wash hands after
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 60-75°F, not tropical |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 70-85%: moist leaf litter, fine-mesh vents |
| Setup Type | Cool moist temperate flat-back millipede |
| Substrate | Moist deciduous leaf litter over a thin organic layer |
| Feeding | Decaying leaves, a little calcium, light veggies |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 2: Beginner |
| Handling | Brief contact tolerated, wash hands after |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- Display colony: shallow terrestrial setup with deep leaf litter for cover and for molting chambers
Warnings First
- Defensive secretion is cyanide-bearing (almond/cherry smell). Wash hands after handling; keep it away from face and food.
- Tiny flat-back. Keep cool and moist; not a tropical species.
- Easy to lose; small ventilation, secure lid.
- Ventilation is small but placed low on two opposite walls. A tiny cool damp box has almost no air volume and stalls within days.
Simple Care
- Cool room temps (60-75°F); moist deciduous leaf litter over a thin soil layer.
- Fine-mesh vents low on two opposite walls: small enough to hold them, plentiful enough to keep the litter aerobic.
- A little calcium; light veggie supplements.
- Shallow dish or bottle cap packed with grit so these tiny animals cannot drown.
- Keep as a small display colony with secure tiny ventilation and plenty of leaf cover.
- Wash hands after handling: the defensive fluid has cyanide in it. Just don't ingest it or rub your eyes.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- A single hobby species: C. georgiana, Eastern US. Cool, moist, temperate flat-back: deciduous leaf litter over a thin organic layer, ventilated.
- Small and easy to lose. Keep ventilation tiny and the lid secure.
- Tiny and plentiful vents, placed low on two opposite walls so air crosses the litter layer. A small, cool, damp box stalls fast once air stops moving.
- Judge by squeeze and smell rather than by any gauge that would fit. Litter should feel like a wrung-out sponge, no free water, smell like forest floor.
- Use a shallow dish or bottle cap packed with coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim, and mist the leaf litter rather than the surface.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Decayed deciduous leaves are the staple; a little cuttlebone for calcium; veggies only as a light supplement. No citrus, no treated wood.
- Keep the colony cool: this isn't one to warm up; excess heat stresses it.
- Molting: millipedes seal into an underground chamber for days or weeks. Never dig up a buried animal, and keep cuttlebone on hand for the shed skin.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Eastern United States: deciduous forest leaf litter.
- Habitat translation: A cool, moist enclosure of deciduous leaf litter over a thin organic layer, ventilated, with a little calcium and a secure lid.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size 1-1.5 in: a true miniature flat-back, not one of the cylindrical 'giant' millipedes.
- Polydesmid flat-backs like this make hydrogen cyanide in their defensive glands. The dose is trivial if you wash up, but don't touch eyes or food after.
- Cool, moist, temperate: a nice little display colony in a planted bioactive bin.