In stock Ivory Millipede / Purple Rainbow Ivory for sale All millipedes for sale
Chicobolus spinigerus
Ivory Millipede / Purple Rainbow Ivory: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A US-native millipede that does well in groups, with the same care for ivory and purple morphs. Keep a deep, damp, edible leaf-litter bed with air moving low across it.
Group: MillipedesDifficulty: Spice 1: Kid FriendlySetup: Terrestrial burrower, deep moist leaf litterHandling: Brief contact tolerated, a fall can injure it
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 | 72-78°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 70-80%, damp lower layers, drier surface |
| Setup Type | Terrestrial burrower, deep moist leaf litter |
| Substrate | Deep hardwood leaves and rotting wood, damp below |
| Feeding | Decayed leaf litter and wood, veggies, calcium |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 1: Kid Friendly |
| Handling | Brief contact tolerated, a fall can injure it |
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
- Small juveniles: Baby Buddy with damp, edible leaf litter
- Display groups: Burrow Buddy with deep substrate. Add depth before adding millipedes
Warnings First
- Do not let the substrate dry out. Keep a damp lower layer and leaf cover.
- Pack the water dish with pebbles. Millipedes climb smooth surfaces poorly and drown in open dishes.
- Millipedes molt buried and go still for days or weeks. Never dig one up, and keep that spot damp.
- A deep damp bin with no airflow sours and triggers mite blooms. Vent low on two opposite walls.
- Crowding makes buried molts easier to disturb. Add depth before adding millipedes.
- Handling is optional, and a fall can injure it.
Simple Care
- Give ivory and purple morphs the same care.
- Keep the substrate moist and edible, with plenty of leaf litter.
- Vent low on two opposite walls so air keeps crossing the substrate surface.
- Keep a shallow water dish packed with pebbles.
- Give groups enough depth, leaf litter and room.
- Do not rely on veggies alone.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Classic millipede care: deep edible substrate, leaf litter, moisture and calcium. The purple morph needs nothing different.
- Airflow is the part people skip. A deep damp bin with still air composts sour and triggers mite blooms, so vent low on two opposite walls.
- Hold moisture in the substrate, not the air. Do not seal a display bin to chase a humidity number.
- Check by squeeze and smell. Lower substrate clumps like a wrung-out sponge with no free water and smells like forest floor. Sour or ammonia means more air.
- Mist under the leaf litter, not over the surface, so the grazing layer stays damp and the surface breathes.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Decayed hardwood leaf litter and wood are the staple diet. Do not rely on veggies alone.
- Ventilate enough to stop stagnant mold, but not so hard the enclosure dries fast.
- Molting: they seal into an underground chamber and go still for days or weeks. Never dig one up, keep that spot damp, and keep cuttlebone in. They eat the shed for calcium.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Southeastern United States, especially Florida and Georgia coastal plain habitats.
- Habitat translation: Coastal plain leaf litter becomes a warm, humid burrowing bed of decayed hardwood leaves with good airflow.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adults reach about 3-4 in. A Florida and Gulf coast native, so it handles slightly cooler room temps as well as warm.
- Deep substrate allows natural burrowing and safe molts.
- Groups are normally fine, but crowding raises food competition and makes buried molts easier to disturb.
- Do not let the top layer crust over and dry completely.