Pelmatojulus excisus (cf.)
Identity confidence: provisional. This is a genus, group, or trade name rather than a confirmed species. Treat it as the closest match we can stand behind, and use the more conservative end of any range.
Cameroon Red Millipede (Giant Fire Millipede): Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A giant Cameroonian millipede, shiny red-orange head to tail: adults reach 6+ inches, deepening in color with age. Sometimes confused with the black-bodied 'Cameroon Red Leg'; this is the whole-body-red species.
Group: MillipedesDifficulty: Spice 2: BeginnerSetup: Tropical communal millipede (giant African)Handling: 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 | 80-90°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 75-85%, cross vents, wetter below, drier top |
| Setup Type | Tropical communal millipede (giant African) |
| Substrate | Deep coco fiber/peat, several inches decaying hardwood |
| Feeding | Well-rotted wood, leaf litter, cuttlebone, soft fruit/veg |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 2: Beginner |
| 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
- Juveniles: Baby Buddy.
- Adult colony: Burrow Buddy, sized to the group.
Warnings First
- Likely wild-caught: quarantine and check for mites before mixing with others.
- Moisture drop-off is the main risk, as with all giant tropical millipedes.
- A rotting-wood specialist: the wood needs to compost aerobically. Vent low on two opposite walls to keep it earthy, not sour.
Simple Care
- Give deep, moisture-retentive substrate with plenty of decaying hardwood.
- Vent low on two opposite walls; this species needs real airflow.
- Offer extra well-rotted wood; it leans on rotted wood more than leaf litter.
- Keep cuttlebone available at all times.
- Keep a shallow water dish packed with pebbles so juveniles cannot drown.
- Handle gently and rarely.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Give real depth with plenty of decaying hardwood mixed through; it leans on rotted wood more than leaf litter.
- Run a moisture gradient: wetter at the bottom, drier on top.
- Vent low on two opposite walls. Wood-heavy substrate holds water longer and sours fast without airflow.
- Judge by squeeze and smell: damp like a wrung-out sponge and earthy, not sour. Swap out sour wood.
- Keep a shallow water dish packed with pebbles, and mist under the wood and litter, not the open surface.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Well-rotted hardwood is the staple; offer more of it than for other giant millipedes. Add leaf litter and occasional soft fruit or veg, plus cuttlebone.
- Molts happen in a sealed underground chamber. Leave a still, buried animal alone and keep that spot from drying out.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Cameroon rainforest, Central/West Africa.
- Habitat translation: Humid rainforest floor litter and rotting wood: deep, damp hardwood-litter substrate at tropical humidity.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Two Cameroon millipedes get called 'Cameroon Red' in the trade: this whole-body red species, and a black-bodied, red-legged relative sold as 'Cameroon Red Leg'.