Trigoniulus corallinus
Scarlet Millipede: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A small bright tropical millipede that thrives in moist communal setups: adults reach about 2.5-3.5 inches.
Group: MillipedesDifficulty: Spice 1: Kid FriendlySetup: Tropical communal millipedeHandling: 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 | 72-80°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 75-85%, fine mesh vents, damp below, drier surface |
| Setup Type | Tropical communal millipede |
| Substrate | Moist leaf/wood substrate |
| Feeding | Leaf litter, 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
- Colony: terrestrial burrow setup, sized for a display group.
Warnings First
- Small escape risk; check mesh and lid fit.
- Keep it moist; it needs edible substrate, not just decor.
- Moist plus still air turns the substrate sour and inedible. Vent fine mesh low on two opposite walls.
Simple Care
- Easy to keep once humid.
- Vent fine mesh low on two opposite walls so air crosses the substrate surface.
- Keep a shallow water dish packed with pebbles so juveniles cannot drown.
- Great communal starter species.
- Moss helps hold moisture.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Keep a rich substrate with leaf litter on the surface at all times.
- Vent fine mesh low on two opposite walls; lid-only venting turns the bin sour and draws mites.
- Hold moisture in the substrate, not the air; let the vents flow rather than sealing the lid.
- Judge by squeeze and smell: damp like a wrung-out sponge and earthy, not sour or ammonia.
- Keep a shallow dish packed with pebbles, and mist under the leaf litter and moss, not the open surface.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Keep starter groups small; don't crowd them without enough substrate.
- Remove or dry out vegetable foods before they mold.
- Molts happen underground for days or weeks. Never dig up a buried animal, and keep cuttlebone available for calcium.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Southeast Asia and broader pantropical introduced range.
- Habitat translation: Warm humid leaf-litter colony with decayed wood and calcium.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Breeds well once substrate is mature and stable; it's prolific and sometimes parthenogenetic, so a culture can take off fast.
- Keep ventilation high enough to stop mold blooms under supplemental food.