Giant African Millipede

Minimum enclosure for one adult is roughly 60 x 45 x 30 cm (about a 40 litre / 10 gallon footprint); a 90 x 45 x 45 cm (approx. 40 gallon) glass or plastic terrarium with a secure, ventilated lid is better and comfortably houses a small group. Because they burrow and molt underground, substrate depth matters: provide plenty of depth for burrowing and underground molting - aim for at least 15 cm, and ideally as deep as the enclosure allows (up toward the animal's body length) for adults. The substrate IS the habitat and most of the diet: use a deep organic mix of decomposing hardwood (oak, beech, elm), crumbled leaf litter (oak leaf litter is ideal) and pesticide-free topsoil or flake soil. Do NOT rely on coconut coir as the main substrate: it has no nutritional value (millipedes eat their substrate) and keeper experience links coir-only substrates to poor condition and possible gut impaction, so use it, if at all, only as a minor component of a wood-and-leaf-litter mix. Add cork bark or a curved bark hide on the surface, a sprinkling of leaf litter, and keep the substrate evenly moist. A shallow, easily-exited water dish is optional but helpful for humidity.

A detritivore: the majority of its nutrition comes from eating the decomposing wood and leaf-litter substrate itself, so high-quality, edible substrate is priority one. Supplement a few times weekly with fresh, pesticide-free vegetables and fruit: leafy greens, cucumber, courgette (zucchini), carrot, pumpkin/squash, sweet potato, apple and banana. Provide a constant calcium source (a piece of cuttlebone or a calcium block) to support the exoskeleton. Protein is not essential; if offered at all, give only a very small amount occasionally (a pinch of fish flakes or dried shrimp). Do not offer vertebrate prey such as pinkie mice - it is unnecessary and fouls the enclosure. AVOID: relying on coconut coir as substrate or food (no nutritional value, possible impaction), any plant material treated with pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers, citrus and other highly acidic foods, onion/garlic/allium family, and salty, processed or spicy human foods. Remove uneaten fresh food before it molds.

Ambient temperature 24 to 28 C (75 to 82 F) suits this warm-climate tropical species best; keep a gentle gradient. Below about 18 to 20 C they become lethargic, stop feeding and molt poorly; sustained temperatures above about 30 to 32 C cause heat stress and can be fatal. In Macau, summer room temperatures are usually within this species' comfort range - the priorities in summer are avoiding heat SPIKES above ~32 C (keep the tank out of direct sun and away from heat sources) and stopping air-conditioning from crashing the humidity. In the cooler months a room can fall below the ~20 C they prefer, so a thermostat-controlled heat mat on ONE side of the tank is appropriate then. Humidity should sit at 70 to 80 percent, maintained by keeping the deep substrate evenly moist (damp, not waterlogged or swampy) and misting lightly as needed. No special lighting is required and NO UVB is needed; these are nocturnal burrowers that prefer low, indirect light and will hide from bright light. Good ventilation matters as much as humidity to prevent stagnant, moldy conditions.

Non-territorial and peaceful; can be kept singly or in a small group provided the enclosure and substrate volume are scaled up and food is abundant. There is no aggression or bonding to manage, and overcrowding is the only real risk. Sexing is possible in mature adults by the gonopods: males have a modified, less leg-like pair on the seventh body ring (a visible gap where legs are absent), whereas females show a full set of legs there. They are not social in a mammalian sense and do not require companionship, so a solitary animal is perfectly content.

Enrichment for this species is environmental, not interactive. Provide varied leaf litter, chunks of decaying hardwood and multiple bark hides to explore and forage through, and keep the substrate deep enough for natural burrowing and self-directed molting. Rotating in fresh leaf litter and new pieces of rotting wood gives them novel surfaces to graze. Gentle, occasional handling over a flat surface or low table (never over a hard floor, and never squeezed) allows observation, but let the animal walk across your hands rather than restraining it, and wash your hands afterwards. Their natural behaviors - digging, grazing and slowly patrolling - are the show.