so i just bought 3 African Giant Blacks- A. gigas. these guys were advertised as aprox. 1 inch in size. apparently i didnt realize how small they would really be. 2 are about 1 1/4 inches and one is about 3/4 inch. how big is the biggest enclosure that i should have them in? and how deep of substrate? i was going to put them in a medium sized Critter Keeper, about 12X4 inches with about 3 inches of substrate. i quickly realized they would burrow and never be seen again in this set up, kinda like putting a 3 year old kid in a ball pit 8 feet deep the size of a football field. they will be kept communal, but whats the biggest container i should have then in? i will post pics in the next few days of my new friends. ive been looking to get some of these for a long, long time and was excited to find babies for sale, but now that ive got them im very afraid i wont be able to care for the lil ones because of their size. also, does anyone know how fast they grow? i know they live 10 years or more, but i was advised by a reliable source that if i wanted to breed them (given i have a M/F pair) that it would be years before they were able. are they slow growing? or will i have 4-5 inch millies in a year? i thought i had researched care and upkeep on them before i bought them but now i think im still in the dark with an expensive investment im not sure im qualified to take care of properly. please, any help or advice would be very aprecciated,

thanks in advance

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m89/Gnat_666/451553506_1573916764_0.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m89/Gnat_666/451553498_1573916736_0.jpg

You may need to learn more about keeping millipedes.

 

 

A critter keeper provides too much ventilation. Try a 2.5 gallon with solid glass lid. AGBs grow slowly and can take even longer if kept improperly (if they don't die of course). Consider this millipede bok: http://www.elytraandantenna.com

ive got that same book ordered i just got the millies before the book, im just a bit spooked at how small they really are ( 1 inch really means one inch, duh) i guess i just jumped at the first AGBs for sale ive seen in the last 6 monthes of searching for them without considering how small they would really be. ive been wanting some of these for a long time and just got the first ones i found for sale

so I still have these 3 Archispirostreptus gigas and they are huge. I have been noticing what I believed to be a few mating attempts in the last week. I have always been hopeful that I had a mated pair but I never thought it was a realistic idea and I have never really tried to sex them (the few times I tried I always thought I had all females). Tonite on my way back from grabbing another beer I stopped to shine a light at a few of my inverts. I shined at the AGB container and one was climbing the side and wide open. He was certainly male!! I woke my girlfriend up and made her come confirm. We took out the suspect and put him in an empty KK and shined a light on him. He is most certainly male and I know I have at least one female. my dream is at hand, to breed these exceptional creatures!!
these pics are from tonight. my camera isnt good enough to get sexing picks.



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Thats great news!  I'm happy for you!  If you get little ones do you plan to keep them or sell them?

I do plan on selling some but the majority of the first ones will be keepers. Im not even sure I will have babies yet, I'm just happy I will have the opportunity to breed them.

this is how big they were when I first got them. You can still tell the difference between all of them, they are still the same size compared to each other.

Aww  :)  They were so widdle!

I currently have 3 females I'm trying to get young from with no luck yet. One of my females has buried herself so hopefully she has eggs.