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Mallow is MIA

taxidermynerd

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I have no clue where he went. He's not in his tank but there's literally no way he could have gotten out. I checked the dirt and the drainage layer, and he's not there. I have an awful feeling he died and decomposed before I could even notice (I don't check in very often... Millies are very low-maintenance). I'm not giving up yet but things are looking bleak.

I blame the drainage layer. Once that went in they started going down there... no matter how many times I pulled him out. Ugh god this is all my fault.
 

hrafn

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The same thing happened with my pacman frog, Trevor. I still have no idea where he went. :(

I hope you're able to find Mallow and that he's a-ok!!
:sadhug2:
 

taxidermynerd

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The same thing happened with my pacman frog, Trevor. I still have no idea where he went. :(

I hope you're able to find Mallow and that he's a-ok!!
:sadhug2:
Oh man. That's really awful :( I can't imagine what I'd do if Fuzzgig went missing.
 

EkkieLu

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That's terrible!!! What kind is Mallow?
 

iamwhoiam

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Sorry about that. Hope you can find him/figure out what happened.
 

Temi's Tavern

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Oh no, I hope you find him and he is safe and sound
 

faislaq

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What a horrible feeling. :sadhug2: I hope you are able to find him safe and sound next time you check or at the very least find some sign of him.

A drainage layer is a good idea to keep his enclosure healthy, I'd think. Is it gravel? That sounds like the coziest spot for the little guy no wonder he'd like it. Only natural and not your fault.
 

taxidermynerd

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That's terrible!!! What kind is Mallow?
Bumblebee millipede. Bright yellow and black, he's hard to miss.

What a horrible feeling. :sadhug2: I hope you are able to find him safe and sound next time you check or at the very least find some sign of him.

A drainage layer is a good idea to keep his enclosure healthy, I'd think. Is it gravel? That sounds like the coziest spot for the little guy no wonder he'd like it. Only natural and not your fault.
Yeah it's supposed to be good for keeping a healthy environment. It's this stuff- Josh's Frogs False Bottom (5 Quarts) | Josh's Frogs - bigger than gravel but lighter, but crushes pretty easy. Also horticultural charcoal is in there.

I really want to find him. Please, please, be okay...


I'll have to figure out a better way to keep a false bottom seperate. I love millipedes and I don't want this to happen to any millipede again.
 

faislaq

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Would an undergravel filter from an aquarium work over the false bottom and charcoal? It could let moisture through & keep the little ones out of it.
 

taxidermynerd

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Would an undergravel filter from an aquarium work over the false bottom and charcoal? It could let moisture through & keep the little ones out of it.
That's an idea. I could try it out.

I just searched the drainage and substrate, piece by piece, pouring over every last bit, and found nothing. Not even an exoskeleton. He's just gone. I don't know what to do. If I should keep looking, or give up, or what... :cry3:
 

Ankou

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I'm no expert on insect keeping but would he leave behind a hollow exoskeleton if he had passed away and soft tissues decayed? Especially if he were large? Not that it's something you'd want to see but if that's a thing it would tell you if he had passed or escaped. I have a friend who went through something similar with a number baby scorpions. They liked to bury themselves in the sand, alive or not, and after a while if it wasn't eating he'd have to dig up it's little cup. He told me he'd find dry exoskeleton remains or a very angry small scorpion.
But I have no idea if that would be the case in a more humid tank but finding nothing does make me wonder if it is possible he escaped?

If he has passed, try not to beat yourself up. Insects are simple organisms and while that doesn't mean they don't deserve good care or to be loved as our pets it does mean their needs are more physical, you met his needs for food, water, and shelter so he had a good life I'd think. I am sorry for your loss.
 

taxidermynerd

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I am 100 percent sure he didn't get out. The tank was almost totally sealed, with no way for him to get out.

I tore up the whole tank looking for him, searched every last bit, and found no sign.... no millipede, no exoskeleton, no tiny body, nothing. things aren't looking good.
 

faislaq

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I knew you would be thorough. Not a happy thought, but maybe look up how long it might take for one his size to....? It would be a sad thing to know but might help you accept it and stop looking. (I have a feeling that you won't stop looking for a long time -just in case. I do that, too.)
 

faislaq

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I've been fish-blind before. I could stare at my old tank for 30 minutes and not see a particular fish, convinced they'd jumped through some tiny gap near the filter only to see them swimming along happily next time I pass the tank. :shocked4:

Not saying there's any chance you could have missed him, but again I'm like you -what if? How much & how often does he eat? You could continue to feed his habitat just in case for another week or so.

The false bottom stuff says it breaks apart easily. Could he have gotten inside a piece? Could he be stretched along an edge or lip, blending in somehow with the seals? :shrug: I know I'm reaching, but I'm trying to think of anything.
 

taxidermynerd

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If he did indeed get out, it's very likely he's dead... Millies need very high humidity and decaying plant matter (i.e. leaves.) Drying out is actually the leading cause of death in millipedes.

I'm keeping the tank at 80% humidity just in case, and the substrate still has leaf litter (what they eat).

I find it most likely he died, decomposed, and is now one with the soil... Since he was so small, his exoskeleton can't have been thick, and is could have broken down very quickly... I've seen the same happen with pest snails in my fish tanks (with a lack of calcium, their shells break down very easily, especially the small ones, with thinner shells.)

I'll keep things up and running just in case... He is 100% not in the false bottom, so if he's anywhere, he's in the soil.

Not saying there's any chance you could have missed him, but again I'm like you -what if? How much & how often does he eat? You could continue to feed his habitat just in case for another week or so.
Decomposing leaves. There are still a whole bunch in the soil.

I've been fish-blind before. I could stare at my old tank for 30 minutes and not see a particular fish, convinced they'd jumped through some tiny gap near the filter only to see them swimming along happily next time I pass the tank. :shocked4:
I've done that too. One of my upside-down catfish (I have two, they live in a spongebob house in my 40 gallon) went missing for about a month, I thought he was dead. But then one day I was going through the tank, I lifted the house, and the two cats (including the one I thought dead) came swimming out in a panic.

I feel like a neglectful parent. I am so, so, sorry...
 

EkkieLu

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If he did indeed get out, it's very likely he's dead... Millies need very high humidity and decaying plant matter (i.e. leaves.) Drying out is actually the leading cause of death in millipedes.

I'm keeping the tank at 80% humidity just in case, and the substrate still has leaf litter (what they eat).

I find it most likely he died, decomposed, and is now one with the soil... Since he was so small, his exoskeleton can't have been thick, and is could have broken down very quickly... I've seen the same happen with pest snails in my fish tanks (with a lack of calcium, their shells break down very easily, especially the small ones, with thinner shells.)

I'll keep things up and running just in case... He is 100% not in the false bottom, so if he's anywhere, he's in the soil.


Decomposing leaves. There are still a whole bunch in the soil.


I've done that too. One of my upside-down catfish (I have two, they live in a spongebob house in my 40 gallon) went missing for about a month, I thought he was dead. But then one day I was going through the tank, I lifted the house, and the two cats (including the one I thought dead) came swimming out in a panic.

I feel like a neglectful parent. I am so, so, sorry...
when I was about 12 my friend found a little baby garden snake no bigger than a worm. Her folks, after much begging and crying finally allowed her to keep it. She had an aquarium with a lid and took very good care of her new baby. But one day Slinky was gone! Couldn't find her anywhere. I helped my friend look every day after school for weeks.
Fast forward 5 years... My friends parents were getting a new automatic washer and dryer!!! We both helped her Mom tidy up the basement (can't have delivery guys see a messy basement). Her mom pulled out the old rack she had used to hang wet laundry on and fainted! Her dad came running down the stairs just in time to stop a huge snake crawl across his wife's legs! It was Slinky, all grown up! Needless to say my friend was grounded for 2 weeks...
 
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