The most important thing to remember when feeding pet millipedes is that they absolutely MUST have well rotted leaves from oak or fruit trees and well rotted wood (from same). If you cannot ensure a constant supply of these it may be best to consider another pet. The millipedes need to have these in their diet as this is where they get chittin from. Chittin is what helps make up the millipedes exoskeleton and without it your millipedes may not be able to grow and develop properly.

Millipedes have protozoans and bacteria living in their gut much the same as cows do. These help the millipede to break down the plant material which it ingests by breaking down the cellulose found in the plant tissues into sugars which can then be used by the millipede.

Your millipede will likely eat any old vegetable or fruit you are about to throw out but try not to use things which will dissolve too quickly (iceberg lettuce leaves etc). In the wild millipedes will also gnaw on dead animals and I ocassionally drop a dead mouse in for them to eat only to find a neat little skeleton a few days later (make sure you open a few windows before doing this).

I would also recommend sprinkling calcium powder (or ground cuttle fish bone) over the millipedes food. Although most of the exoskeleton is made up of chittin the very outer layer also contains calcium carbonate.

Other things which you may like to feed your millipedes include...

• Melon
• Banana
• Mushroom
• Apple
• Green leafy vegetables
• Fish food

Leave these to partially rot before offering them up as dinner as even large millipedes have quite weak mouth parts.