Millipedes For Sale UK
PostPods sells millipedes online and posts them to anywhere in Great Britain, Monday to Thursday, with the live arrival guarantee on every livestock order and a 20% overcount. The range runs from giant African species and beginner-friendly olives to UV-reactive and dwarf flat-backed millipedes, and each listing carries its own care notes.
Millipedes are one of the most underrated corners of the invertebrate hobby: quiet, slow and fascinating to watch, and most species are no trouble once you understand the basics.
Get the substrate right first. A millipede's substrate is its main food, not just something to walk on. My millipede substrate guide and my overview of what millipedes eat are the two things worth reading before you buy.
Best millipedes for beginners
If you are starting out, pick a species that forgives an imperfect setup. The Ivory Millipede, the Bumblebee Millipede, the Ghana Speckled Leg (Telodeinopus aoutii) and the African Giant Green (Analocostreptus gregorius) all make good first millipedes, and so do the giant Africans when they are in stock. The Ghana Speckled Legs are wild-caught, so give new arrivals a quiet few months to settle. My guide to the best millipedes for beginners in the UK walks through what makes each one easy, and the pet millipede care guide covers the whole setup from scratch.
Display and specialist species
The colourful and unusual species are where millipedes get interesting: the Spotted Fire, the Amber, the Thai Rainbow, the Siamese Glow and the UV-reactive Hawaiian Glow. Each has its own quirks around diet and humidity, so read the listing before you buy; there is more on why the Hawaiian Glow fluoresces in my Hawaiian Glow feature. For a surprise, the Millipede Mystery Box is a good-value way to start a collection.
Millipede species compared
If this is your first millipede, choose an easy species, such as the Ivory, the Bumblebee or the African Giant Green: the table below compares the millipedes listed on this page and marks the easy ones Yes, so keep those marked No for when you have looked after an easier one.
| Adult size | Warmth and humidity | Good first one? |
|---|---|---|
| African Giant Black Millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) | ||
| Up to around 330 mm | 22-26°C, see listing | Yes, easy |
| African Giant Chocolate Millipede (Ophistreptus guineensis) | ||
| 250-260 mm | 22-26°C, see listing | Yes, easy |
| African Giant Green Millipede (Analocostreptus gregorius) | ||
| About 120 mm | 22-26°C, 70-80% | Yes, easy |
| Bumblebee Millipede (Anadenobolus monilicornis) | ||
| 25-45 mm | 20-26°C, 70-80% | Yes, easy |
| Burmese Beauty Millipede (Spirostreptus sp.) | ||
| 120-150 mm | 22-26°C, 70-80% | Yes, easy |
| Ghana Speckled Leg and Cameroon Olive (both Telodeinopus aoutii) | ||
| About 160-180 mm | 22-28°C, 70-90% | Yes, easy |
| Hawaiian Glow Millipede (Spirobolellus sp. 'Maui') | ||
| 20-25 mm | 21-28°C, 70-85% | Yes, easy |
| Ivory Millipede (Chicobolus spinigerus) | ||
| 39-91 mm | See listing, 70-85% | Yes, easy |
| Orange Titan Millipede (Thyropygus sp.) | ||
| 150-180 mm | 22-26°C, 75-85% | Yes, easy |
| Siamese Glow Millipede (Benoitolus siamensis) | ||
| 50-60 mm | See listing, 75-85% | Yes, easy |
| Spotted Fire Millipede (Centrobolus splendidus) | ||
| About 60 mm | 22-26°C, 70-80% | Yes, easy |
| Tiny Flat-backed Millipede (Polydesmus sp.) | ||
| 15-25 mm | 10-22°C, 70-80% | Yes, easy |
| Amber Millipede (Pelmatojulus ligulatus) | ||
| About 140 mm | 24-28°C, 80-90% | No, medium |
| Delta Banded Millipede (Spirostreptus sp.) | ||
| See listing | 24-28°C, 70-80% | No, medium |
| Matt Black Millipede (Treptogonostreptus intricatus) | ||
| 150-200 mm | 22-26°C, 70-80% | No, medium |
| Pikachu Pill Millipede (Rhopalomeris sp.) | ||
| 10-20 mm | 20-24°C, 75-85% | No, medium |
| Pink Dragon Millipede (Desmoxytes planata) | ||
| About 30 mm | 24-28°C, 80-90% | No, medium |
| Red Ring Millipede (Centrobolus annulatus) | ||
| 65-88 mm | 18-22°C, 70-80% | No, medium |
| Rusty Armoured Millipede (Polydesmida sp.) | ||
| About 80 mm | 22-26°C, 80-90% | No, medium |
| Thai Rainbow Millipede (Atopochetus spinimargo) | ||
| About 80-100 mm | 20-27°C, 65-75% | No, medium |
| Thai Ruby Banded Millipede (Thyropygus sp.) | ||
| 100-140 mm | 22-26°C, 70-85% | No, medium |
| Tricolour Millipede (Pelmatojulus tectus) | ||
| About 150 mm | 24-28°C, 80-90% | No, medium |
Stock comes and goes, so each listing shows what is in now. Names are as the listings give them; some scientific names are the trade's, and the listing says where. Sizes, temperatures and humidity are from each listing's care panel, and Yes or No follows the panel's difficulty, Easy or Medium; where a cell says see listing, read that listing's care notes for the detail. An English home averages about 19°C over the heating season, below the lower end of most bands here, so where a band starts above that, plan on a heat mat or heat cable on a thermostat, fixed to the side of the tub and never underneath, through the colder months at least.
Getting the setup right
Millipedes can share a bioactive enclosure with a cleanup crew of isopods and springtails, all of them breaking down organic waste and working the substrate, and my guide to keeping millipedes and isopods together covers when that works. Whichever species you choose, getting the substrate and calcium right is the foundation: millipedes build calcium into their exoskeleton, and most eat their cast skin after moulting. The accessories range has the leaf litter, rotting hardwood, cuttlebone and other components of a good millipede setup.
Livestock goes out Monday to Thursday by Royal Mail Tracked 24 or Next Day, every livestock order carries the live arrival guarantee, and millipedes come with the 20% overcount. Some lines are captive-bred and some wild-collected, and the listings say which wherever it is known. Stock changes regularly: a sold-out listing has a Notify me when available button, and for species beyond millipedes see the other inverts collection.
Frequently asked questions
Are millipedes good pets?
Yes, they are among the most low-maintenance pets you can keep. They are silent, have next to no smell, don't bite and take up little space, and some species live five years or more. They ask for a stable, humid enclosure with the right substrate and a calcium source, and very little day-to-day attention beyond that.
Where can I buy millipedes in the UK?
Here: every millipede on this page is posted Monday to Thursday to anywhere in Great Britain, with the live arrival guarantee on every livestock order. Each listing gives the species' size, temperature and humidity and, wherever it is known, whether the animals are captive-bred or wild-collected.
What do millipedes eat?
Mostly decaying hardwood and leaf litter, which is why their substrate has to be edible rather than inert. They will also take the occasional soft vegetable. Keep a permanent calcium source, such as cuttlebone, in the tub: millipedes build calcium into their exoskeleton. My millipede diet guide covers it in full.
Do millipedes bite or sting?
No. Millipedes have no bite, no sting and no venom, and no interest in you. What they do have is a defensive secretion, and that is the part worth respecting: it stains skin, it irritates it if it is left on, and in an eye it is a chemical burn that needs treating. Seven of the eight patients in a published series of eye cases were children of seven and under. Wash your hands with soap after handling, before you touch your face, and that is essentially the whole of millipede safety. My guide to whether millipedes are dangerous sets out the evidence.
How big do millipedes get?
It depends entirely on the species. The African Giant Black is one of the largest millipedes in the world, up to around 33 cm full-grown, while many display and beginner species stay in the 5 to 15 cm range. Each listing gives the expected adult size.
How long do millipedes live?
It varies with the species, and the giant Africans are among the longest-lived. My guide to how long millipedes live goes through what is known.
Why is my millipede buried and not moving?
Usually nothing to worry about: millipedes burrow to moult, and they can stay hidden for days or weeks while they do. Disturbing a moulting millipede can harm it, so it is best left alone. My guide to millipede moulting explains what is happening, and if breeding is your goal, why millipedes won't breed covers the common causes.
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