Giant Millipedes

Giant Millipedes

Housing

The millipedes may be kept in a plastic or glass container with a strong ventilated lid, filled to a depth of at least three inches (7.5 cm) with coconut fibre compost. Although most peat is easier to obtain, it contains mites and is damaging to the environment. To avoid changing the compost too often, it should be kept fresh with a sprinkling of wood charcoal. As the millipedes need plenty of calcium, cuttle fish bone should also be mixed in. The millipedes will eat it as they burrow. The compost should be kept moist but not wet, and some of the moisture can be kept in by using sphagnum moss of the kind used for hanging plant baskets. All of the items mentioned above can be obtained from garden centres.

Feeding

In the wild, giant millipedes live in the leaf litter layer of tropical forests and so dead leaves are a popular (and cheap!) source of food. Poplar, Oak and Sycamore are tried and tested favourites. In captivity they will also eat dried cat foods, porridge oats, bran and fish food pellets, all of which should be kept in a shallow container on the floor of the tank and sprinkled with cuttle fish bone. Apple and banana should also be given. The millipedes will occasionally drink from a ball of cotton wool soaked in water. This again should be kept in a shallow container such as a jar lid. DO NOT let moulds develop on any of the foods before changing them.

Life Cycle

Millipede eggs are surrounded by a ball of the mothers droppings, and she will spend some time watching over them. The baby millipedes are white and very fragile. They take up to two years to grow into adulthood, but are recognizable as miniatures of the adults after just a few months. At this stage, the sexes can be told apart by a missing pair of legs close to the head of the male. There is little history of the successful breeding of giant millipedes, but in my experience they lay only one batch of over a hundred eggs per year.

Caution

Millipedes are very placid creatures which respond reasonably well to handling, but if annoyed, they exude a liquid which stains the hands. It is therefore advisable to handle them very carefully, and to wash hands immediately after handling.

D A Brierly.