I dropped my millipede :(

anarchyinthejp

Arachnopeon
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Oct 24, 2016
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I dropped my beautiful black African millipede, Milhouse, when I was trying to get him off my shoulder and into my other hand this morning. He landed on my kitchen carpet, and cracked one segment a few segments behind his head (fluid came out), and split open the very last segment at the back of his body, which I'll include a photo of.

I've had him for 6 months and have never dropped him, so I'm very, very upset. I put him back in his terrarium and he started digging, but I'm very concerned about the split rear section. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Do you think he'll make it??

Thank you in advance. I love my little guy and am absolutely gutted that I made such a stupid mistake :(
 

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anarchyinthejp

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I've read replies to other threads, and I'm really stuck, because while he's moving normally, his exoskeleton is cracked vertically (only 1mm on one segment, but still...) an inch or so behind his head, and the rear segment that cracked looks like it has split in half, with his poor insides exposed. It's the very rear section, but I'm so scared. I adore this little guy.

For now, he's back in his terrarium and he's dug out of sight, so I'm going to leave him that way and not touch him for a day or two. I don't want to dig him out, but I definitely want to check on him. Sigh.
 

magicmed

Arachnobaron
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Jun 4, 2016
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All you can really do at this point is give him some time to heal, don't dig him up so he has some time to take it easy and try to heal if he can. I don't know much about millipedes so I won't even guess as to the seriousness of the injuries, but generally aside from a touch of superglue there isn't a ton that can be done for arachnid injuries
 

anarchyinthejp

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Oct 24, 2016
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Thank you for your response! He dug himself in pretty deep, so I'm hoping he's just relaxing and healing now :/ as far as the split segment goes, I haven't heard about using a touch of super glue before, but I'd be reluctant to try it unless I heard from more people that it was safe (although it would be a relief to see him stuck back together...I wouldn't want to further injure him).

Fingers crossed!!
 

Ghost56

Arachnobaron
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Aug 28, 2016
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Thank you for your response! He dug himself in pretty deep, so I'm hoping he's just relaxing and healing now :/ as far as the split segment goes, I haven't heard about using a touch of super glue before, but I'd be reluctant to try it unless I heard from more people that it was safe (although it would be a relief to see him stuck back together...I wouldn't want to further injure him).

Fingers crossed!!
I also know nothing about millipedes, but I do think super glue would be a bad idea because of the way their exoskeleton overlaps and moves.
 

mickiem

Arachnoprince
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I think falls are the worst thing for a Millipede It's good that he fell on carpet. It's concerning that the fall was hard enough to crack his exoskeleton. Not much you can do but wait. We'll all have our fingers crossed for Milhouse. Best wishes!
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
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I dropped my beautiful black African millipede, Milhouse, when I was trying to get him off my shoulder and into my other hand this morning. He landed on my kitchen carpet, and cracked one segment a few segments behind his head (fluid came out), and split open the very last segment at the back of his body, which I'll include a photo of.

I've had him for 6 months and have never dropped him, so I'm very, very upset. I put him back in his terrarium and he started digging, but I'm very concerned about the split rear section. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Do you think he'll make it??

Thank you in advance. I love my little guy and am absolutely gutted that I made such a stupid mistake :(
Milhouse like that one from "The Simpsons" or Nixon, btw? Anyway, why handling... I will never understand. Now you are sad and feeling guilty, and technically (and I say technically) with a wounded pet.

Leave him alone, with access to water, in the dark. No more handling or things like that, capisc Lady? :rage:

:-s
 

anarchyinthejp

Arachnopeon
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Oct 24, 2016
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Milhouse like that one from "The Simpsons" or Nixon, btw? Anyway, why handling... I will never understand. Now you are sad and feeling guilty, and technically (and I say technically) with a wounded pet.

Leave him alone, with access to water, in the dark. No more handling or things like that, capisc Lady? :rage:

:-s
Milhouse as in The Simpsons...misunderstood. :p

I was actually handling him only because I had him out of his recently-purchased terrarium so I could spray down his new-ish sphagnum moss that was added to his peat moss, which wasn't moist enough. Typically I keep him in a plastic cup while I do anything that involves having to remove him from his enclosure (like changing to a larger one or adding soil), but I do sometimes handle him gently, and with great care.

Unfortunately, this morning was not one of those times. I had just badly sprained my ankle last night and am on painkillers, and didn't have immediate access to his cup, so I let him crawl on my hand while I misted his tank on the counter. Before I knew it, he had made quite the distance. I had gotten him into my hand and gotten him back down to chest level when he rolled and fell, and believe me, no one feels worse than I do :( luckily I have a carpet mat on my kitchen floor, or this could have been much worse...

He burrowed quite deep into his soil, so that was a relief, but needless to say, I won't be touching him. My question is, is there anything I can do to check on him? I feel just awful :(
 

Chris LXXIX

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Milhouse as in The Simpsons...misunderstood. :p

I was actually handling him only because I had him out of his recently-purchased terrarium so I could spray down his new-ish sphagnum moss that was added to his peat moss, which wasn't moist enough. Typically I keep him in a plastic cup while I do anything that involves having to remove him from his enclosure (like changing to a larger one or adding soil), but I do sometimes handle him gently, and with great care.

Unfortunately, this morning was not one of those times. I had just badly sprained my ankle last night and am on painkillers, and didn't have immediate access to his cup, so I let him crawl on my hand while I misted his tank on the counter. Before I knew it, he had made quite the distance. I had gotten him into my hand and gotten him back down to chest level when he rolled and fell, and believe me, no one feels worse than I do :( luckily I have a carpet mat on my kitchen floor, or this could have been much worse...

He burrowed quite deep into his soil, so that was a relief, but needless to say, I won't be touching him. My question is, is there anything I can do to check on him? I feel just awful :(
No, there's nothing you can do I'm afraid :-/
aside for leave him in peace with access to water. Sorry if I sounded rude, tought you was handling for fun... anyway don't lose hope :)
 

mickiem

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I don't hold my millipedes often, but I do hold them sometimes! I treat them like any other pet. Some enjoy/ tolerate being held more than others. I hope you still have many years to hold Milhouse. I dropped one once and learned my lesson. It was a Orthoporus ornatus and I dropped it on a wood floor. It died a few weeks later. I still hold my pedes, I just do it nearer the floor and always over carpet or thick towels. Sorry about your ankle. too! I agree with Chris; not much you can do but hope for the best.
 

anarchyinthejp

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Oct 24, 2016
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No, there's nothing you can do I'm afraid :-/
aside for leave him in peace with access to water. Sorry if I sounded rude, tought you was handling for fun... anyway don't lose hope :)
Thank you, don't worry...I'm very upset about the situation and didn't want to be misunderstood, but when I do handle him 'for fun', I always keep his comfort in mind (never roughly handle him/always make sure it's in a very safe environment). :) I am hopeful that he will heal.

Would an injury like this maybe trigger a molt? He molted about 3 months ago once.
 

anarchyinthejp

Arachnopeon
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Oct 24, 2016
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I think falls are the worst thing for a Millipede It's good that he fell on carpet. It's concerning that the fall was hard enough to crack his exoskeleton. Not much you can do but wait. We'll all have our fingers crossed for Milhouse. Best wishes!
I was shocked as well...he escaped from his previous enclosure once and fell about 1.5 feet onto our wood floor while I was out (only my husband was home) and was miraculously injury-free, but this time he wasn't so lucky :(
 

anarchyinthejp

Arachnopeon
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I don't hold my millipedes often, but I do hold them sometimes! I treat them like any other pet. Some enjoy/ tolerate being held more than others. I hope you still have many years to hold Milhouse. I dropped one once and learned my lesson. It was a Orthoporus ornatus and I dropped it on a wood floor. It died a few weeks later. I still hold my pedes, I just do it nearer the floor and always over carpet or thick towels. Sorry about your ankle. too! I agree with Chris; not much you can do but hope for the best.
Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear about yours not making it...did it also have a cracked exoskeleton after the fall? Was it moving normally after the fall at first? If you don't mind, I'd be interested to hear more information about that fall :/
 

mickiem

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When my Orthroporus fell, it didn't exhibit any signs of distress and no cracks or damage. He moved a tad slower but that was the only difference. I remember another post on here about damaged segments. I'm not sure how that turned out. It was not from an injury; the owner found the millipede with a damaged segment. This is a great place to learn from others' experiences; good and bad.
 

anarchyinthejp

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When my Orthroporus fell, it didn't exhibit any signs of distress and no cracks or damage. He moved a tad slower but that was the only difference. I remember another post on here about damaged segments. I'm not sure how that turned out. It was not from an injury; the owner found the millipede with a damaged segment. This is a great place to learn from others' experiences; good and bad.
Yikes...that's a shame...it would seem fine which is frightening :/ I am hopeful (mine is still young--less than a year old), but I'm very grateful to have found this board.
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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Unfortunately based on my personal experience a recovery is not likely. The rear injury especially seems very serious but I do hope perhaps...I do hope there is a recovery. Pls keep us posted come fair weather or foul :jimlad:
 

anarchyinthejp

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Oct 24, 2016
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Unfortunately based on my personal experience a recovery is not likely. The rear injury especially seems very serious but I do hope perhaps...I do hope there is a recovery. Pls keep us posted come fair weather or foul :jimlad:
This is what I'm afraid of...ugh, poor thing. I don't want to disturb him, but I'm afraid I'm going to find him dead :( this is a very sad day.
 

nilo

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Oct 15, 2016
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He might have another chance if he is close to his next molt as he is not fully grown it seems
 
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