# Giant black millipedes at Petco



## JJJoshua (Mar 30, 2005)

I saw 2 giant black millipedes at petco, and i wanted to buy one, but I noticed all these little bugs crawling all over them. I don't know if they were mites or what, but the one was curled up trying to get them off I guess, I asked the people there but as usual their knowledge was inconclusive... 

So my real question is, if I buy one of these guys, how do I get rid of these bugs on them, and if it's a recurring problem, could these bugs get onto my T's?


----------



## moricollins (Mar 31, 2005)

if they're mites jsut keep it dry, make sure you provide lots of food for the millies though as the dryness coudl dessicate them.

Dryness usually helps prevent mites.


----------



## 8 leg wonder (Mar 31, 2005)

no all mites on millipedes are harmful, if they are the benificial kind you don't want to remove them


----------



## Crunchie (Mar 31, 2005)

I was kind of wondering about mites recently myself as I spotted this one on my yellow faced millipede. Do dolk think it's just a millipede mite, it looked quite big to me but I'm sure I saw mites of the same kind on adult AGBs?


----------



## danread (Mar 31, 2005)

As a general rule, the big and very mobile mites are not a problem, so if you can see them actively running around on the millipede, dont worry. The mites that are more problematic are the small non-mobile mites that accumulate around the mouthparts and segment joins. These are actually parasitic and can cause a problem if they are in large numbers (but dont worry if there is just a few, you'll end up doing more harm than good if you try and completely irradicate mites from a millipede).

Cheers,


----------



## Crunchie (Mar 31, 2005)

It would be good to get some photos of the bad mites that perhaps I could use on my website. I never noticed the mite when I was taking the photo but if it's a goodie mite then it's good to have a photo of that too.


----------



## Elytra and Antenna (Mar 31, 2005)

The large commensal mites like the one pictured and the smaller commensal type on Dendrostreptus are harmless and many people like them. 
Without a handlens the bad mites look more like a crust on the sides of the milipede. The 'bad' mites are a common, tiny grain mite that reproduce in the presence of excessive and rotting food of the wrong type. They don't harm the millipede but the conditions that spawn excessive grain mites are deadly to millipedes.  Move the millipede to new substrate, feed sparingly with any dog food or fruit and the grain mites go away over time. Do not try to 'dry' out a millipede to kill mites or it will die before or just after they do.


----------



## JJJoshua (Mar 31, 2005)

Yeah these mites were very large and visible but seemed to be irritating the pede. Would these large mites be able to get to my T's if they were in the same room, and are they bothersome to T's?


----------



## danread (Mar 31, 2005)

I kept three AGBs in the same room as all my other inverts for about a year, and in that time i saw no evidence that they were capable of moving to another, non-millipede host. Thats not to say 100% it can't happen, but i think it would be extremely unlikely. The large mites are not parasitic, they are scavengers that live of the waste food from the millipede, i doubt they would find anything to survive on a tarantula.


----------



## JJJoshua (Mar 31, 2005)

Aright cool, proally gonna pick one up today or tomorrow. Thanks


----------



## Crunchie (Mar 31, 2005)

If there's only 2 get em both!


----------



## Wade (Mar 31, 2005)

Especially since the USDA may stop any more from getting here. Buy 'em up, folks!

Wade


----------



## JJJoshua (Mar 31, 2005)

$13 a piece, might have to scrounge for some more cash...


----------



## jonah (Mar 31, 2005)

MantidAssassins said:
			
		

> They don't harm the millipede but the conditions that spawn excessive grain mites are deadly to millipedes.


Could you tell me more about what conditions your are talking about?

what's bad for them?

-j.


----------



## J Morningstar (Mar 31, 2005)

Crunchie, 
 There must be a hundred pictures of "bad" mites on these boards. If you use the all mighty search engine I am almost positive if you ask perrmission you will be able to use the photo with proper credits. Do you really think anyone here would turn down the chance to get their pic's shown?!


----------



## Crunchie (Apr 1, 2005)

hehe I guess so, will need to have a look later! ;P


----------

