# New to millipedes, think they're tennessee flat millipedes?



## Vespa2628 (Feb 26, 2014)

I went out in the woods to see if I could catch some lizards (I'm a big reptile enthusiast-leopard gecko breeder) and I came back with two millipedes. I was planning to see if I could sell them but they grew on me. So now I have them in a small cage with an inch and a half or so of peat moss mixed with crushed dead leaves with a couple whole ones above them for hiding. I put some water in the the moss and will be spraying the cage every day or every other day. Am I doing everything I need to be doing? Are they safe to hold? Also are these worth anything so I could possibly breed them and sell the babies? Sorry for the bad pictures, if people are interested I'll take better ones soon.


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## Vespa2628 (Feb 26, 2014)

Please see my other thread! This one was an accident, the one with pictures is right below this one, same name


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## Gel (Feb 26, 2014)

Hi there. Thank you for your post. Do you have any pictures? It will help our millipede experts identify the specimens and answer some of those questions. I'm not knowledgeable regarding millipedes but one of our other members should be able to help. 

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## Vespa2628 (Feb 26, 2014)

I accidentally posted this twice (no clue how it happened) but my other thread right below this one has pictures. I'll delete this one if I find out how


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## Gel (Feb 26, 2014)

No need to delete it. Just put a link in your original post or next response to that thread.

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---------- Post added 02-26-2014 at 02:18 PM ----------

Ahhh I see the second thread now. No worries. Those are great. No need to do anything to this one.

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---------- Post added 02-26-2014 at 02:20 PM ----------

Not sure how to delete a thread if its possible. Maybe send a message to one of the forum moderators and request for this thread to be deleted. 

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## zonbonzovi (Feb 26, 2014)

I merged the threads 

Hard to say without detail but I'll guess Pachydesmus of some flavor.


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## Cavedweller (Feb 26, 2014)

Cool find! I'd give em some rotten wood and another inch or two of substrate. 

I've never kept flat millipedes, but I hear they only live a year or two after adulthood (vs some of the longer lived giant millipede species). Do you know how to sex them?

They're fine to hold, but if they get frightened they'll ooze on you. The poison they secrete can stain your hands, but it won't do anything else (assuming you aren't allergic). Just don't get it in your eyes/mouth and wash your hands after.


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## Spepper (Feb 26, 2014)

I don't know much about those specific 'pedes but my Yellow-Spotted flat millipedes (Harpaphe haydenia) didn't actually ooze poison, they emitted cyanide gas.  It smelled like almond extract.


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## Vespa2628 (Feb 26, 2014)

Yes I looked up how to sex them and I happened to find a male and a female without trying lol. They've built a single burrow that they seem to be sharing. After looking closer at them they have the red tips on each of their body segments so they might be the red tipped flat millipedes (can't remember the exact name).

Lol that sounds like fun. I hope they don't do that, I'm still rather jumpy around them lol. I have yet to get used to all the legs and the antennae and stuff lol

---------- Post added 02-26-2014 at 10:43 PM ----------

Thank you! And I'll be posting some more pictures soon, I'm trying to let them settle in a little lol but if I get the chance for a good picture I'll take it lol


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## Cavedweller (Feb 27, 2014)

Looking forward to more photos

They might also nibble when you handle them, until they figure out you're not edible. It just tickles, though. 

Some species breed easier in captivity than others, but if you use the right substrate you might get lucky! My pedelings showed up in march last year (they were a different species, though).


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## Vespa2628 (Feb 27, 2014)

Since I caught them outside would the dirt from outside be best to use or should I continue to use peat moss? They seem to enjoy the peat moss, immediately burrowing when I put them in. I looked again and they have a little tunnel system going through the moss lol. I couldn't really see them so I assume they're in those tunnels now


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## Cavedweller (Feb 27, 2014)

They need some hardwood/leaves in their substrate to meet their dietary needs. Since they're wild caught, mixing that with dirt from outside would probably be ok. I've never used peat moss, but I know some people do. If they seem to like it then it should be fine to leave in.


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## Spepper (Feb 27, 2014)

I use peat moss and had my Yellow-Spotted flat millipedes in it and they did just fine, with added decaying leaves and wood and such of course.  (Well as well as they possibly could I suppose.... that species doesn't do very well in captivity.  They died after a few months but it wasn't from bad care.)


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## Vespa2628 (Mar 1, 2014)

I have a lot of dead leaves in there with them for them to eat, and I can get some wood soon. Is it normal for them to stay underground for a long time? I haven't really seen mine above ground since I put the moss in.


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## Vespa2628 (Mar 1, 2014)

Ok guys, finally got around to picture taking! I could only find the girl but the guy looks the same as her. So here they are! It was actually pretty hard to get good pics of her bc she kept moving around. She's pretty fast for a milipede lol

Reactions: Like 1


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## zonbonzovi (Mar 1, 2014)

Another possibility is Dicellarius, based on your location and some "interwebs taxonomy" lol.

I had Harpaphe haydeniana for a couple years and they seemed to be interested in the well decomposed leaves more than anything.


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## Vespa2628 (Mar 1, 2014)

zonbonzovi said:


> Another possibility is Dicellarius, based on your location and some "interwebs taxonomy" lol.
> 
> I had Harpaphe haydeniana for a couple years and they seemed to be interested in the well decomposed leaves more than anything.


What's the difference between Dicellarius and Pachydesmus? The look almost the same in body structure, just slight differences in color from what I see. I'm looking at this website: http://www.nadiplochilo.com/Pachydesmini.html

---------- Post added 03-01-2014 at 03:23 PM ----------

After staring at it for a little longer I think I have the Pachydesmus. They have almost clear legs and so do mine, plus the almost seem to be a little flatter than dicellarius.


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## zonbonzovi (Mar 1, 2014)

That I wish I knew.  That's Dr. Shelley's site.  My train of thought in choosing those genera was his confirmation via photos on bugguide.net.

Although...here's a nifty database for finding literature once identification is narrowed down to something manageable: http://www.gbifev2.mwn.de/GloMyrIS/searchh_myr.htm

I haven't played with it much but have been able to locate papers a time or two.  Thanks for sharing photos of these...there are a handful of us with interest in polydesmids


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## Vespa2628 (Mar 2, 2014)

I enjoy mine, I like how they're faster but they don't bite lol. I still want to look into other ones but with my money being so stretched from my gecko breeding I can't really afford to buy anything lol. If I did it would have to be small like these because space is also a problem.


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