Are silverfish a danger to my millipedes

[kjgalaxy]

I have a ton of silverfish in my millipede enclosure. Are they a danger to baby millipedes?

 

[mantisfan101]

I think they eat starch so I think you’re good.

 

[Polenth]

It's unusual to have silverfish enter an enclosure like that, so you might want to double check that's what they are. But silverfish are into the carbs and aren't known for being predatory, so I wouldn't think they'd be a problem.

 

[kjgalaxy]

Oh, they are definitely silverfish. I think I failed to cook some wood long enough. I'm going to pull my habitat apart and recook the wood I put in there, but I fear the silverfish have already multiplied. But I wanted to know if I needed to worry about them and do a total redo. Thanks!

 

[Feral]

How many legs do they have?

I recently learned that the creature that everyone I know around here calls "silverfish" aren't actually silverfish, they're house centipedes. I have no idea why everyone is calling them the wrong thing, or if that's just a regional misnomer or more widespread. But since silverfish and house centipedes have VERY different diets and are therefore at different levels of danger to your pets, I thought I'd mention it, just in case.

Also, could whatever creatures they are be bringing in harmful things with/on them into your enclosures? Like parasites or residual toxins or what have you? It's a thought.

 

[Nicholas Rothstein]

A house centipede wouldn't dare attack a milipede. And silver fish would either. They don't pose an immediate threat but I think they can stress each other out. I think re cooking everything and changing everything is a good idea.

 

[Feral]

A house centipede wouldn't dare attack a milipede. And silver fish would either. They don't pose an immediate threat but I think they can stress each other out. I think re cooking everything and changing everything is a good idea.

Why wouldn't a house centipede eat a baby millipede? That seems exactly like something they'd eat. Am I missing something? They're insectivores.

 

[Nicholas Rothstein]

Why wouldn't a house centipede eat a baby millipede? That seems exactly like something they'd eat. Am I missing something? They're insectivores.

Millipedes are poisonous. I highly doubt a house centipede would eat one. I've had a scolopendra subspinipes bolt into a small container with baby and juvenile millipedes. This was right before feeding and the pede didn't attack anything. House centipedes are arguably less voracious in predatory terms.

 

[SonsofArachne]

Actually, from what I've read, if you're keeping silverfish alive in captivity you're doing something a number of people have tried and failed at - https://arachnoboards.com/threads/need-help-in-keeping-silverfish-as-pets.278128/ - figures that someone not even trying would have success.

 

[Polenth]

Actually, from what I've read, if you're keeping silverfish alive in captivity you're doing something a number of people have tried and failed at - https://arachnoboards.com/threads/need-help-in-keeping-silverfish-as-pets.278128/ - figures that someone not even trying would have success.

Though other people might have struggled, I don't think the experiences in that thread are necessarily average. The original poster came across as young and not knowing the basics of animal care.

 

[SonsofArachne]

Though other people might have struggled, I don't think the experiences in that thread are necessarily average. The original poster came across as young and not knowing the basics of animal care.

If you read through the thread most people on it said they had problems - long term anyway. And other sources I've read imply the same thing - hard to keep. Also the people who do claim success vary wildly in how they say they kept them. I did some research on this as I was looking into keeping them but what I read discouraged me.

 

[Scoly]

I've tried and failed to keep silverfish (Just to clarify: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish) so you must be doing something right. Not sure why you'd want to get rid of them

Millipedes are poisonous. I highly doubt a house centipede would eat one.

Plenty animals prey on millipedes. I've had stone centipedes (Lithobius sp) clean out all the baby millipedes I had in an enclosure. Also certain centipedes are millipede specialists.

Yummy...

 

[Nicholas Rothstein]

I've tried and failed to keep silverfish (Just to clarify: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish) so you must be doing something right. Not sure why you'd want to get rid of them



Plenty animals prey on millipedes. I've had stone centipedes (Lithobius sp) clean out all the baby millipedes I had in an enclosure. Also certain centipedes are millipede specialists.

Yummy...

View attachment 324788

See my previous post.

Everything has something adapted to eat it. To my knowledge the things people call silver fish (house centipedes is what I commonly know them as) do not eat millipedes. Your picture is of some kind of scolopendra it seems.

Maybe baby/juvenile millipedes dont have the potency of poison to fend of predation. Getting a mouth full of some form of cyanide is a no go for most animals.

 

[SonsofArachne]

To my knowledge the things people call silver fish (house centipedes is what I commonly know them as)

I don't know who's calling house centipedes silverfish but they're wrong. A silverfish is a insect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish

 

[Scoly]

See my previous post.

Everything has something adapted to eat it. To my knowledge the things people call silver fish (house centipedes is what I commonly know them as) do not eat millipedes. Your picture is of some kind of scolopendra it seems.

Maybe baby/juvenile millipedes dont have the potency of poison to fend of predation. Getting a mouth full of some form of cyanide is a no go for most animals.

Oh I'm not arguing about silverfish vs Scutigeromorpha (I don't know who on earth calls them silverfish!) It seems were inferring centipedes would not eat millipedes because they are poisonous, so I thought I'd correct that.

 

[Nicholas Rothstein]

Oh I'm not arguing about silverfish vs Scutigeromorpha (I don't know who on earth calls them silverfish!) It seems were inferring centipedes would not eat millipedes because they are poisonous, so I thought I'd correct that.

No, I was inferring from multiple anecdotes that poison from millipedes probably deters house centipedes from eating them.

Stress is a more probable cause for concern.

 

[BepopCola]

I kept a silverfish with my millipedes for about a month before I accidentally squished it. They won't try and kill a millipede,
but if you have "a ton" of silverfish, then I agree with @Nicholas Rothstein the millipedes might die from stress.

See my previous post.

Everything has something adapted to eat it. To my knowledge the things people call silver fish (house centipedes is what I commonly know them as) do not eat millipedes. Your picture is of some kind of scolopendra it seems.

Maybe baby/juvenile millipedes don't have the potency of poison to fend of predation. Getting a mouth full of some form of cyanide is a no go for most animals.

I've seen a warrior beetle tear into 3 Ivory millipedes, seemingly unphased. The poison from non-cyanide millipedes might not be enough to fend off a determined bug, but a millipede might be safe if a house centipede's stingers can't pierce their armor, I have no experience with house centipedes though.
Millipedes that excrete cyanide might be a different story.
If OP has these, an annoyed one might excrete and kill the silverfish. I'd be interested to see.