Can Narceus americanus spray acid? Also, can millis carry worms?

seijun

Arachnopeon
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Apr 18, 2006
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I was spritzing my Giant American Milli today with water (he hates that, started curling up in a little ball and trying to get away), nothing new, and I noticed my hand starting to burn. My skin was peppered with orange-yellow droplets that smelled horrible and stung pretty bad. I almost got a bunch of it in my eye but luckily I was wearing my glasses. Was this the Milli's doing? If so, what is the stuff? Acid? Cyanide?

Also, are American Giant Millis known to ever carry roundworms? I found a roundworm crawling around in the milli container this morning. I don't know if it was parasitic or not. I threw it out just to be safe. It could have come from anywhere. There are snails, earthworms, pillbugs, and who knows what else living in the milli container, any of which could be roundworm carriers. The container is filled with rotting wood that I find outside, so it might have come from that too. I was concerned though that the worm might be harmful to the milli.
 
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Crunchie

Arachnoangel
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Jul 1, 2004
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Hi there

The defence fluid of the Giant African millipede resembles iodine but doesn't normally sting. Usually it simply leeches out of pores along their sides but I have seen it spurt out before. Do you have sensitive skin at all? The fluid does smell bad but as I say I've never heard of it hurting anyone before.

The round worm you found will most likely be a soil dwelling species that maybe came in off the log you put in. Did you freeze or boil the log before adding it to the millipede enclosure? either way I wouldn't worry about it but I'm not sure if the larger millipede species could carry roundworm. It's a possibilty I suppose.
 

seijun

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 18, 2006
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Mine is the American species, not African. Does that make a difference?
My skin isn't overly sensative at all, but my hands were very dry from the weather, so that might have made it sting more since it would have been hitting minute cracks in the skin. Although the one spot on my finger is still red and raw from where one of the larger drops hit, and it took several good washings with soap to get it to stop stinging. It also felt like it was burning my throat and lungs to breath it in. Strong stuff for such a small animal! It was shot several inches through the air to hit me. I was at least half a foot away when it hit my glasses. I don't think anything else in the container could have been the source except the milli. When I got sprayed I checked right away for beetles or other insects that I might have disturbed but the mill was the only crawly in sight.

No, I didn't freeze the wood--guess I will have to start doing that. It was below freezing outside when I got the wood, but I guess that wasn't enough to kill the worm.
 

Crunchie

Arachnoangel
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ah for some reason I said African there when I meant American. I'm not sure if there's a huge difference but I'd guess not.
 

Drachenjager

Arachnoemperor
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Jan 23, 2006
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i do not know the chemical but yes they can cause some stinging /numbness/irritation and it stinks .Some people are more sensitive to it than others too. When i was a kid i played wiht some and got that stuff on my hand and it sorta tingled and went numb lol
 

Stylopidae

Arachnoking
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Jul 7, 2005
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What species? There's a few large species of milli here in America. Is it narceus americanus?
 

cacoseraph

ArachnoGod
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Jan 5, 2005
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i think N. americanus has some of the stronger USA millipede poisons.

my buddy killed a number of bugs he had collected when they were kept in the same BACKPACK as some N.amer's he had collected.
 

padkison

Arachnoangel
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Dec 8, 2005
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I've never noticed narceus to spray, but their secretions will stain your skin burgundy and is acrid to the smell.

I find that when I collect polydesmids and narceus at the same time, I need to separate them. The reason for this is that the polydesmids release their secretions at the drop of a hat and all the narceus wind up dead.
 

Galapoheros

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I was looking around once and found several C. vittatus and some Narceus. I only had one container. I got home and all the scorps were dead. Stiff, stained, some twitching. The millipedes were fine. I kind of like the smell from the millis. I think the stuff is pretty toxic but I don't think it's something to be afraid of. I'd just try not to get it in your eyes or open cuts. I'm sure it would sting a little then. I can feel a little tingle when I get it on more sensitive skin like under the forearm but, no big deal. It is kind of interesting though.
 
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