Carnivorous millipedes???

[wsimms]

:?

OK, I thought I'd seen it all. We have two african goliath black millipedes and two "redlegged" millipedes (same genus, different species) together in a terrarium with our pet toad (locally caught). We drop in crickets for the toad, and feed the millipedes fruit and veggies. The resultant environment is that the fruit and veggies feed the crickets so the toad can enjoy them in all his toadish leisure, and the crickets clean up the scraps the millipedes leave behind. It's been a peaceful arrangement for over a year, and so far no phorid flies or mites...

Which brings me to the point of this post. This morning I observed one of the "redlegged" millipedes munching on a cricket. I was shocked to say the least. I am fairly certain the cricket was not dead last night because the feast was occurring next to the pede's food bowl, which I check every day to see if it is empty, dirty, etc. Had I seen a dead cricket, I would have noticed it. I think the cricket came to the food bowl at the same time as the pede and the pede killed him. And no, this ain't a centipede. Has anyone ever seen this?

W

 

[Elizabeth]

If you check it every day, that still leaves 24 hours minus the time you check for a cricket to die. I would guess it died: by itself, from another cricket, or from ?, but not from the millipedes. The millipede just got to it faster than you did! Ah! Freshly dead! Just my guess, though...

 

[wsimms]

I looked at it at about 11:00 last night and saw the millipede eating the cricket at 8:00 this morning. I went back to check on it at lunch, and all that's left of the cricket is one hind leg!

W

 

[Elizabeth]

They are such good eaters/cleaners!

 

[Professor T]

:?

OK, I thought I'd seen it all. We have two african goliath black millipedes and two "redlegged" millipedes (same genus, different species) together in a terrarium with our pet toad (locally caught). We drop in crickets for the toad, and feed the millipedes fruit and veggies. The resultant environment is that the fruit and veggies feed the crickets so the toad can enjoy them in all his toadish leisure, and the crickets clean up the scraps the millipedes leave behind. It's been a peaceful arrangement for over a year, and so far no phorid flies or mites...

Which brings me to the point of this post. This morning I observed one of the "redlegged" millipedes munching on a cricket. I was shocked to say the least. I am fairly certain the cricket was not dead last night because the feast was occurring next to the pede's food bowl, which I check every day to see if it is empty, dirty, etc. Had I seen a dead cricket, I would have noticed it. I think the cricket came to the food bowl at the same time as the pede and the pede killed him. And no, this ain't a centipede. Has anyone ever seen this?

W

Millipedes are herbivores, decomposers, and scavengers at times. My guess is the cricket was already dead.

I've never seen any of my AGBs, Ivories, red-ribbed, or Florida millipedes eat live prey of any kind, and I keep them with pill bugs and earthworms. I own over 100 millipedes and they never eat live prey.

 

[Navaros]

Never seen millipedes eat live food. The cricket was probably already dead. I have fed AGBs prekilled mouse pinkies in the past.

 

[wsimms]

Thanks. I realized that I never see dead crickets in there, a fact I have always attributed to the toad's gluttony. Now I realize the pedes have probably been cleaning up the carcasses all along, I just haven't seen it. If I see one eating a live one, I'll let you know.

W