EGGS! MY MILLIPEDES LAID EGGS!!!! Pics and questions for ya!

MillipedeTrain

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
78
Hey guys! I’m HELLA stoked to report my giant millipedes have laid eggs! I have some pics and some questions below so if you have any experience with hatching millipede eggs I hope you can answer.

They have laid them all over the place and I only discovered them because a bunch of tunnelling ‘pedes unearthed several eggs and I found some dried out so I had to rebury the good ones quickly in some moist substrate.

I have found 2 different types of eggs and have 2 different millipedes happily cohabiting the same terrarium. I have found some poop coated eggs and some not coated In Poop at all and some of the eggs either looked fairly yellow and some fairly white. I don’t know if the ones that weren’t covered just had the poop fall off of them or if they were laid by a difference species but most eggs looked really good. I am always seeing 2 of my female Mardonius appear to be digging but not digging any tunnels and I found many eggs and even fresh eggs nearby them so I think they’re the culprits. This is my first time ever having successful egg laying since I got my millipedes. (I literally spent hours upon hours and copious amounts of research to make the proper environment and proper substrate with decayed maple/oak wood and leaves and it seems to have paid off! My first ever millipedes I was instructed to keep them on cocofibre and just have a few sticks and water dish in there with some cucumber and that is like the worst set up in the world no wonder they never bred! It was completely inappropriate! I hate cocofibre for inverts! If you don’t know why it’s bad I can list off many reasons for you and how it can even kill millipedes it’s awful. However that was quite a few years back and when I decided to get millipedes again I wanted to do everything correct this time and it appears to be working! )

The eggs that have been laid are most certainly mardonius parilis acuticonus (Cameroon matte blacks) however there is a good chance that Spirostreptidae SP.8 (Greenstripe millipede) eggs have been laid as well as both these guys are currently actively breeding and digging constantly! Every time I look they’re getting busy!

My questions for you guys though, does anyone know about on average how long it takes for these eggs to hatch? I think I read up to 3 months but is this correct? Can the eggs drown If they’re in soil that is too damp? I’m asking because the soil around the water dish is always pretty damp (it’s not like dripping wet or anything) but it’s still quite damp because they constantly dump their water out or fill it up with dirt then dig it all out again or I have to dump it out and refill their water Pretty much every morning but that really damp area is where I found a TON of eggs. The most eggs were there than any other area. Was under the water dish. All around the dirt about an inch down. ( I only discovered them when I carefully dig holes to bury the exposed eggs)


Thanks for your time guys, sorry this was long I’m just extremely excited. I can’t WAIT to see babies!!!!

(Ps. I know it’s hard to see but the very last pic that looks like me holding a blob of dirt is actually a poop covered egg you can just barely see the bit of yellow egg inside of it!)
 

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Arthroverts

Arachnoking
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Congratulations! If your S. sp. "8" did lay eggs, put me down for some babies. I have what I believe a mature male and I really love this species.

Anyway, as spirostreptids, that is surprising that any of the eggs were in cocoons, as it is usually only spirobolids that do that. I don't have enough experience to tell you if they belong to one or both species, but from the sound of it I wouldn't doubt that it could be both.
The eggs can drown in sopping wet soil, but if they were just in the area around the water dish that may be a signal to up the moisture levels in the rest of the enclosure.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts
 

MillipedeTrain

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
78
Congratulations! If your S. sp. "8" did lay eggs, put me down for some babies. I have what I believe a mature male and I really love this species.

Anyway, as spirostreptids, that is surprising that any of the eggs were in cocoons, as it is usually only spirobolids that do that. I don't have enough experience to tell you if they belong to one or both species, but from the sound of it I wouldn't doubt that it could be both.
The eggs can drown in sopping wet soil, but if they were just in the area around the water dish that may be a signal to up the moisture levels in the rest of the enclosure.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

Hey, thanks for your reply I did increase the humidity by pouring filtered water down the sides of the terrarium glass but I was careful to not let there too be too much water so that it’s not sopping wet. It’s weird that a lot of them laid so close to the top I thought they were supposed to lay the eggs all in a clutch together...not spread out one egg at a time here and there. From all the pics I’ve seen of eggs it was always in clutches. Also yes I did find it interesting to find two different types of eggs. Some in the poop cases and others were loose without any poop cases. However unfortunately several of the ones in poop cases I found were dried out since I do have a drier side for my ‘pedes and wetter side. I am often seeing my females digging to lay more eggs so I often go back to check to see if they left any exposed because on more than one occasion they have left the eggs just sitting on top of the dirt piles they dug so I had to carefully bury the exposed eggs. I’m really excited and I can’t wait for them to hatch. This is a first for me! I can’t wait to see the babies hatch and start to get color so I can know what species they are. I like the mystery it’s kinda fun!
 

MillipedeTrain

Arachnosquire
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Oct 19, 2019
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I am curious if you are seeing any babies hatching yet.
Oh a long time ago now I have tons of babies hatching. I actually made another forum topic for when they all hatched. I have TONS of both spirosreptus sp.8 babies and giant Mardonius red legged babies as well as 2 A.(originally Tonkinbolus) Dollfusi babies!


The ones with vivid stripes are Sp.8 babies and the light plain gray ones are the giant Mardonius red legged babies .
 

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Madnesssr

Arachnoknight
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Dec 2, 2019
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263
Congratulations!!! All 3 species are on my wish list. I am betting that you aren’t in the US, are you?
 

SeaNettle

Arachnopeon
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Mar 3, 2020
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32
Seems to me like you really hit the jackpot because you worked so hard at getting optimal substrate. Congrats.
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
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2,493
Oh a long time ago now I have tons of babies hatching. I actually made another forum topic for when they all hatched. I have TONS of both spirosreptus sp.8 babies and giant Mardonius red legged babies as well as 2 A.(originally Tonkinbolus) Dollfusi babies!


The ones with vivid stripes are Sp.8 babies and the light plain gray ones are the giant Mardonius red legged babies .
@Arthroverts T.dolfusi are still thought to be Tonkinbolus, right? I thought it was only the caudulanus that were misidentified?

Also, sp. 8 babies!!! 😁
 

MillipedeTrain

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That is correct. T. dollfusi (should be, anyway) are in the hobby.

Yep! @MillipedeTrain and I have been talking about them for a little while now.

Thanks,

Arthroverts
The tonkinbolus were also misidentified from the post, were they not? I saved the article. I was pretty sure it was that the Tonkinbolus Dollfusi was actually Apetheus Dollfusi too? I have sooooo many pictures I’m going to have to dig through them all to try and find it again...not to mention finding the whole conversation itself when the articles are posted. I’ll dig through it later.
 

Arthroverts

Arachnoking
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I don't believe so. Tonkinbolus dollfusi in the hobby is Tonkinbolus dollfusi (or at the very least a Tonkinbolus sp.). It was only T. caudulanus that was misidentified. Also, there is no such species as Apeuthes dollfusi (see here).

Thanks,

Arthroverts
 

MillipedeTrain

Arachnosquire
Joined
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Messages
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I don't believe so. Tonkinbolus dollfusi in the hobby is Tonkinbolus dollfusi (or at the very least a Tonkinbolus sp.). It was only T. caudulanus that was misidentified. Also, there is no such species as Apeuthes dollfusi (see here).

Thanks,

Arthroverts
Well, according to that list there is no such thing as Apeuthes Caudulanus either...and that’s one that was misidentified so that list wouldn’t help even for Caudulanus. So that’s not really a good reference because it’s not up to date.
 

Arthroverts

Arachnoking
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Well, according to that list there is no such thing as Apeuthes Caudulanus either...and that’s one that was misidentified so that list wouldn’t help even for Caudulanus. So that’s not really a good reference because it’s not up to date.
You misunderstand me. T. caudulanus isn't actually a case of mistaken A. caudulanus (partially because there is no such thing), rather just a matter of misidentifying a species of Apeuthes as Tonkinbolus. The T. caudulanus we have in the hobby could be any of the mentioned Apeuthes sp. on that list (or potentially even hybrids between them).

Thanks,

Arthroverts
 

MillipedeTrain

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
78
You misunderstand me. T. caudulanus isn't actually a case of mistaken A. caudulanus (partially because there is no such thing), rather just a matter of misidentifying a species of Apeuthes as Tonkinbolus. The T. caudulanus we have in the hobby could be any of the mentioned Apeuthes sp. on that list (or potentially even hybrids between them).

Thanks,

Arthroverts
I found the article, for the Dollfusi I was confusing Apeuthes and Atopochetus they are actually Atopochetus Dollfusi, not Apeuthes Dollfusi. I confused the two. Tonkinbolus Dollfusi was actually reassigned to Atopochetus Dollfusi.

So officially it is Apeuthes Caudulanus formerly misidentified as Tonkinbolus Caudulanus and
Atopochetus Dollfusi which was reassigned from Tonkinbolus Dollfusi.

When I read the article I remembered that it said A.Dollfusi but now I know I remembered incorrectly and it is actually Atopochetus Dollfusi. So we were both wrong on the Dollfusi lol.

Read the article about the Atopochetus Dollfusi and about the Caudulanus. :) Fwee! 🐛
 

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