Giant African Millipede Mites?

mirrorglaZe

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 30, 2021
Messages
2
I'm sure this is a commonly-asked question here, but the internet is giving me mixed responses!

Long story short, I've had a Giant African Millipede for less than a month and when I got her, I was told the little brown bugs crawling on her were the helpful mites.

My question is, a month later, how to tell if there are too many, or if the millipede is being bothered/annoyed, or if that is even possible? There are many more of these fast-moving, red-brown mites on her and while they seem to walk around her legs primarily, there are quite a few right under her face.

I attempted to gently get a few off of her with a cotton swab, but was only able to nab one (didn't attempt for longer than a minute to avoid annoying the 'pede).

I just don't know. I've searched the web, to no avail, and am growing concerned. Thank you :)
 

Matts inverts

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jan 17, 2021
Messages
866
You can try to gently wipe or rinse them. Many beetles have this problem like a fresh captive bred line or wild caught beetles. If there are to many around mouth or breathing part, try to get them off so they don’t over crowd the millipede. Please post a pic. Also, just wondering how you got a ABG millipede in the US? They aren’t aloud to be imported without a ton of papers and can’t have mites. How did you manage to get the permits?
 

mirrorglaZe

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 30, 2021
Messages
2
You can try to gently wipe or rinse them. Many beetles have this problem like a fresh captive bred line or wild caught beetles. If there are to many around mouth or breathing part, try to get them off so they don’t over crowd the millipede. Please post a pic. Also, just wondering how you got a ABG millipede in the US? They aren’t aloud to be imported without a ton of papers and can’t have mites. How did you manage to get the permits?
Got it from a local reptile store. As far as I'm aware, they're legal to own but not to import, so I have nothing to do/no idea of where this creature came from. The store claimed they got them from a legal breeder, but... yeah, unsure.

I'll post a pic when she isn't sleeping, later tonight haha. I'm going to wait for a few more opinions before I put the buggy under a gentle faucet of water
 

Madnesssr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Messages
262
You can try to gently wipe or rinse them. Many beetles have this problem like a fresh captive bred line or wild caught beetles. If there are to many around mouth or breathing part, try to get them off so they don’t over crowd the millipede. Please post a pic. Also, just wondering how you got a ABG millipede in the US? They aren’t aloud to be imported without a ton of papers and can’t have mites. How did you manage to get the permits?
There is CB stock here in the US that was brought in pre import ban. Carolina Biological Supply used to sell them to the public and schools. There is a member on this board that has multi generational stock that is well over 20 years in the making.
 
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