Harpaphe haydeniana (cyanide millipede) as pets

[basement pets]

I live in Washington and every once in a while I see a yellow spotted millipede or cyanide millipede probably Harpaphe haydeniana. I was wondering if anyone has experience breeding them or just keeping them in general? I have also heard that they release cyanide and was wondering if I were to breed enough if the cyanide could be harmful? could they be kept similarly to ivory millipedes?

 

[Arthroverts]

Harpaphe haydeniana is one of the hardiest polydesmids from what I hear actually, breeding well in a substrate of 90-100% rotting wood (so you would probably want to keep them separate from your Ivories). Well, at least the Washington variety is hardy, the Alaskan locality does not do well in captivity apparently.
They only release their cyanide when threatened I believe, so unless your stressing them out all the time and keeping them in a sealed container they will do fine.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[basement pets]

Thanks! I will definitely capture some next time I see them while doing yard work

 

[Arthroverts]

Happy to help. Just keep in mind their need for rotting wood, and they might prefer cooler temps (68-72F). I would love to keep some of these one day.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[basement pets]

Happy to help. Just keep in mind their need for rotting wood, and they might prefer cooler temps (68-72F). I would love to keep some of these one day.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

Cool! Thanks for the info I will make sure to keep them in a cooler part of my room because I have a space heater in the bug closet. I have a large supply of rotting wood in my yard so it shouldn't be too hard to collect.

 

[Arthroverts]

Sounds good! Keep us updated on how it turns out.
I'm really envious of y'all who can collect rotting wood/leaves straight from your yard...
*sigh*

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[VolkswagenBug]

Sounds good! Keep us updated on how it turns out.
I'm really envious of y'all who can collect rotting wood/leaves straight from your yard...
*sigh*

Thanks,

Arthroverts

At least you can get interesting arthropods over there.

 

[Arthroverts]

@VolkswagenBug, true, true. I can't complain, but I still wish that rotten leaves/wood was more plentiful in my area, or available for cheaper online.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Arthroverts]

O.K, so I was cross-checking myself in Orin McMonigle's book "Millipeds in Captivity", and apparently the Washington subspecies are the ones that don't do well in captivity. It is the Northern Californian varieties that do well when provided with proper care. While this is the only report I know of for Washington H. haydeniana, that's all we have to go on.

Sorry for providing incorrect information. I hope that new info can be found on the specifics of what the more northern subspecies need to thrive in captive conditions.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[basement pets]

It's ok I haven't found any yet and if I do I wont catch them

 

[Arthroverts]

Still, I'm sorry about that. I'm glad I checked before it went on too much further.

Thanks for understanding,

Arthroverts