Injured Millipede Bad Fall

[Halezii95]

I am new to this platform. I apologize if this isn't posted in the correct place. Today I had my A. Gigas out while I was cleaning his enclosure. Long story short, he fell about 4 feet onto a wood floor. He is not fully grown yet but he has some weight to him. He immediately curled up. I did not notice any place that he was broken and I didn't notice any fluid, however, his back third is slightly bent and it seemed he couldn't move those legs. He tried going under the substrate but stopped with his injured half still above the substrate. I realize the outlook isn't great. Has anyone experienced something like this and it turned out well for the little guy? I'm broken over this. It was such a stupid mistake.

Update: He has successfully gone under his substrate.

 

[Poonjab]

Break out the pitchforks.

 

[Tidbit]

Break out the pitchforks.

???

 

[Arthroverts]

I believe @Poonjab was referring to how some members tend to "skewer" people who make mistakes like this, although he is forgetting that this isn't either of the Tarantula's sub-forums and the millipede enthusiasts are less piranha-like so to speak...
A forum joke, I guess you could say.

Anyway, I am terribly sorry to hear about that happening. The outlook is definitely not great at all; a fall from that height onto a hard surface is usually fatal, whether you see an external injury or no. If it were carpet or something I might be a little more hopeful (even then however the chance of it dying is higher than the chance of it living), but at this point all you can do is watch and wait to see what happens.
You probably know this already (or know it now) but you should never handle a millipede more than its body length above a surface, and it should be a soft one at that (such as above a bed or its enclosure where the substrate is relatively soft). Again, I'm super sorry that happened to you, and I'm hoping for the best, even if that outcome is unlikely to happen.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[Tidbit]

I believe @Poonjab was referring to how some members tend to "skewer" people who make mistakes like this, although he is forgetting that this isn't either of the Tarantula's sub-forums and the millipede enthusiasts are less piranha-like so to speak...
A forum joke, I guess you could say.

Anyway, I am terribly sorry to hear about that happening. The outlook is definitely not great at all; a fall from that height onto a hard surface is usually fatal, whether you see an external injury or no. If it were carpet or something I might be a little more hopeful (even then however the chance of it dying is higher than the chance of it living), but at this point all you can do is watch and wait to see what happens.
You probably know this already (or know it now) but you should never handle a millipede more than its body length above a surface, and it should be a soft one at that (such as above a bed or its enclosure where the substrate is relatively soft). Again, I'm super sorry that happened to you, and I'm hoping for the best, even if that outcome is unlikely to happen.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

Oh I see I’m new here and don’t have any tarantulas so...

 

[Arthroverts]

Oh I see I’m new here and don’t have any tarantulas so...

I think that's what he meant anyway, ha ha. It is true though; this forum definitely can be quite fierce in terms of the membership; if you don't want to listen to advice or refuse to change some part of your care that is inappropriate for whatever species, (this is mostly true only of the tarantula sub-forums, which are also the most active) you are in for a bad time.
I don't say that to scare anybody, but it is something to be aware of. Enough flame wars and dumpster fire threads have come about from people confusing this forum for Facebook, where many people like posts indiscriminately and don't care about whether the care is adequate or not.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[davehuth]

Tragedies like this Cause such a terrible feeling inside and I’m really sorry this happened. It’s rare for a millipede to recover from something like this, but not unheard of. Whether your millipede will survive or not, it will likely be a very long time before you see it again. Certainly it will be many months. Make sure you resist, with all your night, the urge to dig for it. Simply keep The enclosure undisturbed and maintain your routine of care (misting, add leaf litter when necessary, etc.). Pick out any stray isopods or other hitchhikers if you see them in the surface. And just hope for the best. If there’s no sign after 6+ months it may be hopeless but I personally would wait a year before I gave up. Update the thread here if there’s any news. Sorry again for this really hard experience.

 

[Tidbit]

Tragedies like this Cause such a terrible feeling inside and I’m really sorry this happened. It’s rare for a millipede to recover from something like this, but not unheard of. Whether your millipede will survive or not, it will likely be a very long time before you see it again. Certainly it will be many months. Make sure you resist, with all your night, the urge to dig for it. Simply keep The enclosure undisturbed and maintain your routine of care (misting, add leaf litter when necessary, etc.). Pick out any stray isopods or other hitchhikers if you see them in the surface. And just hope for the best. If there’s no sign after 6+ months it may be hopeless but I personally would wait a year before I gave up. Update the thread here if there’s any news. Sorry again for this really hard experience.

Agreed

 

[Halezii95]

Tragedies like this Cause such a terrible feeling inside and I’m really sorry this happened. It’s rare for a millipede to recover from something like this, but not unheard of. Whether your millipede will survive or not, it will likely be a very long time before you see it again. Certainly it will be many months. Make sure you resist, with all your night, the urge to dig for it. Simply keep The enclosure undisturbed and maintain your routine of care (misting, add leaf litter when necessary, etc.). Pick out any stray isopods or other hitchhikers if you see them in the surface. And just hope for the best. If there’s no sign after 6+ months it may be hopeless but I personally would wait a year before I gave up. Update the thread here if there’s any news. Sorry again for this really hard experience.

Wow! A year! Will do! Your suggestion is very insightful. It brings me to another question. It regards moisture. I typically take him out when I am maintaining moisture in his enclosure so I can stir around and fluff up his substrate. How can I help his substrate retain moisture now that I 1. Don’t know where he is (don’t want to shoot him with water or make his area too wet) and 2. Can’t stir his substrate? I’m afraid this question reveals just how novice a keeper I am but if I can be better, questions are the means.

 

[AuroraLights]

How can I help his substrate retain moisture now that I 1. Don’t know where he is (don’t want to shoot him with water or make his area too wet) and 2. Can’t stir his substrate? I’m afraid this question reveals just how novice a keeper I am but if I can be better, questions are the means.

Never be afraid to ask questions!

1. Just try to make the whole enclosure equally moist. If he's underground I can't imagine misting the surface would cause any problems, as long as you don't add so much water that the substrate turns to mud.
2. Easy, you don't need to anyway! I've actually never heard anyone suggest stirring millipede substrate and I think it might do more harm than good. Generally with millipedes it's best to disturb them as little as possible, so you shouldn't really touch their substrate unless you need to do a substrate change. I think the millipedes should aerate the soil enough with their own burrowing, and it seems to me like stirring it up is more likely to actually reduce moisture than increase it. Plus you'd ruin any burrow systems they might have dug out.

I hope your little guy pulls through!

 

[mantiscatamp]

Handling millipedes u have to be careful because they can easily slip n fall off stuff unlike BEETLES my beetle can get stuck on me n refuses to let go

 

[AuroraLights]

Handling millipedes u have to be careful because they can easily slip n fall off stuff unlike BEETLES my beetle can get stuck on me n refuses to let go

Plus most beetles can fly, so they've probably evolved to cope with falls slightly better. Millipedes are just tanks with calcified exoskeletons.
Although, I have noticed that some species of millipede have much 'stickier' feet, almost like Velcro. I wonder if that's an adaptation for the more arboreal species?

 

[Halezii95]

Never be afraid to ask questions!

1. Just try to make the whole enclosure equally moist. If he's underground I can't imagine misting the surface would cause any problems, as long as you don't add so much water that the substrate turns to mud.
2. Easy, you don't need to anyway! I've actually never heard anyone suggest stirring millipede substrate and I think it might do more harm than good. Generally with millipedes it's best to disturb them as little as possible, so you shouldn't really touch their substrate unless you need to do a substrate change. I think the millipedes should aerate the soil enough with their own burrowing, and it seems to me like stirring it up is more likely to actually reduce moisture than increase it. Plus you'd ruin any burrow systems they might have dug out.

I hope your little guy pulls through!

Thank you! This is very helpful. Since the accident, I’ve been misting the enclosure twice daily and it’s seems to be working out well.

 

[davehuth]

Wow! A year!

Well, that's a while I know. Maybe it's just me. After 8 or 9 months, I'd guess the odds would be looking grim. But I've been known to leave unpopulated enclosures undisturbed a long time on the off chance that life may yet triumph

 

[Halezii95]

Well, that's a while I know. Maybe it's just me. After 8 or 9 months, I'd guess the odds would be looking grim. But I've been known to leave unpopulated enclosures undisturbed a long time on the off chance that life may yet triumph

I’ll certainly see what happens. I’d give anything to see the little guy out and about again. He’s my little man haha

 

[Halezii95]

I am new to this platform. I apologize if this isn't posted in the correct place. Today I had my A. Gigas out while I was cleaning his enclosure. Long story short, he fell about 4 feet onto a wood floor. He is not fully grown yet but he has some weight to him. He immediately curled up. I did not notice any place that he was broken and I didn't notice any fluid, however, his back third is slightly bent and it seemed he couldn't move those legs. He tried going under the substrate but stopped with his injured half still above the substrate. I realize the outlook isn't great. Has anyone experienced something like this and it turned out well for the little guy? I'm broken over this. It was such a stupid mistake.

Update: He has successfully gone under his substrate.

1 month-ish update: he has made a chamber near the glass of his enclosure and I saw him moving around!!!

 

[MontePython]

1 month-ish update: he has made a chamber near the glass of his enclosure and I saw him moving around!!!

Glad to hear it! Fingers crossed for your guy!

 

[Halezii95]

UPDATE: This morning I saw Oliver out and about for the first time since his fall. He has successfully molted and his backside seems to have no sign of external damage and it looks like his legs are all working properly I am SO grateful and VERY happy!! Here are some photos of him today. Please forgive the appearance of his enclosure as I didn't want to disturb anything while he was healing after the fall.

 

[MontePython]

Oh that's great to hear! I'm glad he seems to be recovered!

 

[Arthroverts]

Hurray!

Thanks,

Arthroverts