Millipede Sex - second opinion please?

Pigeon

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 9, 2021
Messages
56
Adopted this 'male' adult Giant African Millipede from a girl who could no longer cater for his needs. Upon seeing the photo I wasn't 100% agreed that 'he' was male. Upon picking him up I've realised I've taken on a bit of a project critter. He's nevere been handled, let alone seen light - he's incredibly skittish and any form of movement or vibration by his tank causes him to curl and release that toxic, foul smelling chemical that they so kindly enjoy dumping, normally on your white shirts! He's got horrible foot rot, though given the lack of ventilation in the tub he was being kept in, i'm not surprised. WAY too wet and just filled with fungus and other parasites from untreated wild wood.

Luckily this 'boy' is in good hands now so will soon be back to a full bill of health :)

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I am not convinced this is a male millipede. Obviously males have the sex organs on the 7th segment, resulting in a segment with no legs and thus a visible gap. On previous males (Rainbow Millipedes) this was very prominent and easy to view, so I figured.... bigger millipede should be even easier right? In theory yes, difficult when 'he' curls so quickly and easily.

I've managed to get him to uncurl and climb up my hand/arm so i could take some quick photos before leaving him to his own business again. There is DEFINITELY no gap, but I would love to get a second opinion as I haven't sex'd this species before?

Also while people are here and looking at this post... best ways to help him recover from foot rot? currently keeping him in a slightly drier environment to allow him to heal as he is, presume if he survives to next shed, they'll regenerate fully? My others have had it before, but i normally just leave them to get on if it's one or two legs. This guy has A LOT.
 

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Pigeon

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 9, 2021
Messages
56
Adopted this 'male' adult Giant African Millipede from a girl who could no longer cater for his needs. Upon seeing the photo I wasn't 100% agreed that 'he' was male. Upon picking him up I've realised I've taken on a bit of a project critter. He's nevere been handled, let alone seen light - he's incredibly skittish and any form of movement or vibration by his tank causes him to curl and release that toxic, foul smelling chemical that they so kindly enjoy dumping, normally on your white shirts! He's got horrible foot rot, though given the lack of ventilation in the tub he was being kept in, i'm not surprised. WAY too wet and just filled with fungus and other parasites from untreated wild wood.

Luckily this 'boy' is in good hands now so will soon be back to a full bill of health :)

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I am not convinced this is a male millipede. Obviously males have the sex organs on the 7th segment, resulting in a segment with no legs and thus a visible gap. On previous males (Rainbow Millipedes) this was very prominent and easy to view, so I figured.... bigger millipede should be even easier right? In theory yes, difficult when 'he' curls so quickly and easily.

I've managed to get him to uncurl and climb up my hand/arm so i could take some quick photos before leaving him to his own business again. There is DEFINITELY no gap, but I would love to get a second opinion as I haven't sex'd this species before?

Also while people are here and looking at this post... best ways to help him recover from foot rot? currently keeping him in a slightly drier environment to allow him to heal as he is, presume if he survives to next shed, they'll regenerate fully? My others have had it before, but i normally just leave them to get on if it's one or two legs. This guy has A LOT.
still looking to get an opinion on the sex of this millipede... if it is female i'm going to be putting them into the larger tank with my girlies so need to know!
 

Scolopedes tha name

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 17, 2021
Messages
2
Hi, did u ever get ur answer? I got a group of 4 and am hoping i got atleast 1 pair. I hear some species dont have external gonopods and Im not sure if A.gigas is one of them.
Thanks:)
 

Madnesssr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Messages
262
Adopted this 'male' adult Giant African Millipede from a girl who could no longer cater for his needs. Upon seeing the photo I wasn't 100% agreed that 'he' was male. Upon picking him up I've realised I've taken on a bit of a project critter. He's nevere been handled, let alone seen light - he's incredibly skittish and any form of movement or vibration by his tank causes him to curl and release that toxic, foul smelling chemical that they so kindly enjoy dumping, normally on your white shirts! He's got horrible foot rot, though given the lack of ventilation in the tub he was being kept in, i'm not surprised. WAY too wet and just filled with fungus and other parasites from untreated wild wood.

Luckily this 'boy' is in good hands now so will soon be back to a full bill of health :)

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I am not convinced this is a male millipede. Obviously males have the sex organs on the 7th segment, resulting in a segment with no legs and thus a visible gap. On previous males (Rainbow Millipedes) this was very prominent and easy to view, so I figured.... bigger millipede should be even easier right? In theory yes, difficult when 'he' curls so quickly and easily.

I've managed to get him to uncurl and climb up my hand/arm so i could take some quick photos before leaving him to his own business again. There is DEFINITELY no gap, but I would love to get a second opinion as I haven't sex'd this species before?

Also while people are here and looking at this post... best ways to help him recover from foot rot? currently keeping him in a slightly drier environment to allow him to heal as he is, presume if he survives to next shed, they'll regenerate fully? My others have had it before, but i normally just leave them to get on if it's one or two legs. This guy has A LOT.
Make sure that the soil you have her in isn’t too damp. She should molt out of the foot rot with her next molt.
 

Pigeon

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 9, 2021
Messages
56
Hi, did u ever get ur answer? I got a group of 4 and am hoping i got atleast 1 pair. I hear some species dont have external gonopods and Im not sure if A.gigas is one of them.
Thanks:)
I didn't. Unfortunately she randomly padded away a month ago now too. We presume old age as she was potentially 7. Gigas have a visible gap on males so normally easy to spot.
 

Pigeon

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 9, 2021
Messages
56
Make sure that the soil you have her in isn’t too damp. She should molt out of the foot rot with her next molt.
Unfortunately, she passed away last month from presumed old age. Her foot rot was well healed by then.
 

mickiem

Arachnoprince
Active Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2016
Messages
1,652
So sorry! I know I am late to the plate, but I believe she was a female for what it's worth.
 
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