missing legs?

[juggalo69]

I just got a new black milipede. I noticed it is missing about 6-10 legs is this a problem? What vegis do ya'll feed your pedes right now mine has a pear slice, a tomato wedge and some iceburg lettuce. Any other suggestions as to good food sources. Do ya'll handle your pedes? I pull mine out and let it run around my bed, is this good/bad or undecided?

 

[Crunchie]

I'm very lazy so I'm just going to copy/paste from my millipede site...

Handling
First of all there is very little a millipede can do to hurt you, a nip from a millipede will certainly not break the skin and they nip very rarely anyway. What I think folks should be more concerned about is their defensive fluid they might secrete through pores on the sides of their bodies. This will probably stain and should never be brought into contact with the eyes or injested. Some millipedes are prone to "inking" more than others and I'm going to provide a list of millipedes which are especially easy to handle and ones that aren't.

Bronze millipedes make the best handling pets, they don't ink and are quite out-going and ready to explore any new surroundings. Ghana chocolate millipedes, Scarlet legged, Orange Pink legged, African Giant Blacks and most flat millipedes are also easy to handle and don't ink often.
However...

Tanzanian red legged, Ghana Amber banded, Olive and Yellow Faced aren't the best to handle as they are often quick to relese their chemical defences.
We recommend that heavy burrowers such as Tanzanian pinks, Yellow Zebra and Ghana Amber Bandeds are not handled simply because their owners will often have to dig them up. Digging around in a cage full of millipedes is HIGH UNRECOMMENDED due to the danger of disturbing a millipede which is moulting (this is often fatal).

To handle a millipede simply scoop it out of its enclosure and wait for it to uncurl (let it lie on a flat steady surface to do this otherwise it may be too gfrightened to do so). Once the millipede begins crawling around make sure it cannot fall and injure itself on a hard surface (handling on a couch/floor/bed is recommended). Let the millipede crawl around you hands and when it comes to putting it back in its enclosure simply put your hand in the tank and let the millipede walk off. NEVER pull a millipede off a surface as it will interpet you as a predator trying to eat it and you may damage its legs.

On the whole handling isn't really an exercise that should be done that often, though occasional handling shouldn't be a problem. Many millipedes that are offered for pets are wild caught and obviously they are not used to be being handled in the wild though they often show no signs of strees millipedes are mainly a "watching" pet.

Food and feeding

For the most part your pedes will probably eat the compost provided in their cage, another good thing to scatter within the cage is rotten oak leaves. These provide a valuable source of chittin and this chemical helps to strengthen the pedes exoskeleton.

I've also heard of ground cuttle fish bone being provided as a source of calcium. I've heard mixed opinions about it and would advise you sprinkle some over the pedes fruit and veg because lets face it, if they dont need it they wont eat it and if they do need it then it's there.

Pedes will eat most soft fruits and some veg. I find that mine are most fond of the following
melon (any type)
apple
mushroom
banana
tomato
cucumber (pedes LOVE cucumber)
salad leaves (give thesea good wash)

Your millipede should be able to get around ok even with 6-10 missing legs, enjoy your new pet! Millipedes are fantastic creatures!

 

[juggalo69]

Thanks. :clap:
Do I need to buy organic fruits/vegis so I don't have to worry about pestacides or will a good wash take care of all that?

 

[Black Hawk]

i would imagine a good wash would take care of nething on them. i usually feed mine canned or bottles fruit, it's softer and my AGB LOVES it.
btw, i wouldn't worry to much about letting it run around on your bed if u wash your hands afterward. however, if u tick him off and he inks on your bedsheets good luck getting the stain out. i'd guess it's near impossible.

 

[cacoseraph]

where is milli missing legs?

on something like the 3-7th segments boys often look like they're missing somme legs, cuz the legs have been transformed in to gonopods for mating. this is actually the easiest (and coincidentily only...) way i know how to sex millis

if the milli is still going to molt it can probably re-grow any truly missing legs , but i'm not positive if they are regenerators or not

 

[juggalo69]

Is there any way to tell how old they are mine is about a foot long and a good 3/4 in around.

 

[Black Hawk]

it's prolly full grown then, the only way to know for sure is to cb them