uh, do I have Millie babies or eggs?!

[Gillian]

Hi all,
I was just in gathering food dishes, to feed. In my Desert Yellow enclosure, on top of the food dish, on what was leftover of the food, there and hundreds of very tiny, white roundish things. If you look very closely, you can see minute movement. I took it out of the dish, and won't throw it, until I find out. Babies or, mites?
Peace,
Gillian

 

[Nikos]

I'm not keeping any milliepedes but sounds like mites to me. (you know: moisture and food leftovers=mites)

You should get some opinions from others too.

 

[Gillian]

Darn!
I was kinda looking forward to the pitter patter of millions of tiny, little feet..
Thanks..though..
Peace,
Gillian

 

[sunnymarcie]

could still be babies

Put the food and its critters into another container.
If you have a good magnifying glass you should be able to
tell what they are
I hope it's babies!

 

[Nikos]

Originally posted by Gillian
Darn!
I was kinda looking forward to the pitter patter of millions of tiny, little feet..
Thanks..though..
Peace,
Gillian

Gillian i told you i'm not an expert... you should investigate further if they are babies or not.
It's too bad to loose your millie babies because of me.

like sunnymarcie adviced a magnifying glass should be a good idea.

Good luck

 

[Wade]

Millipede babies usualy look alot like maggots. What you're seeing could be mites, or possibly springtails. Springtails are very abundant in my millipede tubs and are quite harmless. They are more elongated than mites.

Wade

 

[Gillian]

Wade,
Thanks.. There's just something so very appealing about millies. Sort of a "helpless cuteness."
Peace,
Gillian

 

[Wade]

Millipedes are the Yin to the centipede's Yang =D


Wade

 

[ant1gen]

What is the millipede reproductive cycle like? Do they store sperm?

The reason I ask is that we've had this milli for almost a year now, and it's in the cage alone, yet about 2 weeks ago, there were 20ish little critters which, to untrained eyes, looked like miniature millipedes.

Is that a possibility?

 

[Wade]

Sure, it's quite possible. The eggs may have been in the substrate for some time. You might not notice them because they're encased in fecal pellets.

Wade

 

[ant1gen]

Hmmm, that's interesting.

Coulda have had a whole brood...

 

[Wade]

This is why you should never throw out millipede substrate. Kept correctly, cleaning is rarely, if ever, needed.

Wade

 

[ant1gen]

Now I feel really bad. The ones I had were about an inch or so long, and all were curled, like mom is keen to do.

Unfortunately, I threw them all away...

 

[kellygirl]

I know this is pulling up a really old thread, but I need to ask a related question and thought "Why start a whole new thread when I don't need to?"

So here it goes... my E. pulchripes millis have produced quite a bit of poo and it's just chillin on the top of the substrate. Is it bad for them to walk in their own filth? I'm afraid of tossing out babies but I also don't want my millis to live in bad conditions. Could I somehow change the substrate but keep the poo in a different container? That sounds really nasty, I know, but I've got a male and female that have done major nooky and I don't want their efforts to go wasted!

So what is the best thing to do in this situation? How soon will the eggs hatch, if there are any?

-Kelly

 

[Wade]

Living on their own poop is fine. Millipedes are part of the process that turns dead leaves, wood and other organic debris into dirt. They are, in effect, making their own perfect substrate

Wade

 

[sunnymarcie]

.....How soon will the eggs hatch, if there are any?

@Kelly~ If I remember right, from my reading, it should be
any time between a week and 2 months.
Hatching depends on the species type. When they hatch
some have already shed up to 3 times and they do not
have any legs yet. They look like a maggot, like Wade said

Good luck I hope it's babies=D

Here are a few of mine
They are more than a year old.