Species: Giant African Black Millipede Archispirostreptus gigas,
Tanzanian Pink Legged millipede Dendrostreptus macracanthus
Expected lifespan: 7 - 15 years
DOB: Unknown
Here
at Bugs we have several species of giant millipedes some of
which we've enjoyed success with breeding. They are all kept
together in a large flatish plastic storage tub filled with
4-5" of organic compost, rotting leaves and some cork
bark for them to hide under.
Milly and Malky
Milly and Malky were both hatched here at Bugs and are around 4 and
a half years old. They are not far off thier full adult size and
we expect Milly to start laying eggs of her own very soon. We
have a few of Millie and Malkys siblings living with them though their mother recently died
after we'd had her over 6 years. This millipede species was picked by
us as they are a relatively large species which can be bred
in this country whereas many others are more difficult to
breed. They are quite an active species though during the
day they like to hide under the cork bark that is scattered
around their enclosure.
Micky
This big lad was bought from an invert keeper who no
longer wanted to keep millipedes. It's a shame really as both him and his male companion are both strapping big boys and we are hoping that they will
breed given they came with several females. We do not use
the females for shows as we are hoping that with minimal disturbance
they will eventually lay eggs. The African Black millipedes
are the biggest species in the world with the largest one
on record being around 15" long. In the wild they like
to live on the rainforest floor where they much their way
through the leaf litter pooing as they go. Our two boys started
off quite shy though have came out of their shells recently
and are happy to be handled gently. They will eat any old
fruit or vegetables but also enjoy eating the odd piece of
meat. Millipedes are scavengers and although they do not hunt
live prey they will eat the carcasses of dead animals.
our
millipedes live in an enclosure with some other species including
Burmese and a curious little orange and grey millipede from
America that have bred quite readily since we got them. There
are young in the enclosure just now belonging to adults which
were captive bred at Bugs. There are also some other little
millipedes which we cannot identify yet as they are too young
to have their adult clouring.
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