# Giant African Millipede?



## ReptileObsession (Sep 20, 2006)

Hey all, 

I did a bit of an impulse buy at the Barking Fair... and got two millipedes, the guy i bought them from said they were from nigeria, however they aren't black like the typical african millipedes, they are dark brown, and have no other colours to them. can anyone tell me what species they are? 

i havent got any pics as of yet, camera battery died earlier...

also can anyone let me know of any foor caresheets, i looked at a few on the net and they all seem toooooo simple for my liking.

atm i have them on about 2 inches of sterilised soil (the stuff you get as a brick and add water to) and some (sphaghum) moss on top at one side. ive given them some apple a couple of days ago, and sprinkled an area of the soil with calcium dust. their tank is moist and, ive been spraying it every other day. am i doing this right?

they are quite big, about 5-6 inches, and they guy said they would live for about 10 years, though one of the sites i looked at said 3, and they seem adult size as they are now, so who knows how long i'll have them for.

all help would be much appreciated. 
i feel like such a fool impulse buying animals i know little about, my knowledge at the time extended to "i used to play with these little guys when i was a kid in south africa" lol
:blush:
Ella


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## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

Sounds about right. My lot have a deeper substrate as they like to burrow and I use a RUB as I found things like faunariums do not hold humidity well.

I have a piece of cuttlefish bone in at all times and feed a variety of fruit and veg. That's about it really. (mine however are currently in a sterile RUB on plain kitchen towel with a water bowl as I am currently removing a population of mites!)

Cheers

Andy


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## ReptileObsession (Sep 20, 2006)

they are in a seedling tray (the ones from garden shops) atm, and it only allows for 2 inches.

im planning to put them into my crestie tank when the cresties are big enough. they're good comanions for a crestie viv, and can help create a bio-active substrate  

what a RUB?
and are they giant africans?

many thanks for the info


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## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

RUB = Really useful box - either google that to find online suppliers or check out your local staples. 

Mine are African trains, but most millepedes have very similar care, many people keep mixed species vivs.

Unfortunately, without pics it will be very difficult to tell you what your guys are.

Cheers

Andy


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Only things I'd change are :

1) Either calcium dust the food, not the substrate or give them cuttlefish bone or my millipedes favourite - tortoise food. 

2) Give them a water dish

3) Deeper substrate 

4) Consider a heatmat at one end creating a gradient


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## Babygecko (Jun 30, 2008)

Do you have these as pets? Or are they food for your gecko or something?


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I doubt they'd be much good as food for anything?


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## ReptileObsession (Sep 20, 2006)

Hey all, 

sorry for late reply. firstly they are pets not food, i agree with simon; probly not good food for anything. as i said in my previous post, they're friends for the cresties when they're big enough to go into their adult tank.

as for you're checklist simon, i have given them a waterbowl (the lid off a jar, so its shallow enough for them) and i will dust their food until i can get some cuttlefish. the substrate is as deep as it can be until they get moved into the big tank, though from what i've read the depth i have is ok, and the deeper it gets the more likely they are to breed, and i would like to provent that for a while. if they are opposite sex...
they are above the beardie tank with one edge above the hot spot of the breadie light, so temp sorted.

with regards to food, is there anything they really can't eat? and does the food need to be gone off, or will they just as happily eat fresh (they didn't seem to mind the fresh apple) and are tortoise pellets a suitable staple food for them? 

and finally, for andy here are some pics of them:

























many thanks guys (and girls)
all help is much appreciated
ella
 x


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Those looks suspiciously like Giant Chocolates (Ophistreptus guineensis), when you said Giant African I thought you meant A.gigas. I think Chocolates are much nicer, got 2 huge ones myself.

They will hapily take fresh fruit, I replace it when it starts to turn into mush. My Chocolates love mushroom and will often take it out of the food dish and cart it off around the tank with them. I use tortoise food for the calcium and it must taste good as they're always eating it. If you use tortoise food you still need to use fruit and veg. I also use oak leaves which they nibble at now and again.

As for what they can't eat I'd avoid citrus fruits like orange, lemon etc. I tried a bit of orange once and then had a millipede die the next day, could have been a coincidence but I've never used it since.

Substrate wise you have to remember that their natural behaviour is to dig burrows so when you do move them don't skimp on the substrate. There's no guarantee they will breed anyway and if they do there's always people willing to buy millipedes.


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## ReptileObsession (Sep 20, 2006)

Hey,
They are very pretty  at least i know what they are now, was the guy right in saying they come from nigeria?

i got some mushroom for mine today, so i'll try it out on them tomorrow, i hope they like it, otherwise it's a waste, as none of the people like mushrooms here lol. i'll steal some tortoise food from my parents next time i'm round theirs and will go leaf picking when i next see an oak tree.

i'll remember no citrus, it's the same for the creaties so i won't forget.

and as soon as they go into the big tank they'll have about 4-5inches to play in 

many thanks for your help simon 
ella


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

babey_shmoo said:


> Hey,
> They are very pretty  at least i know what they are now, was the guy right in saying they come from nigeria?


Quite possibly, I know they're found in Ghana which is practically next door to Nigeria so it's quite possible yours came from Nigeria.

Here's mine:


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## ReptileObsession (Sep 20, 2006)

They do look suspiciously similar don't they, I'm convinced  Yours are huge, how long are they?

Ella


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I'd say both of mine are fully grown and are a good 9". They're very strong and have rescaped my whole millipede tank.


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## ReptileObsession (Sep 20, 2006)

lol! well i think mind are adolesents then


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## tinks (Jun 18, 2008)

I was just admiring your collection! Very nice. I have giant african millipedes and wondered if you knew how to tell the sex?


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

tinks said:


> I was just admiring your collection! Very nice. I have giant african millipedes and wondered if you knew how to tell the sex?


You need to look at the underside of the millipede, males will either have 2 stumps or a gap at the 7th segment. Females will have neither, they'll just be legs.


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## tinks (Jun 18, 2008)

ok thanks!will check that out!


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## bug man (Aug 4, 2008)

Hey you have two good sized chocolate millipedes and i mean good sized .:lol2:


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