Caring for Millipedes and Centipedes

Although centipedes and millipedes look fairly similar and in both cases, most of the species commonly sold come from the world’s warmer climes, as pets, they are quite different in terms of their habits, feeding and much of their care. They also tend to grow a lot larger than anything you’ll find under a stone in Britain!

So What’s The Difference?

Once you look carefully, it’s very easy to tell them apart. Millipedes have two pairs of legs for each body segment, their bodies themselves tend to be rounded and generally they are a fairly uniform, dull colour. Centipedes by contrast have fewer legs – only one pair per segment – and much flatter bodies. Many kinds are very showily coloured which isn’t simply to make them more attractive to the pet keeper’s eye; it serves a purpose in nature, warning that centipedes are venomous and aggressive predators – and they won’t hesitate to bite. While their bite is described as “merely painful” in many of the books on the subject, it clearly rules them out if you’re looking for something to handle a lot!

Millipedes, on the other hand, are peaceful vegetarians, although if threatened, many produce their own chemical defence in the form of a toxic secretion along their bodies. In some species this toxin can be very strong, and even the least offensive can cause an unpleasant reaction if it gets into a cut or your eyes – so washing your hands is a must after touching them.

Keeping Millipedes

A wide range of millipedes are commonly offered for sale, usually under descriptive names based on their size, colour or land of origin – most coming from Southeast Asia, Central America or Africa. Since many of them grow to 6 inches (15cm) or more in length “giant” millipedes are an impressive addition to your collection if you can meet their modest demands for humidity, privacy and a temperature around 27 degrees C (80F).

A plastic lunchbox with enough small holes drilled to provide adequate ventilation makes an ideal container – as will those small tanks with lids on sale in most pet shops; as a guide, don’t go for anything less than twice the adult length of the largest millipede you need to house. Your pet may like a piece of bark or a bit of old flowerpot as a place to hide and since most species like to burrow, a thick layer of sterilised potting compost on the bottom of the tank will be appreciated. A small, shallow dish will be enough to meet most species requirements for water.

One of the easiest ways to keep the tank warm involves the use of a heat mat – the sort of thing often sold for home brewing or for gardeners to bring on seeds. Placing the tank so that it sits part on and part off the mat will allow a thermal gradient to develop, so the millipedes can decide for themselves how warm they want to be – and move around the tank until they find things to their liking.

It’s also important to ask your supplier what your particular millipede eats; in the wild different kinds eat a wide range of plant matter – some being very unfussy, while others are more particular in their diet. Leaf-litter, over-ripe soft fruit, a little lettuce and mushrooms are good stand-bys, most kinds of millipedes finding something out of that they’ll like. They also seem to need a relatively large amount of calcium to maintain their outer cuticle – so a good source such as powdered cuttlefish – should always be on offer.

Millipedes often breed well in captivity – so if you keep a few of the same kind together, you could end up producing future generations of your own.

Centipedes

Unlike their fairly ponderous herbivorous cousins, centipedes are lightning-fast and it’s this speed which enables them to capture their prey. The housing requirement for centipedes is very similar to that required by millipedes – but since they are much more active, on an inch-for-inch basis they need a proportionally larger tank, and one with smaller vents if they are not to escape!

Temperature and the floor material depends on where they come from; although for many tropical species the sort of humid conditions millipedes like are ideal , for desert dwellers the tank must offer drier, sandier conditions.

Feeding centipedes calls for live-food, usually crickets which can be bought from most shops stocking exotic pets, augmented with any wild-caught insect offering you can make. They are ruthless and highly-efficient hunters which can make feeding time a compelling – if somewhat ghoulish – spectacle.

With a body-plan that is almost unique in nature, both centipedes and millipedes can make intriguing and unusual exotic pets and although they’re not for everyone, if the idea does appeal, they are truly fascinating creatures to keep.