African giant millipede. Photo by Echo Uzzo of Echoes of Nature.
Looking for a pet that needs very little care, but is also interesting? How about an African giant millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) for a pet? Amaze or frighten your friends. These little guys make fascinating companions.
Creeped out by all of the legs? They don’t really have 1,000 legs, even though they are called thousand-leggers. There are a few subspecies and they have varying numbers of legs, mostly they have a few hundred. You can figure out the exact number of legs by counting the segments of the animal’s body and multiplying by four and then subtracting eight (for the two segments that don’t have legs).
Temperament: They are reclusive and shy. If the millipede is afraid, it will curl up into a ball.
Feeding: They eat rotting vegetables. Leftover veggies (without salad dressing or butter on them) work fine. They need calcium for their exoskeletons. If you don’t feed them vegetables high in calcium like collards or kale, you should sprinkle a calcium supplement on their food.
Housing: Since they are African, they come from a warm and humid environment. You need to give them that. You can keep them on damp cypress mulch or coconut bedding. Peat moss mixed with potting soil also works. You can use a small aquarium or one of those plastic “critter keepers” to house them. Put a heat mat under one side of the cage.
These millipedes can get up to 10 inches in length. They live about five to seven years, which is usually about the time kids get tired of them.
Handling: You need to be careful when handling giant millipedes with their tickling little legs. If you drop one, and the exoskeleton cracks, it will die instantly. So, be careful and handle them close to a soft surface in case they fall.
Giant millipedes are a nice pet for kids. Their care is simple and the good-natured little creatures can entertain and amuse your kids for years.
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