Giant Black Red-Leg Millipede

Millipedes

MOQ 100 head

Partners Only

16 – 17 cm body length, ~10 mm wide (giant)

Non-venomous detritivore. Coils and secretes irritant benzoquinones from defensive glands that can stain skin yellow-brown and sting eyes; harmless if hands are washed after handling.

Evergreen montane and submontane rainforest of the central highlands of Vietnam (Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces). A red-legged colour form of the species — black body with contrasting red legs. Forest-floor dweller among rotting logs and leaf litter. ~500 – 1,200 m.

Decaying leaf litter, rotten wood, fallen fruit and humus. A nocturnal detritivore.

22 – 27 °C ambient — 21 °C cool end (cooler highland species)

80 – 90 %. Keep substrate consistently moist for easy moulting; mist regularly with good airflow.

None required (nocturnal).

Rotten hardwood and oak/beech leaf litter as staples, supplemented with vegetables, fruit and a calcium/protein source. Top up as eaten.

Terrestrial/fossorial. 12 – 18 cm of deep moist substrate (coir, rotten wood, leaf litter) over a 45 × 30 cm footprint, with cork-bark hides. Communal-tolerant.

Docile and slow; coils when disturbed. Handleable but secretes staining benzoquinones — wash hands afterwards and keep clear of eyes.