Centipedes In soil

[jamest0o0]

found some centipedes in a plant pot(not millipedes). How problematic are these? I'm in PA and don't know of any particular dangerous or large centipedes here and these were tiny. I also noticed a reduction in gnats, so maybe they have been eating them?

Finding the right soil has been an issue for me. there doesn't seem to be any organic topsoil that is fine grained without sticks or rocks. I'm thinking of sifting it somehow, but i need a lotttt. guess i'll try pouring boiling water all through it to make sure i don't have any pests again. My oven is too small to bake it.

any ideas for efficiently sifting through a lot of soil to remove any impaction risks(or know a brand that doesn't have large chunks of crap in it?).

 

[Andee]

Depends on the type of centipede, can you get a good picture of them? What makes you think they are centipedes 100%? There are species of flat millipedes... Otherwise centipedes are usually not dangerous to chameleons unless they get large enough for their venom to become a problem. Otherwise they mostly just hunt other insects. I enjoy them in the chameleon cages. However in the insect bins they are not allowed and removed to the outdoors.

 

[JacksJill]

Without counting the legs how do you tell the difference between a centipede and a millipede? Just for future reference.

 

[Decadancin]

Without counting the legs how do you tell the difference between a centipede and a millipede? Just for future reference.

By their accent ...

 

[Andee]

Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, while millipedes have two pairs. While most centipedes are known for their speed (this is because centipedes are predators), millipedes move slowly and burrow, most dangerous centipedes will have larger maxillipeds.

 

[jamest0o0]

They had the typical centipede characteristics: fast, reddish, legs out to the side

They were under the river works and looked too small to cause any issues. I did have a dream i found a big one the size of my hand last night...

 

[Graves923]

In my opinion, I would try to remove them. Most, if not all, centipedes are venomous and could bite your cham if it trys to eat the pede.

 

[jamest0o0]

They're too small for him to even notice. Either way though i put the plant that had them (weeping fig) outside. So that can just be his hangout plant for when he's out.

 

[poison]

Hi, if we can notice something so small then your Cham can as well. However the Cham may not feel the need to eat something so small if it is feed correctly it may not even try. I hate centipedes in my enclosures not cause I'm afraid of them harming my animals ( in 15 years I've never had this problem) but because if you are using a self sustaining substrate they will eat any of the beneficial critters living within.

 

[jamest0o0]

I agree with that completely that's why i put it outside. They have seemed to stopped the gnats though and any other pests. They were deep under rocks i pulled up. I just meant he wouldn't bother or come near them at all.

 

[Kamran_k]

I also have an issue with these guys there tiny and I always see them eating either dead bugs or even around my chameleons poop. I see them sometimes eating my chameleons poop and I was initially worried they were nematodes but they had legs so I was like these are centipedes. But any advice on getting rid of them would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dbash44]

@Connorology
Hey Connor, weren’t you telling me centipedes/millipedes were bad?

I believe I read somewhere that they attract mites since the mites clean debris and such off their legs. Let me see if I can find the link.

 

[Dbash44]

Here you go. Not sure if this would impact chameleons. Hope this helps

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/catalog/blog/2018/06/millipede-care/

 

[jamest0o0]

@Connorology
Hey Connor, weren’t you telling me centipedes/millipedes were bad?

I believe I read somewhere that they attract mites since the mites clean debris and such off their legs. Let me see if I can find the link.

Nah not true. Mites are usually food specific. So if they are cleaning the pedes legs then they wouldn't be harming anything else. I also believe that is probably for larger pedes, like with hissing roaches. They are entirely harmless. Sometimes bio set ups get detrivore mites which are also harmless, but can be a little annoying to look at lol.

Centipedes and millipedes are very different. One is carnivorous, the other is omnivorous. @Kamran_k you probably have some sort of flower pot millipede, but we'd need pictures. I love having them in my enclosures, they do as good of a clean up job as the isopods. Some species of millipedes produce cyanide as a defense, but these small ones are nothing to worry about.

Btw 3 year old thread

 

[Dbash44]

Nah not true. Mites are usually food specific. So if they are cleaning the pedes legs then they wouldn't be harming anything else. I also believe that is probably for larger pedes, like with hissing roaches. They are entirely harmless. Sometimes bio set ups get detrivore mites which are also harmless, but can be a little annoying to look at lol.

Centipedes and millipedes are very different. One is carnivorous, the other is omnivorous. @Kamran_k you probably have some sort of flower pot millipede, but we'd need pictures. I love having them in my enclosures, they do as good of a clean up job as the isopods. Some species of millipedes produce cyanide as a defense, but these small ones are nothing to worry about.

Btw 3 year old thread

Lmao I didn’t even notice it was old. Just looked at the date on the last reply. I’ll investigate better next time. I assume by your reply that you got your answer in the last three years. I would hope so. These kinds of questions would have kept me awake at night for 1,095 days give or take ?

 

[jamest0o0]

Lmao I didn’t even notice it was old. Just looked at the date on the last reply. I’ll investigate better next time. I assume by your reply that you got your answer in the last three years. I would hope so. These kinds of questions would have kept me awake at night for 1,095 days give or take ?

Lol no worries, it was actually funny reading this. I remember having a dream about that centipede haha. I used to be so paranoid about everything in my enclosures, now they are booming ecosystems with all sorts of randoms from outside.

 

[PabloTheCham]

Without counting the legs how do you tell the difference between a centipede and a millipede? Just for future reference.

look up a picture of a centipede and a picture of a millipede. It is pretty obvious.

 

[JacksJill]

That was an very old thread I've got it now.

 

[Kamran_k]

Yeah I suspected millipede. after seeing them one the poop because I was like Centipedes are carnivores only. Yeah I definitely have some sort of millipede. Should I remove them from the enclosure or not at all? Heres a pic of a larger one. They have small babies too it seems.

 

[Connorology]

Yeah I suspected millipede. after seeing them one the poop because I was like Centipedes are carnivores only. Yeah I definitely have some sort of millipede. Should I remove them from the enclosure or not at all? Heres a pic of a larger one. They have small babies too it seems. View attachment 262085

I think that's one of the greenhouse millipedes that get everywhere. I have them as well. I'd remove them if you can, but it can be tricky to get them all. If you can't it's not the end of the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_millipede

@Connorology
Hey Connor, weren’t you telling me centipedes/millipedes were bad?

I believe I read somewhere that they attract mites since the mites clean debris and such off their legs. Let me see if I can find the link.

I do not like the millipedes, but I am going to waffle a bit and say I am not sure I'm ready to commit and say they're "bad." I would still get rid of them if possible.

They're bad in my setup because I have a piece of grapewood that they are actively eating, which means I will soon need a replacement. I suspect they also hasten the breakdown of vivarium substrate that contains wood, meaning you'll need to add more, which can be difficult in a heavily planted enclosure. They also smell bad and seem to escape enclosures more readily than isopods in my experience, which is gross.

I think they're a mild nuisance. Supposedly some vivarium creators will use them as detritivores the way most people use isopods. And they will clean your enclosure, they just may also eat hardscape elements that you don't want to be eaten. They might also outcompete your isopods depending on what species you have. They will not harm your chameleon and I have never had them go after my live plants.