# centipede infestation?



## DoctorCosmonaut (Jan 15, 2011)

Hi all! Long time no post!

I have a problem. My tort table has centipedes/millipede, or something that looks like them. Whenever I life up the water dish or feeding bowl they are under it. I figure i'm going to have to clean out the whole thing... but my question is where did they come from? I'm on the second floor of an apartment. I'm afraid they will just come right back... I don't think they bother my redfoots. I've heard centipedes are poisonous? Would it hurt my torts if they ate them? Will they? They aren't that big, but they are really nasty looking and I don't want them in there. Do you think anoles would eat them? My other idea was putting something in there to eat them that would coexist with my 2 torts (my table is about 7 1/2 by 2 1/2 with 2 1/2 ft tall sides).

Someone give me more insight than "clean" please. I want to know what they came from too and if they are a danger and if something eats them.

Thanks for any help!


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## terryo (Jan 15, 2011)

I can't help you with any of your questions Jordan, but I do see them in my boxie vivarium sometimes. I'm glad to see you again.


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## DoctorCosmonaut (Jan 15, 2011)

terryo said:


> I can't help you with any of your questions Jordan, but I do see them in my boxie vivarium sometimes. I'm glad to see you again.



And I'm glad to see you too


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## RV's mom (Jan 15, 2011)

centipedes or millipedes? how many legs do the things have? I was totally freaked out in my first apartment when a house centipede rippled across my kitchen floor. never knew I could jump from the floor to the table in one try..

you can go to www.bugguide.net and look at the pictures to the left of the screen. click on the centipede and you'll go to a page where you can compare what you have with what you see... let us know.


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## Madkins007 (Jan 16, 2011)

Centipedes have one set of legs per segment, millipedes have more than that. Usually, centipede legs come out the side, millipede come out the bottom. As general rule, millipedes feed on debris and are a decomposer, and centipedes are hunters. Red-foots sometimes eat both kinds if they find them so you might just toss them on the food dish.

Depending on your situation, I am not sure I would worry a lot about this. If the habitat is big, and the substrate is soil-based and deep, I would probably count the critters as beneficial and leave them pretty much alone.


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## Tom (Jan 16, 2011)

I'm with Mark on this one. How big are they? If its a 6" giant tropical centipede and a tiny hatchling RF you may have a problem. If its just those little one inch millipedes, they are beneficial and a potential food source. They would have to either come in with your substrate or potted plants.


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## DoctorCosmonaut (Jan 16, 2011)

Thanks for the bugguide sharkstar  Haven't had a chance to go through it yet.

Madkins and Tom:
They are probably about one inch. So as long as you all seem to think they aren't going to hurt the torts, I won't rush cleaning and be so worried. And if they are eating leaves that fall or other bugs then that's cool. They won't overpopulate will they? Like hatch 500 million babies or anything?


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## Yvonne G (Jan 16, 2011)

Oh darn! Now you're going to have to change your signature to include them.


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## DoctorCosmonaut (Jan 16, 2011)

emysemys said:


> Oh darn! Now you're going to have to change your signature to include them.



haha  I have a whole new family i suppose


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## onarock (Apr 7, 2011)

Like this?


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## John (Apr 8, 2011)

onarock said:


> Like this?



Hey,I know that girl!


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## ChiKat (Apr 8, 2011)

Ughhh I am so sorry to hear this  I am not scared of spiders, snakes, mice, blah blah but centipedes CREEP me out!! I held a giant millipede once and thought it was awesome. But if I see a centipede crawling in my house...shudder.
Good to see you back! Pictures of the RFs would be great


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## HarleyK (Apr 8, 2011)

Haha the ones you are posting are probably someone's pets. Those are tropical species. I am guessing the ones you are seeing are stone centipedes.....those are the ones I see in the garden...sort of a rust/dark maroon color. I used to own scropions so centipedes don't scare me.


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## Mao Senpai (Apr 8, 2011)

YUCK. I hate centipedes. Anyway, it could be house centipedes... if this is what they look like 





Ugh I am getting shivers just looking at these things 

Certain kinds are poisonous, especially if they are big. In some parts of asia they get centipedes over 12 inches.... which would be poisonous to us and among other animals. The house centipede I think has a very painful bee sting like bite so... that's not good either but they tend to leave things alone.... but gross.


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## dmarcus (Apr 8, 2011)

I used to go in the desert in Las Vegas back in the 70's and 80's in search of centipede's. They are interesting.


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## CtTortoiseMom (Apr 8, 2011)

Oh my gosh Mao I hate those things!! They get really big too. When I used to work at this insurance agency, I would often have to go down to the basement in our office building. Our main computer for our electronic filing system was down there and I would sometimes have a couple hours of work to do. The longer I stayed down there the more of those exact centipedes would appear. I would feel something watching me and look behind me to see like 5 of them on the wall directly behind me!!!! Ugh, I am so creeped out by that picture!!


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## Balboa (Apr 8, 2011)

WOW those are freaky looking, Mao, we don't get those up here, just little versions of what Paul posted.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Apr 8, 2011)

WOW, double edged!


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## Mao Senpai (Apr 9, 2011)

Yeah.... I saw it once or twice in my house and I nearly ran around screaming. Then I finally built up the courage and grabbed a 6 feet long stick to kill it.... better to get rid of it now before it crawls around on my bed or something.


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## coreyc (Apr 9, 2011)

I think that is a silver fish but it just as creepy


Mao Senpai said:


> YUCK. I hate centipedes. Anyway, it could be house centipedes... if this is what they look like
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Mao Senpai (Apr 9, 2011)

Its similar but the house centipede has grosser legs!


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## yagyujubei (Apr 9, 2011)

When I was in the army, I was bitten by a Vietnamese giant centipede over a foot long, and I don't recommend it. I hate 'em all.


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## CtTortoiseMom (Apr 9, 2011)

yagyujubei said:


> When I was in the army, I was bitten by a Vietnamese giant centipede over a foot long, and I don't recommend it. I hate 'em all.



I googled the Vietnamese giant centipede and may have nightmares tonight!


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## Mao Senpai (Apr 9, 2011)

Yeah those things are nothing to mess with... I think they are also used in some Asian medicinal remedies... I however will never go near it. 

P.S. I am sorry if I made this go off topic... so much crazy bug talk.


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## HarleyK (Apr 9, 2011)

Mao Senpai said:


> Its similar but the house centipede has grosser legs!



Holy crap i'm not scared of centipedes but those silverfish freak the crap out of me. They keep me away from the lOcal library


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## DoctorCosmonaut (May 20, 2011)

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I'm only now back.

None of those captured the centipedes I seem to have (they really aren't worrying me any more). I'm planning a sting operation to post some pics of them soon (they are shy).


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## Zouave (May 20, 2011)

Just read this interesting thread. My bet is on this one. http://bugguide.net/node/view/510585/bgimage

and the house centipede creeps me the ____ out! http://bugguide.net/node/view/425455 had them in my old house.


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## DoctorCosmonaut (May 23, 2011)

The much anticipated pictures of the intruders! (ps the soil is wet because this was under the water dish and it spilled when I moved it)






So who can I.D. them???

I think all of these critters may be in part to the fact that I tried to make bio-active substrate (lava rocks w/ jungle soil w/ cyprus mulch on top) with plants (that all died a while back (now replaced with some fakes))?



haha i just found snails too!


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## Zouave (May 23, 2011)

i think ..... http://bugguide.net/node/view/5239


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## Mao Senpai (May 23, 2011)

They look like regular centipedes to me!





Actually now I look at it.. its hard to tell. It depends on how long their legs are and how they move really. If they move fast and just walk then they are centipedes... if they move with one link of their body at at time and slowly with shorter legs then they are millipedes.


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## Zouave (May 23, 2011)

its def a millipede , multiple legs per section.


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## Fernando (May 23, 2011)

Greenhouse milipede?


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## DoctorCosmonaut (May 23, 2011)

so what do these millipedes eat? other bugs or leftover plant matter?

They don't quite look like the picture Mao posted in my opinion/observations, so probably a millipede then


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## Zouave (May 23, 2011)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millipede#Diet

Diet
Most millipedes are herbivorous, and feed on decomposing vegetation or organic matter mixed with soil. A few species are omnivorous or carnivorous, and may prey on small arthropods, such as insects and centipedes, or on earthworms. Some species have piercing mouth parts that allow them to feed on plant juices.

The digestive tract is a simple tube with two pairs of salivary glands to help digest the food. Many millipedes moisten their food with saliva before eating it.[4]


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## DoctorCosmonaut (May 23, 2011)

Nice free vacuums!!

I've never seen them around my torts, only under the water dish, tile, etc. They probably are beneficial


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