WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF

Hello, and welcome to the house of millipedes! My name is Amy Ritchie, I'm 13, and I love millipedes! I am very sad to say that my millipede, Legs, died. Hopefully some day I will get another millipede. But since this is such a good millipede page, I chose to leave it here so people can still enjoy it and learn how to care for their millipedes. Millipedes are very fascinating, harmless creatures and they will not hurt you at all. To find out how many legs your millipede has, count the body segments, multiply by 2, and subtract 6. I love to learn about millipedes, but there are basically no sites on the Internet devoted solely to pet millipedes (I'm talking about millipedes as pets, not how to exterminate them. There are plenty of those). And if you do find one on pet millipedes, they don't have much information. But here's probably one of the first pages devoted completely to pet millipedes! So if you love them, this page is for you. And if you think they're disgusting, please read this page. It may change how you look at them. It has taken quite a while for me to collect all these links and pictures, but I have done it so people like me will have a great site all on their favorite bug, the millipede! I have lots of links to care sheets, information, pictures, and more! Who could ask for more? So browse around, and have fun!

There's quite a difference between millipedes and centipedes. Millipedes are much harder than centipedes and have more legs. They also make better pets for kids, since some centipedes can sting and even be poisonous! Millipedes do not sting and are not poisonous, though they can release a bad-smelling liquid if scared (you should always wash your hands if you are exposed to this -It can be harmful if it gets in the eyes or mouth). So unless it gets in the eyes or mouth, it's harmless to humans. You can get a nice big millipede for $15-$20 at some pet stores (most don't have them), rarer ones cost more. But you may have to buy them from a catalog or someone over the Internet (you may find them cheaper there, too). Millipedes (and centipedes) are considered to be good for the environment, because they will eat harmful bugs, but they also infest basements and other places and cause problems sometimes.

So, you want to have a pet millipede? That's great! Millipedes are great pets for kids, under supervision, because a lot are kept as classroom pets. They can be kept together, so if you want more than one, that's fine. First, let's focus on the housing. Here are some good things to put in the aquarium:

• Atleast 4 inches of soft peat soil, because they like to dig and burrow
• Rotting leaves on top of the soil (they will eat some of these)
• A hiding place (a good, natural thing in a big piece of bark they can go under)
• A live plant, some stones or rocks, a stick, etc. (lots of natural things)

• Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, rotting leaves, grapes, bananas, melons, apples, pumpkins, mushrooms, kiwis, oranges, grapefruits, etc. -any fruits and veggies!

Most of these links are about millipedes only, but a few are about both millipedes and centipedes also. And most of these are info sheets, and there are also a few care sheets and places that sell millipedes.

Wow! That's a lot of links! If you know of a good millipede page, or have one of your own (preferably about millipedes only), send the link to me and I'll post it up here!

Here are some links to pictures of various millipedes.

-Gigantic black & white picture of a millipede

You can learn more about millipedes by reading these books:

Discovering centipedes and millipedes- By: Ken Preston-Mafham

The oxford book of Insects- By: John Burton

Insects- By: Casey Horton

Insects- By: Joyce Pope

COMING SOON:

A better, separate millipede care sheet by me!

Please visit my main page to learn more about me

And please send me some E-mail, all you millipede lovers! I'd love to hear from you!

You can sign or view my guestbook, too!

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