# milli



## Samzo (Sep 23, 2005)

does anyone keep millipedes? Today i was holding one of them and it got a bit stressed and it put alot of acid/fluid stuff on me and it actuly hurt... i've never been hurt before but man it stung. Anyone been badly (although there a limits to its fairly feeble acid) acid(ed) lol


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## nickyp0 (Sep 23, 2005)

I keep millipeds and have three for them right now it sounds like that was an african milli as they spray ink like liquid, as far as i know they can't bit as they don't have strong mouth parts.


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## Samzo (Sep 23, 2005)

oh cool, it was a african but not the black one i think its like an olive colour ( i dont know latin name). One of them is fine the other is skitish, oh well. :?


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## Ian (Sep 24, 2005)

I've kept them before, and I really don't like them. They do nothing, spend most of thewir time curled up, and when you pick em up, they pi$$ on you! They are pretty cool to handle when they don't spray on you...but other than that, they do pretty much nothing, lol.

Cheers,

Ian


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## furryscaly (Sep 24, 2005)

I've kept a few different species of millies in the past, and currently have a few Puerto Rican species. lol, I know exactly what you mean. I'd get my mils to juice me during presentations I'd do at local schools. Mine wouldn't hurt my hand, but the fumes would burn my eyes and nose, and it smelled horrible.

The juice is actually a poison, one of the ingredients is Hydrogen cyanide. The pede has several chambers containing chemicals in its body, and each little chamber is connected to a bigger one containing another chemical. When stressed, the chambers all open, releasing the chemicals to combine in a chemical reaction that also propels the liquid out through pores in the sides.

Lemurs in Madagascar have learned to use the toxin as an effective insect repellant. They gently bite millipedes and rub the pede all over their fur, as well as slobber their now toxic saliva all over themselves. The millipede gets away unharmed, and the lemurs get high off the toxins.


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## Samzo (Sep 25, 2005)

well, you learn something new everyday... im my case several lol


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