About 250 legs
No millipede has a thousand legs. This one has around 250, four on each ring of its body.
Minibeasts · A little time each day
Giant African millipede
Many-legged minibeast · from East Africa
A glossy black millipede as long as a ruler and as thick as a thumb, with hundreds of reddish legs.
- Size
- Up to 30cm long
- Lives for
- 7 to 10 years
- Suits
- Beginners who like something unusual
Glides after you on waves of legs. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the giant millipede
Legs in waves
Its legs move in ripples that travel along its body, which is lovely to watch.
It coils up
When worried it rolls into a tight spiral with its head in the middle.
It may stain your hand
It can ooze a harmless liquid that stains skin brown. Wash your hands after holding one.
Its own cleaners
Tiny mites live on it and keep it clean. They are helpers, not pests.
It cannot bite
It eats only rotting leaves and soft vegetables, and has no sting.
The real thing
Photos of the giant millipede
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
It needs a tank with deep, damp compost and leaf litter to burrow in, bark to hide under, and gentle warmth. Feed vegetables and fruit, with a calcium source.
Before you get one
Millipedes are peaceful and long-lived. They spend a lot of time underground, so be patient.
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