# how did it get in here?



## lovemetinct (May 7, 2007)

today i found a Centipede died in the cup of water inside my Viv. It about a inch in length and at the same time my "man creek" are also breading. Could my frog killed it? and can the Centipede eat my eggs?


----------



## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

You probably want to make sure to identify whether it is a centipede or a millipede. The latter are harmless and tend to eat decaying plant matter. Millipedes can comes as hitchhikers on plants.

Centipedes are predators and depending on the species could be a problem. However it could have simply wandered into the vivarium as a singleton. 

Your froga would not have killed the animal in question but they do seem to be suspectible to drowning in standing water.

Bill


----------



## HappyHippos1 (May 7, 2007)

Chances are that it is a millipede. I've somehow got tons in a recently new viv. Has to be hitchhiker. Also I've noticed I've got earwigs? not sure on their scientific name. Any harm in having them in a viv?


----------



## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

The little 1 inch millipedes are common in a lot of vivariums, and are harmless, usually living off detritus and breaking down organic matter. They can reach very high numbers in a new set up. (I have hundreds in a newer 180 g. paludarium, even on the floating leaves of aquatic plants, which they don't appear to damage in the least.) Eventually, their population will decline to just a few of them. The specie we get in vivariums do look a bit like centipedes at first glance, but have two, rather than single pairs of legs for each segment. I'll try to post some photos of them in the next day or two. 

Earwigs are also generally detritus and or insect eaters, although some species may do a bit of plant damage from all reports. However, they are essentially harmless--they just look wicked and scare people. Their pincers won't hurt you. They are very unlikely to multiply and prosper in your vivarium, won't hurt your frogs, and are unlikely to eat viable frog eggs. I'd just ignore them and they will eventually disappear. They will sometimes come into houses. especially during particularly dry outdoor weather, probably seeking out damp places, but they will not breed and multiply in your house or vivariums. 

Some organic gardeners and especially organic fruit growers actually encourage them by building "earwig huts" in their fruit trees, as at least some species are ostensibly voracious aphid predators. I became charmed by them many years ago, when I discovered the females are "good mothers" that guard and protect their young. They are an overly-maligned insect.


----------



## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

Here's a whole bunch of these guys on a mountain mahogany branch in the water section of paludarium. They are all still mostly white babies, but turn brown with age.


----------



## gootswa (Mar 16, 2011)

slaytonp said:


> The little 1 inch millipedes are common in a lot of vivariums, and are harmless, usually living off detritus and breaking down organic matter. They can reach very high numbers in a new set up. (I have hundreds in a newer 180 g. paludarium, even on the floating leaves of aquatic plants, which they don't appear to damage in the least.) Eventually, their population will decline to just a few of them. The specie we get in vivariums do look a bit like centipedes at first glance, but have two, rather than single pairs of legs for each segment. I'll try to post some photos of them in the next day or two.
> 
> Earwigs are also generally detritus and or insect eaters, although some species may do a bit of plant damage from all reports. However, they are essentially harmless--they just look wicked and scare people. Their pincers won't hurt you. They are very unlikely to multiply and prosper in your vivarium, won't hurt your frogs, and are unlikely to eat viable frog eggs. I'd just ignore them and they will eventually disappear. They will sometimes come into houses. especially during particularly dry outdoor weather, probably seeking out damp places, but they will not breed and multiply in your house or vivariums.
> 
> Some organic gardeners and especially organic fruit growers actually encourage them by building "earwig huts" in their fruit trees, as at least some species are ostensibly voracious aphid predators. I became charmed by them many years ago, when I discovered the females are "good mothers" that guard and protect their young. They are an overly-maligned insect.


I just came across this, I am so glad to know now that ear wigs are harmless! My entire life I hated them so bad and to this date I did. I always thought that they would try to pinch me!


----------



## motydesign (Feb 27, 2011)

by the way if you introduce millipedes, you will NEVER get rid of them... they are very prolific and can become overwhelming in a tank as well compete for food with springs and isos.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/68021-millipedes-centipedes.html


----------



## Venom_Within (Aug 3, 2011)

I found another post a while back when I began my search for information about PDF's and vivaria that answers the problem of millipedes and other infestations.

The author had used dry ice, frozen carbon dioxide, to suffocate all the millipedes. They first removed the frogs of course, to a temporary setup. Then placed 3 medium pieces of dry ice into a plastic cup and set them in the vivarium. Then they added really hot water to rapidly return the CO2 into gas. It is heavier than air, so it will fill up the aquarium and push all the oxygen out. Once the dry ice was nearly done sublimating, they set them up on the top to kinda pour the gas into the tank to top it off. Then they sealed it up tight overnight and all the millipedes were dead after a few hours. Since plants breath CO2, it doesn't hurt your flora, but rather gives it a little growth spurt. Also, don't let the dry ice come into contact with the plants (hence the plastic cups) as the extreme cold will damage them. This will also kill any living animal, so all microfauna will need to be re-seeded, and the entire tank needs to be aired out completely before microfauna and frogs are returned to the vivarium. 

Hope this helps!


----------

