Furry Millipede?

Kasha · May 8, 2006

I asked this question before, but with so many new people on I am hoping someone may know something new.
Ok so a while ago I rescued a millipede from a local pet shop with what I thought was a fungus covering her mouthparts. A vet check later and all we know is that it is NOT organic. So not fungus. THe vet said ithat under the microscope, it looked like hairs. For a while there they seemed to be a lot fewer, but now they are getting more abundant. She is an AGB, adult, and fat and sassy. She isn't to fond of handling, and I am having a hard time getting pics, but here is a description.
Blondish/golden hairs that cover the mouth parts and legs on the first 2 segments as well as a little way up the sides of those same segments and almost covering her antenna. The do not seem to bother her, nor get in the way of feeding. She is completely normal otherwise.
I will endeavor to get a good pic of it in a few hours when the husband gets home for lunch.
Any ideas? Has anyone come across this before? I hesitate to wipe at them with mineral oil (vet suggestion) since they don't seem to bother her at all.
And mind you the vet handled her with RUBBER GLOVES! My 3 year old daughter kisses her, but the vet was afraid of her "poison". Good gravy, we need entomologist vets.

Kasha · May 8, 2006

Here is a picture of her, and you can see some of the "fur" on her antenna. She was giving me really good shots of it, but my camera wouldn't focus...best $450 I ever spent

Anyway, it is definetly hair of some kind. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Scolopendra55 · May 8, 2006

Thats sweet!! I'm not sure it's hair though?

J Morningstar · May 8, 2006

all right,
here goes. I use to see that on mine from time to time. I think (and this is my guess) I think it is left over fluid that hardens into that weird hair from milli sex.
I know scoff, laugh, but I noticed the ones who seemed to be doing "it" the most had the most and it always seems to go away.
Okay I said it.

Elizabeth · May 8, 2006

Then if she or he is a lone pede, is the best guess she is ready for action?

And what did you do when your pedes got the hairy fuzzies? Just leave it on them? Give them a rubbing rock or branch? Anything? :?

cacoseraph · May 8, 2006

J Morningstar said:
all right,
here goes. I use to see that on mine from time to time. I think (and this is my guess) I think it is left over fluid that hardens into that weird hair from milli sex.
I know scoff, laugh, but I noticed the ones who seemed to be doing "it" the most had the most and it always seems to go away.
Okay I said it.

intersting... it looked almost like a crystaline growth in the pics to me

that would jive with your theory. like making salt or rock sugar crystals

J Morningstar · May 9, 2006

Yea, I was hesitant to even post at first but it's not the first time I had seen it and I would hate someone knowing this and not sharing. It does look like a fatal fungal infection. I do not think I have ever seen a dead millipede with it on it.
I really do think that is it. I have also seen males extend their gonopods and litterally shake till tey are dripping with fluid then eat the fluid. If you think I am not serious there is no way I would make this up. But they also end up sometimes like this with the "hair".

Kasha · May 9, 2006

I never saw them mate and this is a female. My adult male just passed away last month.
I wonder if she can make "fluid" like a male (minus the sperm of course). It would explain why it does not seem to affect her in any way.. Hmmm...I would never have thought of this. Could it possibly be a sigh of receptiveness to a male?
Has anyone encoutered this on their females before? Or is mine particularly horny?

ROACHMAN · May 9, 2006

millipeds

hey morningstar very good that is what it is left over love juice :clap: :clap:

kerensky · May 13, 2006

the focus looks pretty all right, but looks overexposed

try switching off the flash and switching on the main lights instead?

monicabeth10 · Jun 18, 2011

Laboulbeniales fungus

Kasha,

This post is almost 5 years old now, but I'm wondering about what happened to your millipede?

This IS/ was a fungus, despite what your vet says. It is an undescribed species of Laboulbeniales fungus. There are 2000 species of these: many entomologists confuse them with hairs. I am a mycologist. Several years ago I was contacted by a vet and her client who owned an infected millipede, for help. The fungus grows on the head, mouthparts, antennae, and between the front legs. I experimented with a fungicide in the food, but we couldn't get the millipede to eat. Eventually the millipede died and I took it into my possession.

I haven't described the fungus in the literature yet but plan to soon. I am interested in learning more about the conditions that predispose these animals to infection. From what little I've been able to glean on internet forums and such, it seems to be common in older animals and correlated with fewer molts. I would be interested in hearing if any other species of millipedes may be infected as well.

If anyone has any information, I'd be glad to hear it.

Kasha · Jun 20, 2011

That sounds like it!
I kept her for a almost a year or so longer, then had to re-home them. She was kept in a habitat with another AGB, and some N. Americanus(sp?) and none of them ever showed any sign of infection. She never seemed to have any issues with them. And in that time she never molted.
If I remember anything else I will be sure to let you know.

J Morningstar · Jun 20, 2011

I do believe that I lost my entier collection to this fungus, I saw it on my biggest of millipedes, and did not know what to do....

aroy · Jun 24, 2011

Morningstar, I am working with Monica on this project of describing the fungus. I was wondering if you have any pedes that have this currently or have the remains of the ones you lost. We are really sorry to hear that and would like to get to the bottom of this problem. Finding more specimens is what we need to form a better description as well as to learn more about it.
Kasha do you by any chance know where your AGB ended up?

Thanks
Alex

monicabeth10 · Jun 24, 2011

Morningstar,

Bummer. It seems like they get sluggish and stop eating. Sorry to hear that. If it weren't for that it might be possible to treat them with a fungicide through the food.

If any of you have any more information regarding current pets that have the fungus, we'd like to hear about... you can contact either Alex or I.

Monica

J Morningstar · Jun 25, 2011

I had no background in anything with fungus and really thought I was right back in 2008 with the secretions, but it would seem that is most likely perhaps was a little of both...how strange..and by that I mean perhaps this is one way it was transmitted.

Liusti · Oct 4, 2011

Hey, I think my A. gigas has this same fungus infection. It looks the same:

She is otherwise very healthy, but maybe she hasn't been that cheery than before... I'm not sure. But I just want to know, is there anything I can do? Anything? Will she die because of this? And is the infection contagious (=Can I keep other millipede/-s with this one)?

(And sorry for my bad English...)

Thanks!
Oona

J Morningstar · Oct 5, 2011

It does look like the fungual infection mentioned here. And I would not keep others with the infected one, IT seems like ti was transmitted through contact.

Liusti · Oct 10, 2011

Thanks, I thought the same. But what would you do if you had a infected millipede? I'd like to hear some ideas, some advice what to do. Like how to stop the spread of the fungus and/or how to cut it down... ):

Liusti · Oct 26, 2011

I haven't seen the millipede for a few days... What would you even try to do if you had the same situation? |:

Furry Millipede?

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