Kivsyaki
Appearance
Kivsyaki are very diverse, their sizes vary from 3 millimeters to 28 centimeters. Kivsyaki are distinguished by a long cylindrical body with a large number of segments, there are always more than 30 of them. Each segment has 2 pairs of legs.
Habitat
Representatives of the order are found mainly in the Holarctic.
Nutrition
The food of the nooses is leaf litter and dead roots, humus, sometimes they feed on living succulent roots. Some species prefer the brackish soils of sea coasts.
In nature
The noose spends its life in the forest floor, digging winding passages in the soil. Despite the huge number of legs, the animal is slow and when a threat appears, it cannot instantly hide from the field of view of an unpleasant object. To defend themselves, the nods curl up into a tight ring. But they can also scare away the enemy with an unpleasant odor.
Reproduction
In their natural environment, moths lay their eggs directly into the soil. From these clutches, larvae develop, which are practically indistinguishable in appearance from adult larvae, only they have fewer legs.
When cold weather sets in, their larvae burrow deeper into the soil, preferring to hide in layers with suitable moisture. A male individual can be recognized by the presence of homopods, which visually look like limbs located in the inner part of the head segment.
Captive
It is best to use terrariums or plastic containers for keeping and breeding grasshoppers. The substrate layer should be 5 cm below the edge of the container. It is best to use soil containing rotten wood and lime as a substrate.
You should not add mineral (artificial) fertilizers to the substrate. It is very important that the substrate contains lime, since nooses eat soil to strengthen their shell. If there is a lack of lime, the shell becomes soft, and if it is completely absent, the living nodule can simply disintegrate into several parts under any mechanical influence on it.
Any plant residues can be used as food for squirrels. Nourishing ducks are especially willing to eat raw potatoes, which contain all the necessary elements to strengthen their shell. The raw potato is cut in half and placed with the cut on the substrate.
The necessary conditions for maintaining the activity of moths on the surface are moist soil, high air humidity and uniform heat (constant temperature). The air and soil temperature must be constantly maintained within 25° C. Air humidity must be at least 75%. To do this, you need to spray the food and a flat piece of cork tree bark with water several times a day.
To maintain the required temperature, use a red lamp, since kiwis do not require bright light. When the air humidity is sufficiently high, the nooses spend most of their time on the surface of the substrate. If moults burrow into the ground, they should not be disturbed, as this may be due to the start of the molting phase or the females laying eggs.
Despite the fact that nodules are quite harmless, we recommend using gloves when handling them, since the protective glands secrete a large amount of secretion, which has an irritating effect on the skin and mucous membranes. The secretion contains mainly caustic dyes (quinones), after contact with which stains remain on the skin for a long time. These volatile substances should not be inhaled because they also contain hydrocyanic acid and chlorine compounds, which cause allergies in many people.
In the Exotic Corner “Akhatinka” there is always a large selection of invertebrate animals - not only snails, but also stick insects, cockroaches, spiders of various types and sizes! Here you can find nooses, praying mantises, woodlice, beetles and other interesting living creatures. Below are examples of the animals we have. Currently available animals can be selected in our online store.
A special place in our store is occupied by food supply for insectivorous animals - reptiles, spiders, hedgehogs, swifts and fish, and everyone who does not eat grass. Live, frozen and dried feed cockroaches, crickets, zoobass, tormentor, drones, silkworms, locusts are always available. Here is a page in an online store with food insects.
Baculum extradentatum (Medauroidea extradentatum) - Annamese stick insect
The length of an adult reaches 11 cm. The optimal temperature is 24-28°C, humidity 60-80%. Forage plants: raspberry, blackberry, oak leaves (also available for sale).
Prices and availability can be viewed in the online store
Gromphadorhina portentosa - Madagascar (Malagasy) giant hissing cockroach
Adult females grow to sizes of 6-7.5 cm, males - 5.5-6.5. Life expectancy is 1.5-2 years, but in captivity this figure in rare cases can reach 5 years! Content temperature 24-29°C, humidity 50-65%. Food: omnivorous (vegetables, fruits, greens, bread, bran, cereals, protein feed).
These cockroaches do not have wings. In case of danger, especially when touched, cockroaches make a hissing sound. It occurs due to a sharp contraction of the abdomen and the rapid passage of air through the respiratory openings. This behavior of cockroaches scares away enemies and can cause a feeling of fear even in humans.
Gromphadorhina grandidieri - Madagascar giant tiger cockroach
The closest relative of the previous species, and therefore they are very similar in appearance. Black color. When frightened, some males also know how to make a frightening hissing sound. Adult females grow to sizes of 6-7.5 cm, males - 5.5-6.5. Life expectancy is 1.5-2 years, in captivity up to 2-3 years. Content temperature 24-29°C, humidity 50-65%. Food: omnivorous (vegetables, fruits, greens, bread, bran, cereals, protein feed).
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Cockroaches are delivered to the store after placing an order
Blaberus giganteus - Giant Cuban cockroach
Adults reach sizes of 7-9 cm. Life expectancy is about 1.5 years. Content temperature 25-28°C, humidity 55-75%. Food: omnivorous (vegetables, fruits, greens, bread, bran, cereals, protein feed).
Nauphoeta cinerea - Marbled cockroach (South America)
Adults grow to sizes of 3-3.5 cm in females, and 2.5-3 cm in males. Sexually mature cockroaches have wings with a characteristic “marble” color. Content temperature 23-27°C, humidity 55-75%. Food: omnivorous (vegetables, fruits, greens, bread, bran, cereals, protein feed).
Telodeinopus aoutii - Olive nodule
They grow up to 18 cm. The most unpretentious species among the nooses, suitable for beginners. The character is not aggressive, safe for humans. Life expectancy is several years. Temperature 24-28°C, humidity 60-80%.
It feeds on fruits and vegetables, loves rotten wood, oak and birch litter. (The litter is commercially available).
Size 13-16 cm.
Archispirostreptus gigas
The largest representatives of the nodule order. The African black giant nod grows up to 25-28 cm. The body thickness of the largest representatives is up to 3 cm in diameter. The legs have a reddish tint, the body is black, with a brown tint at the junctions of the segments.
You can find out about the availability of animals and their prices in the online store
Archispirostreptus gigas, Females, Males, groups
The giant nodule, or African giant centipede (lat. Archispirostreptus gigas) belongs to the family Spirostrepidae from the order Spirostreptida. This animal is completely harmless and does not show aggression towards humans. It tolerates captivity well, quickly becomes tame and allows itself to be controlled.
Among two-legged centipedes, the giant millipede is recognized as a real record holder. The maximum length of its body reaches 385 mm, and its thickness is 21 mm.
The species was first described as Spirostreptus gigas in 1855 by German naturalist Wilhelm Karl Peters. It was added to the genus Archispirostreptus 40 years later by the Italian entomologist Filippo Silvestri. Currently, it includes 14 more related species.
Spreading
The African giant centipede lives in East Africa. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, South Africa, Mozambique and the island of Zanzibar. The animal inhabits tropical and subtropical rain forests. To a lesser extent, it is observed in dry broad-leaved forests located near the coast and savannas covered with shrubby vegetation.
In mountainous areas, representatives of this species live at altitudes up to 1000 m above sea level. Preference is given to places with a humid climate, located in the shade under dense tree crowns.
Behavior
Giant nocturnal creatures are nocturnal. During the day they rest in their shelters, safely hidden from the heat of the day and the sun's rays. They go out in search of food at dusk and slowly feed until dawn.
Their eyesight is very poor, so they have to rely on their senses of touch and smell. They explore the world around them by touch using their antennae and legs. They manage to find partners for procreation and exchange information with their own kind through smells and pheromones.
When threatened, the African centipede curls into a tight spiral, exposing its hard chitinous shell and freezing in the thick of the forest floor. Thanks to its black camouflage color, it is quite difficult to notice it on the soil surface.
When directly attacked by predators, the squid secretes a toxic liquid from numerous pores on its body, causing a chemical burn on the skin of the aggressor.
The poison is weak (1,4-benzoquinone), so it does not pose a great danger to the attacker, and the itching on the affected area quickly goes away.
Problems begin when caustic substances get into the eyes or the mucous membrane of the mouth and respiratory tract. The poison is most effective against small mammals within a radius of up to 30 cm.
Many small mites live on the exoskeleton of giant centipedes, which clean it from the remains of uneaten food and protect it from other types of parasites. For this reason, specimens caught in the wild are often carriers of various infectious diseases and cannot be imported into a number of countries without special permission.
Captivity
In a terrarium with a volume of 80x40x40 cm you can simultaneously contain 4-6 giant nooses. They do not need additional lighting. To observe their behavior, just turn on a low-power night lamp.
The temperature is maintained in the range from 25°C to 30°C. At night it is lowered slightly, but not below 20°C. Pets need high air humidity, especially at night. It is advisable to maintain it at 85% by spraying the walls of the terrarium with warm water in the evenings.
It is recommended to use humus or garden soil as a substrate.
Its layer must be at least 10 cm. The use of peat is strictly prohibited due to its high acidity. It destroys the exoskeleton, which inevitably leads to the death of the pet.
Before use, the substrate is sifted to remove unwanted residents (ants, beetles, worms and larvae). It should be moist but not wet. It needs to be changed annually.
You can feed any vegetables and fruits, after peeling them. The need for proteins is satisfied by periodically introducing food for aquarium fish, cats and dogs into the diet. It is given occasionally and in small quantities. If there is a lot of foliage in the terrarium, then fertilizing is done once a month.
There is no need to install drinking bowls. Animals obtain the necessary moisture from food. To provide them with calcium, crushed eggshells are added to the food or substrate.
Nutrition
The diet consists mainly of decaying plant fragments and rotten wood. If possible, gourmets will not deny themselves the pleasure of enjoying a little ripe fruits, vegetables, feces or carrion.
They are helped to digest low-nutrient food by single-celled archaea organisms (Archaea) living in their digestive tract, which emit methane during their life activity.
Food of animal origin takes up no more than 10% of the menu and is consumed only on certain days.
The rest of the time, giant centipedes remain staunch strict vegetarians. There are no convincing explanations yet for what causes this selectivity.
Reproduction
Sexual maturity occurs at about 2 years of age. Mating usually takes place in spring and autumn and lasts about half an hour. A few weeks later, the female lays eggs in a hole she dug herself.
Each egg, up to 2.5 mm in size, is placed in a separate yellowish or whitish capsule.
Incubation lasts from one to two months depending on climatic conditions. The hatched cubs are completely ready for independent existence and do not need parental care. They initially have only 3 pairs of legs and up to 9 body segments, the number of which increases after each molt. Their birth is timed to coincide with the rainy season.
The first molt occurs 12 hours after birth. Subsequent molts occur in the soil layer and last several weeks. During the dry period, the giant nodule becomes sedentary and shows less activity. At the same time, he avoids in every possible way a long stay in water and hides from the rains in as dry a place as possible.
Description
The length of adult individuals is 17-26 cm, diameter 15-19 mm. The number of legs depends on age and ranges from 100 to 400, with an average of about 256 pieces.
The body is divided into several dozen segments, each of which has two pairs of legs. When moving, they come into a wave-like motion, allowing them to move both forward and backward.
The entire surface of the body is painted black. The chitinous shell is smooth, gives rigidity and protects the body from damage.
The life expectancy of the African giant centipede in natural conditions is 7-10 years.
