A fat pede

[Greasylake]

I hadn't seen my pede in over a month and I had also been battling mold in this enclosure for months, so I finally gave up and changed the substrate completely. My pede hadn't eaten in over a month and I was starting to wonder why, and today I noticed it looks a little chunky. Now I'm not concerned for its health as it was very active when I put in the temp enclosure and when I put it back in the regular enclosure, but it was very lethargic and today was the calmest I've ever seen it. I'm just wondering if I should be expecting a molt soon or if this is just a centipede doing centipede things. And before anyone asks, no those white dots aren't mites, they're just a little debris.

 

[Scoly]

It doesn't particularly look off-colour. Is it wild caught? If so, you could be getting babies!!!

 

[Greasylake]

It actually might be wild caught. I got it from swift's inverts as a 6.5 inch pede and it molted once in my care. I haven't sexed it and quite frankly I'm scared to knock it out because I get the feeling I'd do something wrong. I'm not sure I'm ready for baby pedes yet and I can tell you my mom would be livid if she found out we had them lol.

 

[Scoly]

If you're not breeding my view is that there's no desperate need to sex your pede. You run the risk of damaging it (usually not a problem unless it's premolt) and also the risk of an accidental early return to consciousness, which you obviously don't want with this species!

I have to say it does look rather fat. I would definitely let it dig itself in and leave it undisturbed for a couple of months

As for your mom, maybe her mothering instinct will kick in when she sees all those cutesy baby dehaanis wriggling around...?

 

[Greasylake]

It's a Subspinipes not a dehaani but I make the mistake myself too. My mom was very against me getting a pede and my dad was actually the one that gave me the green light to go ahead and buy it, but my mom was not pleased. How long can females stay gravid for before they lay eggs? I think this one has been in hiding for close to two months now, and if she does lay eggs will she come to the surface and hide under a piece of cork bark or will she lay them in one of her tunnels? I don't really know much about centipedes and their births.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

In the case of a gravid 'pede, if possible, it's best to not bother/move etc the specimen at all, otherwise the risks that everything can screw up are high. They need, on the other hand, to feel comfy enough in the enclosure.

My female 'disappeared' for months, then one day all I was able to see were lovely little 'pedes jumping out from the air holes I've drilled, ah ah.

 

[Greasylake]

I left her alone after I changed the substrate and I only did that because I had the mold problem like I said before. I'll be sure to leave her alone from now on and I'm glad I drilled my air holes way at the top of the enclosure lol. I'm pretty excited about this though, should be a really neat experience.

 

[LeFanDesBugs]

It's a dehaani. If it hasn't molted in 2 weeks, you're getting babies.

 

[Greasylake]

What makes you say it's a dehaani? If it's a dehaani then I was sold a misidentified pede.

 

[Liquifin]

What makes you say it's a dehaani? If it's a dehaani then I was sold a misidentified pede.

Dehanni has a light yellow coloring on the legs, while subspinipes has a reddish leg color.

 

[NYAN]

What makes you say it's a dehaani? If it's a dehaani then I was sold a misidentified pede.

All the centipedes sold as ‘Vietnamese centipede’ are dehanni. You know the typical look to them, yellow or orange legs, brown body etc.

 

[Greasylake]

It was sold as a Scolopendra Subspinipes, the listing was under the Latin name. I guess I'll have to relabel my enclosure then.

 

[LeFanDesBugs]

No it doesn't have anything to do with the legs in particular (except the terminals lol, but I doubt you'd want to look at them)
With experience you get to tell apart the different species. Dehaani are more heavily built, get larger, have a different coloration altogether, don't come from the same places... and the list goes on

 

[NYAN]

No it doesn't have anything to do with the legs in particular (except the terminals lol, but I doubt you'd want to look at them)
With experience you get to tell apart the different species. Dehaani are more heavily built, get larger, have a different coloration altogether, don't come from the same places... and the list goes on

I wasn’t saying the legs aren’t how you identify them, but I’m saying the Vietnamese are dehanni and I described the way the Vietnamese look.

 

[Greasylake]

I still have trouble IDing subspinipes and dehaani but I was always always under the impression that dehaani had more redish legs.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

If it's a dehaani then I was sold a misidentified pede.

Happens more than you imagine.

All the centipedes sold as ‘Vietnamese centipede’ are dehanni.

No. At least, not here.

 

[NYAN]

Happens more than you imagine.



No. At least, not here.

The only ones I’ve seen labeled as Vietnamese are the yellow or orange legged ones with the brown body and redish head and terminals.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

The only ones I’ve seen labeled as Vietnamese are the yellow or orange legged ones with the brown body and redish head and terminals.

We need to consider and remember always that, when it comes to the 'pede trade, unlike for the T's one, there's a lot of more confusion. The only good point is that, since (almost) no one bother to proper sex those, 'you' can end with a potentially gravid 'pede.

Here in Italy 'Vietnam/From Vietnam/Vietnamese' are always a detail: 'you' know what 'you' purchase

 

[Greasylake]

The only ones I’ve seen labeled as Vietnamese are the yellow or orange legged ones with the brown body and redish head and terminals.

Those could be either subspinipes or dehaani. They are very similar and dehaani was once considered a subspecies of subspinipes.

 

[LawnShrimp]

Slowness and fasting are not necessarily signs of premolt or pregnancy but they are good indicators. Just keep good watch on your 'pede and try not to disturb it unless necessary. Most likely it will resume normal activity without either laying or molting though both are possible.

This is a dehaani. There are a lot of dehaani morphs with different colors but the most common Asian centipede in the hobby anywhere is the basic Vietnamese dehaani with (color is a terrible way to determine species) a brown body, yellow to orange legs, red antennae/terminals, and a pale tan pleural membrane (sides).

Subspinipes is much rarer in the hobby, most commonly available from the Philippines or Hawaii. These are (color is still a terrible way to determine species) typically have a light brown to orange body, reddish legs, and a dark gray pleural membrane. Overall they have a lighter body, darker legs, and are more slender than dehaani.