Azog has officially defeated me...

Staehilomyces

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Mar 2, 2016
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After thinking I had been going so well with handling Azog, my Ethmostigmus rubripes, especially considering its initial temperament, I have come to the decision to stop attempting to interact with this pede. A couple of days ago, when I was conducting my usual procedure of touching the head before moving further along the body and picking the pede up, Azog spun around and gave me a very quick, glancing blow with one of its forcipules. It wasn't an enormous amount of pain, but this glancing hit was significantly more painful than the bite I took last year from an E. cf rubripes, and that one got me with both forcipules and held on for a second. Considering I had been working with Azog for almost six months, not to mention the fact that its temperament goes back and forth in a manner I never saw with my old S. morsitans, or any of the socialised pedes on 256colors' and Centipede Whisperer's IG posts, I came to the conclusion that I was wasting my time with this pede. I may still handle it on occasion, but it's just too unpredictable for frequent handling. Thus, it has also pushed back the centipede anatomy video I was planning to film.

On the plus side, Gothmog, my new dark banded E. rubripes, seems like a much easier customer. It's only slightly smaller than Azog (~15cm BL), and while quite jumpy and excessively prone to test biting, it seems to be a lot more "normal" for a pede in terms of temperament. Today was my second time interacting with it. It seemed quite agitated for some reason, but when I started to pet it behind the head, it whipped one of its antennae back, tapped my finger for a couple of seconds, and then sat still. While it is smaller than Azog, it is nonetheless a pretty impressive pede, so hopefully I'll be able to get this pede as docile as my S. morsitans was.
 

Dennis Nedry

Arachnodemon
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Oct 21, 2017
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Well Gothmog did seem very "lazy" for a centipede in the video so I'd assume that it'd be easier to handle. On another note you're REALLY brave to keep going with this after having two somewhat close calls with E rubripes. I freak out every time my harmless huntsmans try and bolt when I feed them :rofl:
 

Staehilomyces

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This pede is actually quite fearsome. If anything, its feeding response is more voracious than Azog's. However, in terms of overall temperament, it's reasonably calm.
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
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Yeah I too stopped doing that years ago. When things seems to be just fine, confidence is good ....WHAM!, and the pede turns into a boomerang that doesn't come back. So you're trying to find the pede before assessing the damage to your hand or arm.
 

Staehilomyces

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Today went well. Gothmog didn't attempt any test bites at all. However, I never got to actual handling due to the fact that I sneezed while working with it, which understandably freaked it out, making it go into defensive mode. I tried again just now, and it was a good deal calmer. Things are looking up!
 

Staehilomyces

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It ate just before. Hunger doesn't seem to be a major factor in their temperament.
 

LawnShrimp

Arachnoangel
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Dec 9, 2016
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Ha! He must have been planning this for weeks... I'll cozy up to the human until he trusts me and then show him why I am to be FEARED.

Seriously though, good luck with Gothmog. It will be nice see a semi-tame centipede (instead of a semi-semi-tame one) that you can use in videos.
 

Staehilomyces

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Socialisation always seems to work well until I unwillingly breathe on the pede. I swear, I'm tempted to start wearing a mask whenever I interact with E. rubripes. The worst part is, after I screw up, it stays in defensive mode for hours before I can try again.
 
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Staehilomyces

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Mar 2, 2016
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*sigh* tried again, but it's still in defensive mode. Sometimes I really feel sorry for these animals - they don't seem to know what safety feels like.
 

Dennis Nedry

Arachnodemon
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Oct 21, 2017
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You're videos really made me think my rubripes would be a bit calmer when it arrived. The thing was swinging its head around looking to bite :confused:
 
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