Centipede find!!!

[NatureJay]

So i literally just found this outside in my yard in a piece of rotten root.... Im still in disbelief...

The wife sent me outside to get her some aloe (she's always up to some beauty tip) and being it night i always go out using my phone's flash light to look around to see if i spot anything interesting. I didnt go outside a full minute before i looked down and saw those famous legs. I couldnt believe it. After shifting some dirt aside for a better look a saw it wrapped around what i thought were eggs. They are a ball of baby pedes!
Now this is funny as ive just gotten interested in the possibility of keeping a centipede and have been looking foward to finding one. Ive also been on youtube and google looking at videos and info on the different centipedesat work. I've been showing my co-worker all the beautiful and big species and told him i wanted to find one to keep. He said to me "when you do get a centipede, you're gonna get so many you wont know what to do with them." Aint that something....

I took a shovel and scooped out the entire thing without disturbing them too much. Root, mud, dirt, termites the whole shebang... I put it in a 5 gallon bucket and covered it with the lid nice n tight. I dont even want ro tell my wife because she is gonna freak!!! Not just about me keeping them but the fact that i found it just outside. Ive had a scorpion for about a month and she doesnt even know. Thank goodness for a basement she doesnt go into.
Sorry for the rambling, im just excited and anxious.
I pretty much know how to setup an enclosure for an adult, but what on earth do i do for the babies? Wait, i hope they can't climb up the bucket...
Gonna get a sterilite tub and set it up. For when momma releases them. Also can you guys ID this thing?

 

[NatureJay]

So i literally just found this outside in my yard in a piece of rotten root.... Im still in disbelief...

The wife sent me outside to get her some aloe (she's always up to some beauty tip) and being it night i always go out using my phone's flash light to look around to see if i spot anything interesting. I didnt go outside a full minute before i looked down and saw those famous legs. I couldnt believe it. After shifting some dirt aside for a better look a saw it wrapped around what i thought were eggs. They are a ball of baby pedes!
Now this is funny as ive just gotten interested in the possibility of keeping a centipede and have been looking foward to finding one. Ive also been on youtube and google looking at videos and info on the different centipedesat work. I've been showing my co-worker all the beautiful and big species and told him i wanted to find one to keep. He said to me "when you do get a centipede, you're gonna get so many you wont know what to do with them." Aint that something....

I took a shovel and scooped out the entire thing without disturbing them too much. Root, mud, dirt, termites the whole shebang... I put it in a 5 gallon bucket and covered it with the lid nice n tight. I dont even want ro tell my wife because she is gonna freak!!! Not just about me keeping them but the fact that i found it just outside. Ive had a scorpion for about a month and she doesnt even know. Thank goodness for a basement she doesnt go into.
Sorry for the rambling, im just excited and anxious.
I pretty much know how to setup an enclosure for an adult, but what on earth do i do for the babies? Wait, i hope they can't climb up the bucket...
Gonna get a sterilite tub and set it up. For when momma releases them. Also can you guys ID this thing?

 

[chanda]

Wow, what a cool find!

It's hard to get a good look at her, what with the dirt and babies and all, but maybe Scolopendra gigantea? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scolopendra_gigantea

*Edit - more likely S. subspinipes

 

[NatureJay]

Yup thats the coloration on the top of it. Same bluish tint at tip of legs. This one isnt that big though. Gigantea, wow!!!
It also resembles Scolopendra alternans..

 

[Staehilomyces]

It's a Scolopendra subspinipes. As a matter of fact, the Wikipedia image for S. gigantea is also a S. subspinipes.

 

[chanda]

Yup thats the coloration on the top of it. Same bluish tint at tip of legs. This one isnt that big though. Gigantea, wow!!!
It also resembles Scolopendra alternans..

...or Scolopendra supspinipes... The coloration on these things is so highly variable, it's hard to tell! I'm actually leaning more toward S. subspinipes after looking at what I think are the prefemoral spines on the very last pair of legs...

 

[NYAN]

First, congrats on your find. Second, I know the mother will eat eggs if disturbed but I am not certain if the same goes for babies when they are at that point in their life. The Babies are at the stage where they will stay with mom still. I believe they can even live together for a little after they separate. The babies when separated will tend to feed as a group on prekilled prey for a little. How tall is your bucket? You want to be sure the adult cannot escape and the babies shouldn’t be able to also.

 

[NYAN]

Subspinipes do tend to very all over. As I learned a few days ago with what I identified as being an alternans but it was really a subspinipes. The view however is obstructed a bit much.

 

[NatureJay]

Subspinipes...hmmmm...Well we shall find out soon enough when i can get a better picture of her...
@NYAN the bucket is 13" tall and the lid is closed very tightly on there. I need to use a lot of force to get it on and off.... Im even afraid to reopen it...lol....

 

[NYAN]

You should be fine. Subspinipes need a humid environment. If you can, without disturbing the mommy too much, poke/ drill some small holes in the lid for air circulation. How much substrate is mommy on right now would you say? Oh and another thing, if the babies survive and continue to develop please document and update us. Centipedes have a lack of information and there is a lot of mystery around females being able to reporuduce many times with only one fertilization and after molting. Some even think the babies fertilize the mother.

 

[NatureJay]

My basement is very humid.... my scorpion and millies are enjoying it. Outside right now is very cold since its been raining a whole lot for weeks so im sure they appreciate the change in temp.

There is no substrate. I took the entire thing out the ground. Its a piece of rotted hollow root with some wet dirt, mud. I just placed it in the bucket... I can take a pic of the whole thing so u can see....

 

[NYAN]

My understanding is substrate can be defined as mud or wet dirt. A photo of your setup may be helpful for us also. I’ve never had any centipedes of mine lay eggs so others may need to chime in regarding how to keep the babies alive.

 

[NatureJay]

I thought u meant substrate that i put in the bucket. I just took it from outside into the bucket as is. So whatever bit of substrate thats in there isnt much.

Ill be sure to document the progress of the little ones as they develop....

 

[NatureJay]

Better pics.... She really didnt like the light so she went deeper into the hole... I dont wanna bother her too much.... I put some tiny holes in the bucket cover for ventilation.... Gonna try to get 2 enclosures 2morro so when the time comes im ready.....

 

[NYAN]

I would advice, without disturbing her too much, add some more dirt around her island so that there is no white on the bottom. Also you can add a little dish with water just in case.

 

[LeFanDesBugs]

Great find! As the others said, Scolopendra subspinipes. You really want to add a water dish for now though

 

[NatureJay]

Ill add some substrate and a water dish...

 

[LawnShrimp]

From the looks of it the pedelings are in the third stage of development and it is unlikely she will eat them at this age. In a month at most, and at least few weeks, the pedelings will become juveniles that can move and eat. They do not need prey for the first week and a half or so because they are still hardening up from their molt.

You can kill a roach or a cricket and give it to the mother in a week after she's calmed down. She will need some energy as she probably hasn't eaten since she laid eggs.

Adult and baby centipedes do not posses hairs or sticky pads for climbing smooth surfaces unlike spiders do, so a bucket should be fine especially if it has a lid. She won't move much while brooding though, so I doubt she can escape.

I agree that this is S. subspinipes. The babies will be bright yellow with black stripes and a bright blue head (this or variations on this are the norm for baby subspinipes).

 

[NatureJay]

Thanks @LawnShrimp good info there. I was wondering how long again till they would be ready to free up. When she releases them do i separate her or leave her in there for a bit? I really dont want to keep them in that bucket any longer than i have to.

I addded a water dish and some substrate [dirt from outside] as suggested. I also changed the bucket lid with one i got at work which will let me look in there without disturbing her with the dreaded lid removal.

I ordered some Eco Earth weeks ago for my scorpion and my forwarding shipping company has misplaced/lost it during the Holiday shipping fiasco. It got here but they just cant find it. Now that i really need it, it's become a huge inconvenience....

 

[NYAN]

The babies will seperate when they are ready. My understanding is They all can stay in the same container for a little bit before you want to separate the babies into their own enclosures.