communal 'pedes?

[stemloop]

I just saw some pics on the subspinipes appreciation thread which surprised me: 2 or more 'pede's happily (apparently) living together. Some quick searching turned up a little about communalism in centipedes, but also warned against trying it with subspinipes, unless they were 'mutilans.' I know 'pede taxonomy is not in the greatest shape, and even for zoologists who are paid to do it, the subspecies level of classification has always seemed a little fuzzy to me....

OK, I'll get to the point. I would like to put my two 'pedes together. They're still small (~4"). Mai Chau, I think. I posted pics http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=26192]HERE.[/URL]

I'm not expecting any guarantees, but does anyone want to chime in and tell me what they think about keeping them in the same enclosure? Thanks!

 

[danread]

Hi Stemloop,

The only pedes know to be certain to be tolerant of each other are, as you said, Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans. Thats not to say there aren't other species that will be tolerant, Scorpio is trying a S.heros communal set up at the moment, but i think we should wait and see how it turns out.
I dont know for sure, but i suspect that if you keep your two Mai Chau together, you will end up with one fat pede. But then again, we will never know unless you try, but you have to be willing to potentially accept the loss of one of them. I do seem to remember reading about a breeding attempt with vietnamese subspinipes (not sure if it was a Mai Chau), and that ended up with one dead pede.
Anyway, if you do try it, let us knwo how it goes.

Cheers,

 

[stemloop]

OK, I put them together in a cage, a little over a week ago, roomy enough for them both to have independent places to hide or hang out. I watched them for the first hour or more. They would be acting essentially as normal, then when they encountered each other they would both freak out and blaze in opposite directions. I left them together, and the following day I checked up to find them both still alive. Since then, I have seen no sign of them, but haven't disturbed their environment to look. I've put 3 or 4 small crickets in the cage on 2 occasions, most recently last night. The crickets have all disappeared. Who knows? I'll update again someday.

 

[scorpio]

Mine did the same thing fleeing from eachother upon contact.

Two days ago I ended up with a tail, and a head, with the rest of the body inside one fat pede.

Keep in mind this is S. heros.

 

[Steven]

when 2 pedes are introduced to eachother and with the first contact they jump away,... it's just a mather of time for 1 to be eaten,...

only tolerance i've seen is with "mutilans" and male and female of the same specie,...