Drowning sexing method question

[Ratmosphere]

Say you obtain a wild caught female that’s gravid but here’s the catch, you want to sex it and don’t know it’s a female yet. If you drown the centipede to sex it, could this prevent your pede from having babies?

 

[Nich]

General vibrations from an average home could probably do that, water boarding a preggers would probably be bad lol.

 

[LawnShrimp]

Any disturbance would likely cause her to absorb the embryos. However, she could have stored sperm and might lay again.

 

[Kookookachu]

If you ever need to sex a centipede the best method is using a CO2 cartridge from one of those Soda Stream devices. The drowning method is much more traumatic for the animal and dangerous because water entering the spiracles can remain and cause damage from lack of oxygen. However, the CO2 dissipates and the animal doesn't know what happened.

 

[JavaJacketOC]

I don't understand how you would have a gravid wild caught pede you need to sex. Leave it alone, if it's gravid it'll show and confirm it's gender.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Think that if the 'mother' doesn't feel safe (like in the enclosure a lack of hiding points) eventually she will eat the eggs. A pregnant 'pede mommy literally disappears (under the cork bark, leaf - stones & substrate etc) for that.

So no, I wouldn't, definitely.

 

[Scoly]

I think the answer is technically speaking drowning should not cause her to abort the eggs, but...

1. That might be incorrect, i.e. drowning does directly cause a clutch to be aborted. We just don't know.
2. Gravid pedes are already so likely to consume their eggs or hatchlings if something doesn't feel right that putting her through this is seriously reducing your chances of a clutch.
3. Pressing down to pop her may cause damage to the embryos if present.
4. I heard that you can't pop a pede when it's premolt. And indeed I have had pedes that refuse to pop under reasonable pressure, but I can't confirm whether that was because they are premolt. Total speculation, but who's not to say that they also can't be popped when pregnant?
5. She may be carrying sperm, so may fertilise herself again (if pedes even do that) but who's not to say that popping her genitalia out could cause her to lose that sperm (unlikely, but who knows?)
6. Like JavaJacketOC said, if she is gravid, you'll find out in due course.

As for CO2 being less intrusive, that's an assumption, probably correct, but not necessarily. The process is shorter, true, but perhaps it results in elevated CO2 in the blood which has other effects. And perhaps drowning is a natural process that centipedes are adapted to.

And perhaps someone will chime in here who has sexed a pede only for it to go on and have a successful clutch...

So essentially: don't pop, and if she does have a clutch, send a free pedeling to everyone who replied on this thread

 

[Ratmosphere]

I don't understand how you would have a gravid wild caught pede you need to sex. Leave it alone, if it's gravid it'll show and confirm it's gender.

It was just a general question. Say you have one but want to sex it, but have no idea if it's a female let alone gravid, would the process be a factor in the egg laying/etc. I think @Scoly had a great response to this too. How would you go about CO2 process as well?

 

[Staehilomyces]

I believe there is a theory about centipedes being adapted to survive drowning. I tend to find them near streams quite often, so such an adaptation would benefit them.

 

[BobBarley]

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/queries-about-drowning-centipedes.281307/
"I've used this method for literally 100s of centipedes and the only thing I've learned that could be harmful to the centipede, could very well kill it, is if you put it in water for a long time when it's premolt. Signs of young premolt centipedes are: fat, off-color, a little less aware imo because the old exo is thick, almost detached so they don't sense their environment as well. I'm not sure why they can be damaged at this time but my guess is that they take on water while already being so turgid. It seems to me that the exo separates prematurely when taking on more water causing some bleeding and may kill it. Other than that I haven't seen any problems.

I personally use rain water, depends on the local water supply imo and it all may be OK, I just have access to rain water. You just have to use 'feel' when popping and some common sense if you can't see vids of it. It often takes a month or two after mating to lay eggs but they may lay eggs 2 or 3+ times within 2 years before a brood hatches out. I've seen them eat eggs at the slightest bump, but other times it takes a whole lot of shakin to get them to eat the eggs. Size and being under water doesn't seem to matter as much as one would think but younger ones do take a little less time. I check at 15 minutes, then around 30, 40, 50... by then they are usually pretty out of it so you can check."
-@Galapoheros

Not exactly answers your question but provides insightful info.