S. Polymorpha and S. Heros in Captivity

[Dovey]

I'm adding my account to the general knowledge regarding United States domestic Scolopendra in captivity. I almost didn't purchase the polymorpha, thinking it somehow wasn't as sexy or interesting as my Scolopendra heros.

So glad I did! The polymorpha is out so much more than the heros, who is almost always curled up below the soil under the water dish. I also rarely get to see the heros eat, whereas the polymorpha only rarely refuses a meal. Also, the difference in price is considerable, with the polymorpha being a budget-friendly purchase at $24 and heros hovering around the $80 - $100 mark.

Eventually the heros, at 7 inches, will grow larger; but the polymorpha, pretty slow growing at 6 inches, has been an active and charming edition to my collection. For anyone considering it, I would highly recommend the polymorpha.

 

[Venom1080]

Just a thought.. perhaps it's too dry in the heros cage?

 

[Dovey]

A good question. However, Ive upped the moisture quite a lot. He just seems to prefer to remain hidden.

 

[RTTB]

Both species are awesome.

 

[NYAN]

Heros and too moist of an environment, especially with coco fiber=mycosis. They can tolerate fairly dry enclosures. I keep mine on a sandy and gravel like substrate with water dishes and I will spray it down moderately once a week. @Dovey, you likely just have one which is more antisocial. I’ve had heros which stay out in the open and others which burrow or stay under their cork bark. Sometimes the ones which stay out more decide they want to be antisocial. Pedes doing pede stuff basically. I’m glad that you enjoy your Pedes though! You live in Arizona though. You could go out and collect both species.

 

[Bill S]

I keep both S. heros and S. polymorpha (they are both local species - and some of the specimens are ones I caught in my house). My heros tend to be out much more often than the polymorpha, but that also varies with the individual. While the heros looks a bit more dramatic, they have to be kept one per cage. I've had pretty good luck keeping small groups of polymorpha in a large cage (ten gallon terrarium with deep substrate). Both are cool, and make good captives. As for size - it seems that polymorpha from different areas may have different maximum sizes. At least ones I've kept from different populations have reached different sizes.

 

[Aquarimax]

I keep both S. heros and S. polymorpha (they are both local species - and some of the specimens are ones I caught in my house). My heros tend to be out much more often than the polymorpha, but that also varies with the individual. While the heros looks a bit more dramatic, they have to be kept one per cage. I've had pretty good luck keeping small groups of polymorpha in a large cage (ten gallon terrarium with deep substrate). Both are cool, and make good captives. As for size - it seems that polymorpha from different areas may have different maximum sizes. At least ones I've kept from different populations have reached different sizes.

I find it very interesting that you have succeeded in keeping polymorpha communally! I had heard that it was possible with some species, but this is news to me. Have you ever had them reproduce in such setups?

 

[Bill S]

Haven't seen any babies yet, but last night I noticed a couple of the centipedes checking each other out in a not-quite courtship. When I first set up that cage not all of the centipedes were full grown, but they are now. The cage has been set up for more than a year. I'm still considering it an experiment, but feel pretty confident about it now. However, when my wife found an albino/hypomelanistic polymorpha earlier this summer I decided to keep it in a cage by itself (just to be safe).

 

[Dovey]

Heros and too moist of an environment, especially with coco fiber=mycosis. They can tolerate fairly dry enclosures. I keep mine on a sandy and gravel like substrate with water dishes and I will spray it down moderately once a week. @Dovey, you likely just have one which is more antisocial. I’ve had heros which stay out in the open and others which burrow or stay under their cork bark. Sometimes the ones which stay out more decide they want to be antisocial. Pedes doing pede stuff basically. I’m glad that you enjoy your Pedes though! You live in Arizona though. You could go out and collect both species.

Yes, and in fact I did, or more to the point I paid a fellow arachnoboards to. One came from about an hour south of me in the vicinity of the Superstition Mountains, whereas the polymorpha came from the I-10 Corridor of West Texas. They're both absolutely stunning creatures. Since we almost always find the heros in riparian habitat, and almost always find them after a good rain, I feel they are more drawn to moisture than you would expect to find in a Sonoran species. The thing to remember is that our soil actually has quite a lot of clay in it, and if you dig down just a few inches, you can achieve a cool moist environment, even In the heat of our blistering summers!

 

[Staehilomyces]

Yeah, glad you didn't fall into the common trap of assuming desert species don't need moisture.
Generally, in the case of almost any pede I keep except the rainforest ones (Kuranda E. rubripes for instance), I only moisten half of the enclosure, and I only keep it somewhat damp, not soaking.