S. Subspinipes or Dehaani identification

Orangejoe

Arachnopeon
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Nov 10, 2018
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Hello all, I'm new here, but not to inverts. Anyhow, I did just purchase my first centipede, sold as s. Subspinipes. Wanted one for a while, and was presented at the expo for 25 dollars.
After reading, it seems a lot of these are actually s. Dehaani, and the way to tell is by looking for spines on the rear legs. I'm thrilled either way, but for the sake of my ocd, could someone with sharper eyes help a brother out?
Her name is Tiffany, no reason, just sounds mean to me, got her/ him in a sterlite locking clear tub, 4 inches of moist plain Jane soil, a water dish, and a heating pad on the back, my home is cool. Drilled about 100 1/4 inch holes, and keep a 30 pound chain coiled on top along the perimeter of the lid.
Thanks for any help y'all.
 

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REEFSPIDER

Arachnobaron
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Ahh i once knew a Tiffany, she was mean, fitting name for an equally beautiful dehaani. :angelic:
 

Greasylake

Arachnoprince
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Jul 23, 2017
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Dehaani, looks exactly like one of mine.
Vietnamese locality if it matters to you.
 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
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Nov 10, 2017
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Agree with everyone here, it’s a Scolopendra dehaani. S. dehaani used to be a subspecies of S. subspinipes, but it’s its own species now. Giant pedes labeled as “S. subspinipes” are almost always S. dehaani.
 

Orangejoe

Arachnopeon
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Nov 10, 2018
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Dehaani, looks exactly like one of mine.
Vietnamese locality if it matters to you.
I had been curious about that, thank you. Really I've just been trying to learn all I can of them. In particular, how many beginners manage to kill their pedes in the 1st year. Seems a lot of preventing premature death is in humidity and not stressing them.
 

StampFan

Arachnodemon
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Jul 12, 2017
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I had been curious about that, thank you. Really I've just been trying to learn all I can of them. In particular, how many beginners manage to kill their pedes in the 1st year. Seems a lot of preventing premature death is in humidity and not stressing them.
Most of these Vietnamese yellow-legged dehaani are wild caught and sold as adults. If they die in the first year, they may just be dying of old age, or parasitic or other infections that they arrive with from the wild.
 

Orangejoe

Arachnopeon
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Nov 10, 2018
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Most of these Vietnamese yellow-legged dehaani are wild caught and sold as adults. If they die in the first year, they may just be dying of old age, or parasitic or other infections that they arrive with from the wild.
At around 5 inches, I hope she's got a couple more in her, time will tell. If she was pregnant, that would be a whole new delight.
When first placed in the tub, being agitated, she struck out with her terminal legs almost faster than I could see. Can they prick you with these? Different folks say different things on the ability of a large pede's legs to break skin.
 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
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Nov 10, 2017
Messages
504
I had been curious about that, thank you. Really I've just been trying to learn all I can of them. In particular, how many beginners manage to kill their pedes in the 1st year. Seems a lot of preventing premature death is in humidity and not stressing them.
Most adult pedes sold are WC and they usually die from old age. But pedes do need it more moist and if kept on the dry side, some species may kick the bucket. Pedelings are the ones that are very hard to raise with success and even experienced keepers can have some trouble keeping them alive. I lost my heros castaneiceps pedeling to a bad molt just recently :(
 

Orangejoe

Arachnopeon
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Most adult pedes sold are WC and they usually die from old age. But pedes do need it more moist and if kept on the dry side, some species may kick the bucket. Pedelings are the ones that are very hard to raise with success and even experienced keepers can have some trouble keeping them alive. I lost my heros castaneiceps pedeling to a bad molt just recently :(
I'm sorry for your loss friend. I may have spooked myself, read everything I could on molting. By the end of it I was worried about the tracheal tube not molting out in the future.
 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
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I'm sorry for your loss friend. I may have spooked myself, read everything I could on molting. By the end of it I was worried about the tracheal tube not molting out in the future.
Thx man. I wouldn’t be too concerned about your pede dying from a molt, as long as you keep the enclosure nice and moist, and since it is already a fairly large specimen, it shouldn’t have to molt super-often. In case you were wondering, what happened to my guy is known as “belting” (I believe). I don’t think it’s very common, but it’s fatal if left untreated. There are vids on YouTube explaining it. Here are the links for those vids:

 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
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And if there is not a way to regulate the temperature on your heat pad, I would take it off. The higher temps will most likely lead to a shorter lifespan. Plus they’ll do fine at room temp, and some species will even kick the bucket if kept too warm (80+ Degrees Fahrenheit).
 

Orangejoe

Arachnopeon
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And if there is not a way to regulate the temperature on your heat pad, I would take it off. The higher temps will most likely lead to a shorter lifespan. Plus they’ll do fine at room temp, and some species will even kick the bucket if kept too warm (80+ Degrees Fahrenheit).
I actually just took it off after I posted this thread, I agree with you. It was breaking measured 80 degrees easily. Now I keep it stuck to the cabinet shelf next to the tank, keeps it around 68 to 77 depending on the time on day. Also just got this aquarium driftwood for a hide.
 

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Orangejoe

Arachnopeon
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Thx man. I wouldn’t be too concerned about your pede dying from a molt, as long as you keep the enclosure nice and moist, and since it is already a fairly large specimen, it shouldn’t have to molt super-often. In case you were wondering, what happened to my guy is known as “belting” (I believe). I don’t think it’s very common, but it’s fatal if left untreated. There are vids on YouTube explaining it. Here are the links for those vids:

Coincidentally, I just watched those and one about letting it eat the shed last night. Very valuable information, shame it has to be dug for.
 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
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Coincidentally, I just watched those and one about letting it eat the shed last night. Very valuable information, shame it has to be dug for.
Yup the pedes HAVE to eat their molt, and it is actually common knowledge among pede keepers, but it doesn’t get mentioned too often to the new keepers. Good to see that you know that nonetheless.
 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
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I actually just took it off after I posted this thread, I agree with you. It was breaking measured 80 degrees easily. Now I keep it stuck to the cabinet shelf next to the tank, keeps it around 68 to 77 depending on the time on day. Also just got this aquarium driftwood for a hide.
Good to know, and if you do have a heat mat which has a temp regulator on it, I would say, “use it if you’d like”, but like I said earlier, they’ll be just fine without it. And I’ve never used driftwood before, but I do know that cork bark is fairly resistant to mold, and since pedes need it fairly moist, I use that in my enclosures. And they like hides that they can kinda squeeze into, because they like having something to brush up against. Just another thing I thought I’d mention:)

Here’s a piece of bark I’m not currently using in any of my enclosures, and this would make a good hide for a pede because it is low to the ground, and the pede can brush up against it. Plus a pic of my only centipede’s (at the moment) enclosure, just for a reference, but I think the way yours is setup is good. (Feat. the little guy in his tunnel)
 

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Orangejoe

Arachnopeon
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Good to know, and if you do have a heat mat which has a temp regulator on it, I would say, “use it if you’d like”, but like I said earlier, they’ll be just fine without it. And I’ve never used driftwood before, but I do know that cork bark is fairly resistant to mold, and since pedes need it fairly moist, I use that in my enclosures. And they like hides that they can kinda squeeze into, because they like having something to brush up against. Just another thing I thought I’d mention:)

Here’s a piece of bark I’m not currently using in any of my enclosures, and this would make a good hide for a pede because it is low to the ground, and the pede can brush up against it. Plus a pic of my only centipede’s (at the moment) enclosure, just for a reference, but I think the way yours is setup is good. (Feat. the little guy in his tunnel)
Funny thing, I went by a petsmart and a specialized exotic pet place looking for cork just for that inherent mold resistance. Neither place had it, but as I understand aquarium driftwood is better than average, at least I hope.
Right now my home is heated by large electric heaters that need to be turned off when no one is home. I know 65 is no big deal, but after I get in from work the air temp can be in the 40s this time of year. I keep her and my scorps on a book shelf with a towel tacked up to close it off when my wife and I are out. With the heating pads in there, it keeps the air temp in the high sixties.
That is a very aesthetic tank by the way. From what I read, this sort of tub I'm using is great functionally, but I would really prefer something seamless and more translucent.
 
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Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
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Funny thing, I went by a petsmart and a specialized exotic pet place looking for cork just for that inherent mold resistance. Neither place had it, but as I understand aquarium driftwood is better than average, at least I hope.
Right now my home is heated by large electric heaters that need to be turned off when no one is home. I know 65 is no big deal, but after I get in from work the air temp can be in the 40s this time of year. I keep her and my scorps on a book shelf with a towel tacked up to close it off when my wife and I are out. With the heating pads in there, it keeps the air temp in the high sixties.
That is a very aesthetic tank by the way. From what I read, this sort of tub I'm using is great functionally, but I would really prefer something seamless and more translucent.
Yup, I definitely like having enclosures that are aesthetically pleasing, and that acrylic cube definitely fits the bill. I wouldn’t use it with a bigger pede, because there isn’t a whole ton of floor space, it could crawl out with the lid off, and a bigger pede could potentially push the lid off since it doesn’t lock. Whenever I get a larger pede I’m probably going to buy a sterilite container or a tank with a locking lid. The main reason why I’d prefer the sterilite tub over a tank is because it’s MUCH cheaper:)
 
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