Scolopendra gigantea behavior and bite questions

[Teds ts and Inverts]

Hi everyone, so I’m considering getting a Scolopendra gigantea “white legs”, and I have some questions about their behavior. Would they rather retreat or attack when disturbed/touched (socialization is the only reason I’d touch it, lol)? Are they reclusive and burrow all the time, or are they more bold and stay out in the open most of the time? And what is the bite like? Being a bigger pede, I know that the mechanical damage would be worse than most pedes (since this pede gets so big), but I’ve heard that gigantea venom is not as bad as subspinipes, and even Scolopendra heros venom is worse than gigantea. Does the gigantea really have less potent venom? And if so, would the weaker venom make a bite less threatening than, say S. heros? Thanks

 

[NYAN]

Supposedly, gigantea has less potent venom than heros. I’ve not been bitten by either though so I can’t attest personally. I would say that yes they are less potent though. The behavior depends on your individual pede a lot. I’ve heard of them being calm, spastic, quick to bite, flighty etc. I’ve also heard of them burrowing and others staying on the surface.

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

Supposedly, gigantea has less potent venom than heros. I’ve not been bitten by either though so I can’t attest personally. I would say that yes they are less potent though. The behavior depends on your individual pede a lot. I’ve heard of them being calm, spastic, quick to bite, flighty etc. I’ve also heard of them burrowing and others staying on the surface.

Alright thanks, and it would make sense that behavior would vary from specimen to specimen. I was just wondering if they have common tendencies as a species. Thx again!

 

[dragonfire1577]

Check out my profile pic, shows how mine acts a lot of the time. Admittedly It does have off days where it is kinda skittish but it never bites first.

 

[NYAN]

In my experience, Pedes are usually skittish but are not aggressive unless you pester them. I’ve known of a few instances where Pedes will bite quickly, but this has only happened when they are disturbed. Sometimes you will get an individual which is calm and allows you to handle it. I’ve found Asian Pedes to be more skittish.

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

Check out my profile pic, shows how mine acts a lot of the time. Admittedly It does have off days where it is kinda skittish but it never bites first.

Ok, and from my previous research that’s what I probably would’ve expected, Run > Bite. I’ll definitely check it out!

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

In my experience, Pedes are usually skittish but are not aggressive unless you pester them. I’ve known of a few instances where Pedes will bite quickly, but this has only happened when they are disturbed. Sometimes you will get an individual which is calm and allows you to handle it. I’ve found Asian Pedes to be more skittish.

Ok, and that would make sense as well, as I’ve heard that bite tendencies are also related to irritability. Pedes that bite quickly either are, like you said, disturbed, or just easily annoyed. And the giant Asian pedes are, from what I’ve been told, rather grumpy and ill-tempered compared to other centipedes.