Scolopendra heros arizonensis

[Collin Clary]

A few pics and a vid of my new Scolopendra heros arizonensis:


[YOUTUBE]FXLdAgABl6s[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Those are impossible to find, I only got in two in this year. The colors are often brighter on larger specimens though captive conditions can change the color (not the pattern) over time.

 

[Collin Clary]

Those are impossible to find, I only got in two in this year. The colors are often brighter on larger specimens though captive conditions can change the color (not the pattern) over time.

They are very nice looking. Almost as nice looking as a Scolopendra hardwickei in my opinion. The color is brighter in life than it is in the picture. It just started a burrow a few minutes ago. This is my first Scolopendra by the way, I'm sure it will not be my last.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I really shoulda bought one of these off ken the bug guy woulda beena nice first Centepede O well > LOL

 

[coldvaper]

Really nice pede where did you acquire it from?

 

[Collin Clary]

Some feeding pics:

Really nice pede where did you acquire it from?

I got it from bugsincyberspace.

 

[coldvaper]

damn i thought so, I went to purchase it today and it was sold already lol. Well congrats.

 

[zonbonzovi]

Great introduction to centipedes. Mine is completely spastic. Take good care of it and hopefully between us we have a pair if you're ever interested in breeding. What's the body length?

 

[Collin Clary]

Great introduction to centipedes. Mine is completely spastic. Take good care of it and hopefully between us we have a pair if you're ever interested in breeding. What's the body length?

Its about 3 inches at the moment, I hope that between us we do have a future breeding pair. It would be nice to get more of these in the hobby.

 

[beetleman]

yeah, i love these guys got few juvies...gettinbigger,and they are high strung,man can they eat.

 

[Galapoheros]

The one I have is about 4 inches, I could sex it now but just haven't done it. This one is a spaz too. Don't know if it's my imagination or just the individuals I've had but the arizonensis seem to be more high strung in general than the castaneiceps. Maybe you have to be kinda crazy, evolving in the desert.

 

[zonbonzovi]

Sweet, between the four of us there's a very good chance for a pair. Def. more twitchy & hungry than the castaneiceps. I wonder about pheromones: my castaneiceps female has been upside-down crawling the mesh of her tank regularly since the arizonensis arrived. She never does that and the arizonensis' apt. is directly overhead.

 

[Galapoheros]

The adults over here usually come out at the same time starting in September and have a pretty big appetite. I've seen the mate in Sept and Oct and also think they are looking for food at that time to stock up on reserves while they go dormant in the winter. I just fed three tonight because they were walking around a lot, then they go under their rocks again.

 

[SEB]

This makes me want to own a centipede now.... Dam it!

 

[dannyboypede]

I love my S. arizonensis. It is a really great eater and is often out, if not active. I have had it for a year and about two weeks. I believe it has molted twice, both times in the summer. Definitely a hardy species, and fun to watch.

--Dan

 

[KyuZo]

Definitely one of my favorites. they feed very well comparing to the S. castaneiceps. this is the rare morph of the S. arizonensis. i personally like the more common morph, but this guy is still to drool over

and it's always better to buy a young pede like this since it'll live longer

 

[peterock44]

if these are more spastic than the castaneiceps then they must be a handful. my castaneiceps is constantly roaming, not much of an appetite though. any slight disturbance and it starts flailing around, sprinting around its entire enclosure. the arizonensis sure is a looker though.

 

[EMWhite]

Hi!

Very nice looking animal, one of my all-time favorites definitely.

A quick note though, you may find that keeping it on the dry side will help with the long-term maintenance of the animal. Since it's a smaller one (and will dry out faster than a larger animal), having a water source a water source available is not a bad idea at all, but the heros sp are quite tolerant of dry conditions, and will live (in my experience) much longer/better when kept pretty much completely dry. Generally, several inches of substrate with some type of hide (I use plastic flower pots, cut into strips, which they burrow under) covered with dry sphagnum works really well.

Once a month or so, I spray the sphagnum with a fine mist, and dampen it enough that the pede can drink from it. This also creates a slightly more moist area beneath the hide (not sodden, just a little damper).

I've tried, over the years, to provide a regular water source (I usually use a little plastic cup type thing, sunk into the ground, so that it doesn't dry out so fast) but, in all honesty, while it's not a bad thing to have, I've not found them to be essential. Occasional misting, and a retreat, seem to be sufficient when dealing with these animals.

Congrats on the pede too, as others have said, the banded arizonensis morph is quite uncommon in the trade, though, in my experience, they're as hardy as any of the commonly available species.

Best of luck to you!


-Evan

 

[KyuZo]

welcome back, Evan. i haven't seen you post for a while.

 

[fartbreath]

I've always wanted to own one of these but I think I still have a bit of work to do to give this beauty a nice comfy home. The humidity here can be quite unpredictable.