# Is He Stupid? (Don't handle giant centipedes)



## cacoseraph (Jul 27, 2005)

dissenting opinions go here:

p.s. this is a brother thread to: 
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?p=492453#post492453


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## Himself (Jul 27, 2005)

Two things come to mind.

1. I believe you are playing against the statistics, otherwise known as gambling.

2. You are dealing with living organisms, which adds another layer of uncertainty. Also, these organisms are not known for their endearing personalities.

It strikes me that what you are doing is analogous to collecting information on Russian Roulette, except that with Russian Roulette you only hear from the successful players. Here the risk is miserable pain for an extended period and a reasonable expectation of some temporary systemic effects.

Nevertheless, I shall be interested in how it all shakes out.

Cheers!
H


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## cacoseraph (Jul 27, 2005)

Himself said:
			
		

> Two things come to mind.
> 
> 1. I believe you are playing against the statistics, otherwise known as gambling.
> 
> ...


thanks for replying in the "right" thread 

i'm not going to rush right out and handle my subspinipes... i figured i would get acquainted with our American boys (i'm US-american... but then you probably guessed that already hehehehe) before trying to sort out the Asians 

truth be told, centipedes don't seem that "aggressive" to me.  i've seen tarantulas and scorpions strike at me / the cage maintenance activities than centipedes.

this should be interesting, either way


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## Gsc (Jul 27, 2005)

Darrin V. (Golden Phoenix Exotica) has wrote an article or two I believe for older ATS Fourm magazines reguarding the handleing of Scolopendra centipedes... He is pretty good at it... I've never purposefully handled them (although I've had them run up my hand a few times)....  I believe the main concept is to let the Scolopendra crawl on you and DO NOT stop it or try to make it do anything...  I know he, the ATS, nor I reccomend handleing 'pedes...

I've been bitten twice by S. heros and it freakin' hurts...I've heard alot of the exotics hurt way more...  I am very impressed by it...check out these photos from online:

Darrin w/ S. polymorpha (he is very experienced):
http://www.goldenphoenixexotica.com/dopede.JPG

and the CLASSIC Shot of the S. vidricornis that we all dream about from Strictly Reptiles:

http://markmlucas.com/images/invertabrates/amazon giant 1.jpg


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## Conan (Jul 27, 2005)

Holy god that is a huge S. vidricornis. I didnt know they got that big...


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## NiGHTS (Jul 27, 2005)

OK, I'm posting here because I don't have any firsthand experience, but this is what I've heard about handling pedes.  Basically, the trick is to make the pede think that your hand is actually the ground (er, a piece of moving ground).  So if you can get it to crawl ontop of your hand without forcing it or having it freaking out, you may be able to have it march from hand to hand.  However, with the speed and temperment of some of the pedes out there, I think you'd have to be crazy to try.


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## cacoseraph (Jul 27, 2005)

NiGHTS said:
			
		

> OK, I'm posting here because I don't have any firsthand experience, but this is what I've heard about handling pedes.  Basically, the trick is to make the pede think that your hand is actually the ground (er, a piece of moving ground).  So if you can get it to crawl ontop of your hand without forcing it or having it freaking out, you may be able to have it march from hand to hand.  However, with the speed and temperment of some of the pedes out there, I think you'd have to be crazy to try.


yeah, that's pretty much what i do... to take big ones out of the cage i scoop them with a hook and then place them on my hand.

the only time i've come close to being bit was when i was catching some. i was holding a ~4" S. polymorpha w/o problems... but i was having trouble getting my container open and the pede was getting more and more agitated so i decided to try to and squeeze it a little between my fingers to slow it down... the second i started applying pressure the pede froze and placed his fangs on my skin... i squeezed a little more and it squeezed a little more... i let go and it let go.

it was actually quite cool


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## edesign (Jul 27, 2005)

Gsc said:
			
		

> Darrin w/ S. polymorpha (he is very experienced):
> http://www.goldenphoenixexotica.com/dopede.JPG


actually...from the background i have gathered on this photo is that it was defanged at the time.



> and the CLASSIC Shot of the S. vidricornis that we all dream about from Strictly Reptiles:
> 
> http://markmlucas.com/images/invertabrates/amazon giant 1.jpg


i read, possibly on this forum, that this huuuge centipede was quite sluggish and apparently very overfed.


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## danread (Jul 28, 2005)

Himself said:
			
		

> It strikes me that what you are doing is analogous to collecting information on Russian Roulette, except that with Russian Roulette you only hear from the successful players. Here the risk is miserable pain for an extended period and a reasonable expectation of some temporary systemic effects.



I'd definitely agree with this. Whilst handling a pede isn't going to definitely result in a bite, there is _always_ a chance of it happening, and if you carry on handling pedes i'd say that chance will almost reach 100% at some point.

Of course, i'm not one to say do or don't handle your pede, if you're an adult and are aware of the potential pain and danger, then go right ahead. On the other hand if we had a kid posting on these boards asking if its ok to handle his/her pede, i'd definitely say no.


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## defour (Jul 28, 2005)

cacoseraph said:
			
		

> this should be interesting, either way


There's the essential point. It's kind of funny that people have the urge to convince you not to handle centipedes. Who cares? They're yours, and when and if they bite they'll be biting you. Now if you were talking about a potentially deadly animal, then I can understand others caring, because your death would be far more noticeable to the public than a simple trip to the ER for painkillers, and the result would be more incentive for the already half-crazy state legislators to ban or further regulate exotics.

On a different topic, it's easy to think that the effects of a bite aren't really as bad as they sound, and that the bite reports are exaggerated. Even when you believe the reports, it's impossible to appreciate those effects without being bitten yourself. I learned this firsthand with Poecilotheria striata. When I was bitten, I took some painkillers and went to bed, confident that no matter how bad it got, it certainly wasn't going to compel a visit to the doctor. I was dramatically wrong. 

I've heard a couple of bad first-hand S. subspinipes bite reports, and a bite like one of these might cause you to reformulate your opinions on centipede handling.  Definitely interesting either way.

Steve


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## danread (Jul 28, 2005)

defour said:
			
		

> Now if you were talking about a potentially deadly animal, then I can understand others caring, because your death would be far more noticeable to the public than a simple trip to the ER for painkillers, and the result would be more incentive for the already half-crazy state legislators to ban or further regulate exotics.


Who's to say that we aren't dealing with a potentially deadly animal? I know we can be fairly sure that a bite isn't going to directly cause death (considering how common they are in tropical countries, and the lack of recorded deaths), but it only takes one person with a dodgy heart and a bite from a 12" _subspinipes_ to change the way people percieve the hobby. I don't know how it is in the US, but in the UK the exotic pet hobby is coming under increasingly high levels of scrutiny, and there was even some talk of getting pedes added to the DWA list (for those of you who don't know about the DWA, look here ). 

Like i said, i'm not going to condone or encourage the handling of pedes, if you're an adult and are aware of the situation, go ahead. I just hope anyone who does think of handling reads all the bite reports first.


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## defour (Jul 28, 2005)

danread said:
			
		

> Who's to say that we aren't dealing with a potentially deadly animal?
> Like i said, i'm not going to condone or encourage the handling of pedes, if you're an adult and are aware of the situation, go ahead. I just hope anyone who does think of handling reads all the bite reports first.


My use of "potentially deadly" in this case wasn't in the strictly technical sense, since it's not very useful. By my working definition it covers venomous animals 1) that are known to have caused fatalities to healthy humans, 2) that aren't known to have caused fatalities but are very closely related to animals that have, or 3) for whom there is no information concerning envenomation effects. The vast majority of things I consider potentially deadly fall into the first category. Most of the ones that are left go in group 2, and a very small number into group 3. Since the only recorded centipede fatality occured to a child, and any number of contributing health factors may have been present, I don't consider it to be a good indicator of the "deadliness" of S. subspinipes. Considering its lack of shyness with respect to human populations, a lot of people likely recieve bites. One fatality in a sea of bites doesn't impress me much.

If we're to look at venomous animals with a stricter definition of "potentially deadly", we're going to have to get worried about Poecilotheria, Stromatopelma, Heteroscodra, Pterinochilus, etc., as well as just about any "new" species of tarantula or centipede that comes into the market. I think that's going too far. I don't condone or encourage pede handling or even tarantula handling, but it's not likely at all to result in damaging press. And when compared to the public consequences of bites from things like Gaboon vipers and Western diamondbacks, it's positively trivial. The invert community's biggest fear in the law department is being ensnared by sloppily written laws enacted by lazy elected officials in response to the keeping of dangerous snakes by morons.

Steve


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## cacoseraph (Jul 28, 2005)

danread said:
			
		

> I'd definitely agree with this. Whilst handling a pede isn't going to definitely result in a bite, there is _always_ a chance of it happening, and if you carry on handling pedes i'd say that chance will almost reach 100% at some point.
> 
> Of course, i'm not one to say do or don't handle your pede, if you're an adult and are aware of the potential pain and danger, then go right ahead. On the other hand if we had a kid posting on these boards asking if its ok to handle his/her pede, i'd definitely say no.



i'm definitely an adult. i am not asking permission. i am asking other ppl to contribute what first hand knowledge they have to a personal interest of mine.  

there is no DWA act, or anything similar that i am aware of in CA, USA.

i am well associated with many kinds of pain, and have rather nice health insurance, failing that.  beyond that i am not stupid... i would like to think far from it.  

i strictly handle S. polymorpha at this point, one of the safer centipedes to start this sort of a project with, any informed person would agree. i handled smaller specimen for the first year or so, then moved up to 4-5" sized individuals of both sexes. no notable (to me, at any rate...) difference in behaviour or spook-factor. finally i handled my huge 6+" female, with no problem... in fact, it turns out it tickles  ;P 

note: i don't know if S.polymorpha is incapable, or they are at ease enough not to engage the mechanism when i am handling them, but i have never seen any evidence of "centipede tracks".... the pattern of iritaton and puncture wounds that larger centipedes can supposedly leave in their wake. i don't doubt they can do it... some have repugnatorial secretory pores by the spiracles of some segments


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## danread (Jul 28, 2005)

All of this begs the question, why do it? Like i said, i'm not saying you should or shouldn't do it, it's entirely up to you as an adult what you do with your pedes, but i am curious to know whats your motivation for wanting to handle them?


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## edesign (Jul 28, 2005)

defour said:
			
		

> Now if you were talking about a potentially deadly animal, then I can understand others caring, because your death would be far more noticeable to the public *than a simple trip to the ER for painkillers*, and the result would be more incentive for the already half-crazy state legislators to ban or further regulate exotics.


i've read a few accounts of people being bitten by Scolopendras and even morphine was no help. Did read a medical site about centipede envenomations that said heat was helpful for the pain though.


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## cacoseraph (Jul 28, 2005)

edesign said:
			
		

> i've read a few accounts of people being bitten by Scolopendras and even morphine was no help. Did read a medical site about centipede envenomations that said heat was helpful for the pain though.


yeah, S. subspinipes complex is DEFINITELY off my list of potential play mates =P

i intend to do a heat soak and topical antibiotic/antihistamine. maybe some oral antihistamine/allergy.  and possibly get a prescription for antibiotics if i get large holes put in me.

if the pain is that furious i can take some (OTC)sleeping pills and a drinkypoo and sleep it off. but like i've said... i really don't intend on handling subspinipes group now, if at all. 

i'd like to maybe make a point about misperceptions, not prove i'm a prakking idiot


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## defour (Jul 28, 2005)

cacoseraph said:
			
		

> if the pain is that furious i can take some (OTC)sleeping pills and a drinkypoo and sleep it off. but like i've said... i really don't intend on handling subspinipes group now, if at all.
> 
> i'd like to maybe make a point about misperceptions, not prove i'm a prakking idiot


I'd say with subspinipes off the list your project is looking a lot cheerier. 

The sleep aid and booze strategy goes with what I mentioned about not appreciating pain until it shows up. I did exactly the same thing with my bite; it didn't help, and wouldn't have unless I'd dosed myself to the point of being in danger of dying from the cure. This was pain that had no respect for alcohol and pills. There was simply no way I was sleeping until it was all over. Granted, this wasn't a centipede bite, and the really horrible pede bites I've talked to people about involved S. subspinipes. From the sounds of it, trying to sleep through one of those would have been similarly futile.

Steve


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## cacoseraph (Jul 28, 2005)

danread said:
			
		

> All of this begs the question, why do it? Like i said, i'm not saying you should or shouldn't do it, it's entirely up to you as an adult what you do with your pedes, but i am curious to know whats your motivation for wanting to handle them?


EDIT:
holy balloons that is a long post! i swear it's not a rant... at least... i don't think it is... you tell me =P
/EDIT:
i think i touched on this in the positive thread seed, but i wouldn't mind elaborating a little bit here.

expanded history:

i have hand caught around 25 S. polymorpha ranging from the cutest little blue-ish 1"(2.5cm) cuties to 5-5.5"(13-14cm) monsters i temporarily named Satan. incidentily, i measure only body length, no antena, no terminal legs.

hand catching, by the way, literally involves finding them in the wild, grabbing them with my hand, and putting them in a jar.  actually i don't grab *them* i do what i call an Iron Finger Grab... i lock my fingers in place around them (and possibly some substrate... sort it out later!) and lift them up with out EVER apply direct pressure on their top or sides. 

that's the only part i feel is ticklish. once i get them up and in the air on my hand they just run around like little maniacs. 

i've had a 3+" run up my sweatshirt sleave. that was pretty funny... i power stripped on the side of a busy road to recapture my wayward friend =P

in addition to hand catching them i would play with them while rehousing them into their permanent homes. i played with just about every centipede i ever caught, including the larger ones.  With anything above ~4" (10cm) i strictly use Iron Fingers to make sure i don't apply the wrong pressure to them.

some interesting points to consider. twice i inadvertently ripped a terminal leg off of a centipede whilst catching it. both times i had the centipede in my hand and accidentily pulled a leg wrapped around a piece of stick or root on the ground that i hadn't noticed.  think about that... i ripped a pretty important piece of a supposedly aggressive animal off while in the midst of forcibly removing it from it's lifelong habitat... and they never bit me.

Before i even bought my first centipede and long (er, relatively) before i set out to catch them i started reading about them. something you have to know about me is that i am a compulsive reader. if you ever see/read Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events... i'm like a real (and toned down) version of that kid =P  i read the article by Darrin Vernier (and still don't know how to pronounce his last name... ). i read booksin libraries, some so old it was almost comical the terms they used. i read articles online. gods did i read articles. i read the bite reports and think i know what went wrong for those people.

Finally after having well over 100 (140-150 more likely... i *do* play with them) positive handling experiences with S. polymorpha i decided to move onto to handling the 6+" (BL only!) big fat S. polymorpha, "Mortal Sin", i bought as an "AZ Blue-Banded centipede". i handled her for about five minutes, but must admit to being overcome by adrenalin... i was shaking so bad i had to put her back, for both our safeties, heh. i was not afraid... i was very excited that it seemed like i was somewhat correct in my thinking.

i certainly do not think all centipedes can or should be handled.  but i find handling them an extremely postive experience and hope maybe i can share that with other people.

plus, anyone who knows me in real life knows at least one thing about me: i am a consumate coward!  i look up to paranoid people as beacons of courage... so i do not think i am lightly entering into an "experiment" that could result in my harm =P

oh, as a next step i have ordered 2 S. heros castaniceps (to hopefully find  a girl (or two!) for my boy and three S. morsitans.  I am VERY excited about the morsitans as they are almost the focus of the Scolopendra portions of _The Biology of Centipedes_ by Lewis, which i have acquired 

as a closing note:  I believe i can now, rather easily sex S. polymorpha at 3+"... and most of the other common pet species i have seen and bought in real life, at mature sizes.  
Of my four (i know 4 is nothing from a stats point) adult giant centipedes: 
S. polymorpha 6" female, 
S. heros castaniceps 6+" male, 
S. sp. "Vietnam" probably subspinipes ~7" male, 
S. sp. "Haiti" which i read might actually not be a Scolopendra genus after all... 6+" male

i confirmed the three male predictions by later seeing them pop their hemipenises, don't really know short of laying eggs or disecting post mortem how to confirm girls.

I believe my understanding of sexing came in part from all the handling interaction.  Should be interesting to further test if i'm right with the new centipedes i ordered.


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## arizona (Aug 7, 2005)

Gsc said:
			
		

> D
> 
> I've been bitten twice by S. heros and it freakin' hurts...I've heard alot of the exotics hurt way more...  I am very impressed by it...check out these photos from online:
> [/url]


My brother was tagged by one(Scolopendra heros) while he was "trying" to sleep it was in his bed and he felt something on his leg so he went to brush it off.  Well it tagged him and he called me right away(I'm in pest control) and almost offered me his harley to get rid of everything in his house that has more than two legs.   I told him to clean his damn room cause it looks like a storage shed. Anyway it left a 6" round bruise on his leg.  The pede was about 4" long.


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## cacoseraph (Aug 7, 2005)

arizona said:
			
		

> My brother was tagged by one(Scolopendra heros) while he was "trying" to sleep it was in his bed and he felt something on his leg so he went to brush it off.  Well it tagged him and he called me right away(I'm in pest control) and almost offered me his harley to get rid of everything in his house that has more than two legs.   I told him to clean his damn room cause it looks like a storage shed. Anyway it left a 6" round bruise on his leg.  The pede was about 4" long.


heh, the more i'm reading and watching the more i think S. heros belongs in the "Do Not Handle" bin =P

i have had a S. heros c. for ~3 months, and just recently got two more.  All three seem more nervous than i am comfortable with handling.  In this type of venture i am definitely going to listen to my inner whisperings =P


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## dtknow (Dec 6, 2005)

Just better hope that wherever the photos show up their is some kind of caution against handling them. No one ever told me pedes were dangerous. I remember when I was 6 we were on a field trip to a school or something and on the asphalt(it was raining) was a maybe 3-4 inch centipede...probably S. polymorpha since thats all that occurs here. It was moving a little and being me I promptly went over and picked it up gingerly by the tail(if their was a container around I would have kept it). Could be bad if someone sees the photos and decides it is ok.


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## centipede (Dec 9, 2005)

What about the girl of the neighbours (I have seen her in real -  it's not fake !)

http://www.pattayamail.com/478/community.shtml  (somewhere in the middle)

She’s still there - Samui Scorpion Queen goes for record http://www.pattayamail.com/478/pictures/o3_478.jpg

    Kanchana Ketkeaw, aka Nong Na, is attempting to break the world record for the longest stay with scorpions - 32 days - right here in Pattaya.

    Nong Na is going for the record - right here in Pattaya - for the longest stay with scorpions (and we aren’t talking about the German rock group, either, although that would be a feat in itself). Go ahead and lend her your moral support - she’s at the Royal Garden Plaza, "on display", free of charge.



    Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, in conjunction with the Royal Garden Plaza Pattaya are joining hands to help her break and set the New Guinness World Record.

    The current Guinness World Record was recorded by 25-year-old Malaysian Scorpion Queen, Nur Malina Hassan, in 2001. She spent 30 days with 2,700 scorpions until she fell unconscious.

    However, Kanchana Ketkeaw, also known as Nong Na, plans to spend 32 days with 3,000 scorpions! She began her quest on September 21, and from now until October 23 you can come and meet the 30-year-old challenger from Samui Snake Farm in Surat Thani. Without any prior training, Nong Na has been working at Samui Snake Farm as one of the scorpion performers for farm visitors for the last 7 years.

    Come and see how she fearlessly lives, eats and sleeps with 3,000 scorpions in a special built glass cage measuring 12 square meters, where every 8 hours she is allowed to leave the confinement for 15 minutes.

    Come and render your moral support at Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, 3rd floor, Royal Garden Plaza, Pattaya until October 23rd, from 10 a.m. to midnight - free of charge.

    Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum and co-organizers would like to thank the following companies for their generous support towards this exceptional event: Samui Snake Farm (Surat Thani), Advance Info Service Public Company Ltd., Bangkok Interfurn Co. Ltd., Thai-Asahi Glass Public Company Ltd., Kawasaki Motors Enterprise (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital.


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## Steve Nunn (Dec 21, 2005)

Hi,
Nice pics  

I'd think almost any invert can be handled, you just need to know the behaviour of the animal well enough to know when to leave them alone.

Anyhoo, the reason I'm posting is because I've been nailed by a large _Scolopendra westwoodi_ and it was NOT pleasant!! Most painfull envenomation I've ever had, aside form a dangerous spider bite, which was worse from the point of view I had systemic symptoms, only pain with the pede. The reason I was bitten: asleep out in the bush here in Oz, one climbed in my sleeping bag at about 3:00am, I was dead to the world, until that bloody thing woke me up. Felt an itch on my knee, so I scratched and got nailed. 

*Bottom line is if I hadn't annoyed the pede by scratching, I don't believe I would have been bitten at all.*

The symptoms were intense pain from the bite site (kneecap) down to my toes, it felt like I'd been injected with battery acid, all over my lower leg, that's probably the best way to describe it.

Thanks for all the images, they were awesome to see 

Cheers,
Steve


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## beetleman (Dec 22, 2005)

i keep many inverts, lot's of very large centipedes,would'nt think of handling any of them they are fast,really aggressive,and unpredictible,you really don't know what it will do,i too was bitten by very large hongkong giant,and it was the worst pain i ever felt in my life,it lunged so fast out of the container at my finger(i was watering them at the time)at that time i should of used tongs to remove the water dish,it was hiding in the soil,and BAM!! just like that it exploded out of the soil,at my index finger,that was it,i use tongs all the time,and still these giant centipedes,try to kill me,but i luv em anyway,but to handle them....I THINK NOT!!!:wall:


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## cacoseraph (Dec 22, 2005)

Steve Nunn said:
			
		

> Hi,
> Nice pics
> 
> I'd think almost any invert can be handled, you just need to know the behaviour of the animal well enough to know when to leave them alone.
> ...


you know what is funny... this actually makes me want to go to Australia MORE

one reason i decided giant centipedes would make an interesting subject to handle was exactly what Lord Nunn (ok, that sounds like a scary sith lord to me... i don't know what other ppl think) alluded to: centipedes might cause me a huge amount of pain... but they are excedingly *UNLIKELY* to kill me 

pain i can handle... death i'm a little more weary of 

thank you very much for looking in and commenting... i am very much honored

p.s. i think if i trimmd my hair and beard and you know, my face got alittle more like, symmetrical, i think we would look similar


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## cacoseraph (Dec 22, 2005)

danread said:
			
		

> All of this begs the question, why do it? Like i said, i'm not saying you should or shouldn't do it, it's entirely up to you as an adult what you do with your pedes, but i am curious to know whats your motivation for wanting to handle them?


i've thought a lot about this question... not necesarily just cuz you asked it, but cuz it probably should be thought about from time to time.

i will admit now, there was some mighty fierce hubris in my earlier motivations

but i think i have mellowed out a little and matured a tiny bit. now i would like to think i am helping to convince those people who are *almost* ready to get a giant centipede that maybe these guys aren't *quite* as bad as legend and common "knowledge" dictate

hopefully over xmas/winter/chan/kwan/solstice/etc break i can take some more pics of playing with some interesting animals 

at this point i certainly don't think anyone should try to free handle anything based my experiences... but i know a fair number of masters (certainly not a title i will claim for myself... yet, at any rate  ) that free handle

... granted pretty much every body gets tagged at some point (me and now everybody i've talked to except my crazy friend that made the "Playing With Fire" pic) but i guess it comes down to a personal risk vs. reward decision

edit:

ok, i would be completely dishonest if  didn't add this: there is definitely a rush in handling something... but heck, i would say everybody who free handles a venomous bug, be it G.rosea or P.imperator gets a rush the first time they do it... adrenalin kicks in, flight or fight, etc... 

heh, it's somewhat analgous to a drug in a number of ways... 
each "hit" gets you slightly less high than the last one, unless you take a bigger "hit" and hold a badder bug
handling polymorphas didn't excite me at all anymore... well, until i got bit 

plenty exciting once again


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## 324r350 (Dec 22, 2005)

cacoseraph said:
			
		

> heh, it's somewhat analgous to a drug in a number of ways...
> each "hit" gets you slightly less high than the last one, unless you take a bigger "hit" and hold a badder bug
> handling polymorphas didn't excite me at all anymore... well, until i got bit
> 
> plenty exciting once again


almost everything in life is this way
everything good at least


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## cacoseraph (Dec 22, 2005)

*HUGELY OFF TOPIC... but interesting*



			
				324r350 said:
			
		

> almost everything in life is this way
> everything good at least


very much so, i think!

i read a very interesting explanation for sadness when someone is dies or breaks up with you etc.

basically your body is built to always return to it's balanced state. homo-something or other. homeostasis, that's it

when you see someone you like, you get increased endorphin production, increased metabolic response, (redistribution of blood flow *cough*) etc.

you body senses this is a deviation for the baseline state and will actually release depressant effects, to reabsorb those endorphins(and other stuff), slow heart & breathing etc

eventually you will reach homeostasis again... but once you remove the "postivie" source you body will still produce the negative homeostatic response... thus you have the depressants with out the stimulants... and are sad

gee-whiz! that could in part explain post-partem depression... that and the horredous hormone shifts


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## 324r350 (Dec 22, 2005)

cacoseraph said:
			
		

> very much so, i think!
> 
> i read a very interesting explanation for sadness when someone is dies or breaks up with you etc.
> 
> ...


things would be so much simpler if crickets and predators were all we had to worry about


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## chrisacres (Sep 25, 2013)

Bumpety bump. This is such a great thread and I'm still very interested in the OP's thoughts and thinkings on handling these creatures!


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## Greenjewls (Sep 26, 2013)

pretty sure you can see vids of him handling S. heros on his Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLsnVQIQeX4.  He hasn't posted on here in a long time. Another interesting vid by another poster:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpH97UV69Vs

Reactions: Like 1


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