# Giant Centipede Handing... VIDEOS!



## cacoseraph (Mar 27, 2006)

In an effort to further demonstrate that centipedes rarely are the monsters so many people love to believe they are... VIDEOS!


Smith Almost Hand Eats a Lobster Roach nymph
Smith, my favorite Ethmostigmus species giant centipede almost eats a lobster cockroach nymph, while i am holding both

Smith Almost Hand Eats a mealworm 
Smith, my favorite Ethmostigmus species giant centipede almost eats a mealworm, while i am holding both in my hand

grab a "Black headed Tanzanian tiger centipede"
grab a "Black headed Tanzanian tiger centipede" to free handle. this is NOT normally the way i would start to free handle, but i think/hope this species might be among the more docile of the "giant" centipedes

rough Ethmostigmus grab
rough Ethmostigmus grab, it is HARD to make these things mad!


sooo.... how sure am i that my trigos are "safe"? am i sure enough to say... let it run around on my face?
yup!
part1
part2
Ethmostigmus trigonopodus "bluering centipede" walks around my ugly mug.
by the way, the faces i'm making are cuz it tickles unbelievably. also note, my face itched slightly afterwards, i think from having Smith's legs punch through a few layers of skin

badsound_RedHead_Tanzanian_Tiger_grab.3gp
grab a RedHead_Tanzanian_Tiger
bad sound! it sounds like a hurricane or something... and i do NOT recall having any hurricanes in my bedroom. er... wait a minute

handling_subspinipes01.3gp
handling a giant Vietnamese centipede!?

Scolopendra subspinipes have one of the most potent centibites out there!

am i really going to free handle?


loudsound_S_polymorpha_handle_and_bite.3gp
i pick up Crankypants and get bit again

this is actually a "mean" centipede... bite first and ask questions later!

you play the game long enough... you pay the price.. ESPECIALLY when you are playing with Crankypants!  this is the Scolopendra polymorpha that has "accidentily" bitten me more than any other centipede i have ever handled!

oh, and p.s. PLEASE PLEASE try to keep the useless flaming to a minimum... or hey, how about not at all!?  if you really want to whine, start ur own thread!


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## finman31 (Mar 27, 2006)

*Man do your Kahonas ride shotgun?!?*

Man Andrew you never cease to amaze me! You really have no fear of any of those pedes.So when are you gonna hold that subspinipes? I want to see that man! I remember you talking about it awhile back in an email.I am glad you are still thinking about it.Be careful,but hey,you know more about that i believe than anyone.Let me know when you are going to hold that.Do you think the bite will bruise up as bad as the polymorpha in that pic you sent me a link to? I just wonder if all the bites you have taken will maybe have built up some sort of "resistance" to the effects? What do you think?Think you can handle the Subspinipes?


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## cacoseraph (Mar 27, 2006)

finman31 said:
			
		

> Man Andrew you never cease to amaze me! You really have no fear of any of those pedes.So when are you gonna hold that subspinipes? I want to see that man! I remember you talking about it awhile back in an email.I am glad you are still thinking about it.Be careful,but hey,you know more about that i believe than anyone.Let me know when you are going to hold that.Do you think the bite will bruise up as bad as the polymorpha in that pic you sent me a link to? I just wonder if all the bites you have taken will maybe have built up some sort of "resistance" to the effects? What do you think?Think you can handle the Subspinipes?


i am quite fearful of things that *should* be feared 

actually, i think i have a decent plan for handling a subspinipes, but i need to get a little more equipment in case i get bit. plus i only have one right now... and it's 6-7"BL and pretty mean... not my prefered candidate for my first free handling, to be honest


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## dirtborder4life (Mar 27, 2006)

*vids*

Great vids:clap: . Gives me some ideas.......


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## Drachenjager (Mar 27, 2006)

*actually, i think i have a decent plan for handling a subspinipes*

Vice Grips spring to mind lol


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## CedrikG (Mar 28, 2006)

How was the experience of the bite


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## cacoseraph (Mar 30, 2006)

Kirdec said:
			
		

> How was the experience of the bite


fine, thanks for asking

I went nighthunting for scorpions in The Wastelands (my city's unofficial dump) and caught this tiger centipede (Scolopendra polymorpha). it was the only thing i caught. its name is "bloodfoot" for the huge blood filled blister i got from walking in the rain for 4 hours in my old busted boots

S_polymorpha_bloodfoot_drop.3gp
S_polymorpha_bloodfoot_uparm.3gp

NOT A HANDLING VIDEO... but amusing
S_polymorpha_bloodfoot_newneighbor.3gp


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## Cirith Ungol (Mar 30, 2006)

Oh my god!! It's Jesus!! And now we all know what he does in his spare time!!


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## cacoseraph (Mar 30, 2006)

Cirith Ungol said:
			
		

> Oh my god!! It's Jesus!! And now we all know what he does in his spare time!!


heheheh, ppl at work call me Jesus when i walk around with my hair down. i think my sandles and long robe might also have something to do with it


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## cacoseraph (Apr 9, 2006)

Mortal_Sin_terminators_to_headcapsule.3gp

This is a Scolopendra polymorpha, North American tiger centipede. This is one of the biggest i have seen... it is six inches in body length (not counting antenna or legs) when at rest and seven inches bodylength when fast running where it's body locked ridged.



I try to do like, a virtual tour of mortal sin here, heh


 EgyptianEmeraldCentipede_good_fingers.3gp 

This is an Egyptian Emerald Centipede. They seem pretty calm and nice to me. Sold as Scolopendra species. The younger cents (if this is S. cingulata or S. morsitans it is full grown at 4"+ 10cm+) are more billiantly colored. I just grabbed this one in it's container when it was on top of the substrate before it could run into it's burrow system. 



It runs around on my fingers here.


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## bistrobob85 (Apr 10, 2006)

Well it was about time that we have videos of all these handling sessions you're talking about . I'm very impressed with your Tanzanian Red-Headed Tiger centipede... Do you know what its latin name would be?!?! I also have to compliment you for the second video with the big sc.polymorpha... it looks amazing . I would also like to know the latin name of the egyptian emerald centipede, if possible... Great videos and nice post too!!!!

 phil.


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## cacoseraph (Apr 10, 2006)

bistrobob85 said:
			
		

> Well it was about time that we have videos of all these handling sessions you're talking about . I'm very impressed with your Tanzanian Red-Headed Tiger centipede... Do you know what its latin name would be?!?! I also have to compliment you for the second video with the big sc.polymorpha... it looks amazing . I would also like to know the latin name of the egyptian emerald centipede, if possible... Great videos and nice post too!!!!
> 
> phil.


u ask hard questions =P

i suspect the redhead (which died.. never was doing well, never could put weight on it.. i think it got dehydrated at some point coming to America) might be a S. morsitans, it's spiracles shape and count was right, as was the spikes on this terminators

the EECS might be S. morsitans or S. cingulata... those are both guesses... haven't really looked into it much.


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## PA7R1CK (Apr 10, 2006)

Andrew insane videos. Centipedes always make me nervous during handleing but you hold them with ease even on your face! Thanks for sharing the videos


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## Cooper (Apr 10, 2006)

I free handled my Alipes sp. once, wasnt that bad, it was a fairly docile animal, but its not something I would do again. Centipedes are too unpredictable and fast for me to feel comfortable handling.


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## cacoseraph (Apr 11, 2006)

Cooper said:
			
		

> I free handled my Alipes sp. once, wasnt that bad, it was a fairly docile animal, but its not something I would do again. Centipedes are too unpredictable and fast for me to feel comfortable handling.


i play with my Alipes, too. I can't make any vids cuz they have dug down in the super jug container i keep them in. very nice cents in my opinion

i dropped one into a big bin that i store all my medium bug containers, it was interesting hunting for it


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## xgrafcorex (Apr 11, 2006)

you're crazy man!  so how many times have you been bitten while handling?  not on purpose i mean.


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## cacoseraph (Apr 11, 2006)

xgrafcorex said:
			
		

> you're crazy man!  so how many times have you been bitten while handling?  not on purpose i mean.


well, there are these MEAN tiger centipedes by my house... Crankypants is one of them... they all have this real toxic yellow color to them

so, cranky bit me about 5 times, i got bit four times (once each by four dif pedes) the last time i was collecting, and then there are two baby polymorpha from my brother's poly (RIP) that have bit me lots.

so call it... 20 times total, about

i think cuz i handle polymorpha the most, to date, that is why i've been bitten most by them. come to think of it, that's the only species that has accidentily bit me out of like, 15 or so that i've handled


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## cacoseraph (May 15, 2007)

Scolopendra heros, arizonensis colorform

Scolopendra heros, arizonensis colorform: Handle & About low
6:57 uploaded from a 15 MB WMV file (lofi version)
[YOUTUBE]0JM00Ck7sQU[/YOUTUBE]



i have a hifi version uploading still. uploaded from a 54MB wmv file, iirc
[youtube]tLsnVQIQeX4[/youtube]


oh, and that post before this makes me laugh. i think i have been tagged by centipedes like maybe 300 times now. heh.


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## bistrobob85 (May 15, 2007)

Wow, you've done quite a nice little video there Galapo!!!! I like the part on the venom . Oh, and your sc.h.a is very good looking too, hehe . 

 phil.


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## Galapoheros (May 15, 2007)

Galapo?  No that's not me, I just got my haircut .  That's Caco, ...or am I missing something here?  I saw some of the vid Andrew even though it took like an hour to load just part of it.  More entertainment as always, haha, that was funny.


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## cacoseraph (May 15, 2007)

bistrobob85 said:


> Wow, you've done quite a nice little video there Galapo!!!! I like the part on the venom . Oh, and your sc.h.a is very good looking too, hehe .
> 
> phil.


yeah! we're easy to tell apart... gala... uh... i mean, i....

gala just got a hair cut!


@gala. are you making sure to use the lofi version?  it's about 1/3 the size of the hifi version. it's still going to be hellacious over a dialup, though. plus... it's just a regular afternoon for you, so you wouldn't be missing much. heh.


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## Galapoheros (May 15, 2007)

Ha, yeah I'm using the low res.  MAN!, am I lazy!  I'm going to upgrade.  I'm going to upgrade.  I'm going to upgrade.  I'm going to upgrade.  The master procrastinator.  I haven't done any handling in a while, but I'd be real happy if the big one that got out crawled up and bit me on my eyeball.


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## bistrobob85 (May 15, 2007)

Oups, sorry, i obviously meant Caco !!!! I havent seen Galapo's haircut but that brings me to ask myself, do i need a haircut too . Wow, enough about hair...

Anyways, you've got some great material there, Caco. If you could gather a few elements like a goodcamera, a few species and a better lighting, you could do some pretty nice home documentaries!!!! That would defenetly change us of the '' I have a big pede eating a mouse '' neverending video... 

 phil.


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## P. Novak (May 15, 2007)

Great video caco! Very informative and interesting! I love the centipede; absolutely stunning!

Off topic: You remind me of Rob Zombie, awesome man, rock on!


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## cacoseraph (May 21, 2007)

*Scolopendra gigantea, "Peruvian giant centipede"*

Scolopendra gigantea, Peruvian giant centipede

Scolopendra gigantea, Peruvian giant centipede is one of the largest species of centipedes in the world.  It has reliably obtained 9-10"/22-25cm body length and reputably achieved 12-14"/30-35cm!

As the name implies, this centipede can be found in Peru and in other parts of the Amazon.  Heavy restrictions on the invertebrate trade from most/all ofthe countries of origin of the beautiful species ensure that they remain rare in USA collections... but when you can find one to view they are simply amazing!

This centipede is at least 9"/22cm long in the body. If you count its antenna and long hind legs this centipede can stretch an amazing 14"/36cm!

A fellow local bughead was kind enough to let me play with his gigantea, which is very fortunate for me as i will likely never be able to afford the $300+ (USD2007) that this specimen would go for on the open USA market.

The bite of this species is likely very unpleasant, but in no way deadly to humans.  There is not a lot written about centipede envenomations and even less about envenomations by this pracking huge species. I was very tempted to test this venom on myself... but the large unknown factor and the fact i drove myself to the Bugfair where i handled this pede convinced me that discretion is probably the better part of valor... for now!

n.b.  there is some confusion in the hobby world about just what exactly to call this species, scientifically.  For a while there were VERY large centipedes from South America being sold variously as Scolopendra gigantea, S. robusta, or S. gigantea robusta.  Officially the trinomial S. gigantea robusta has been busted (heh, boy its so late for me right now, it is early... can you tell?) by the noted myriapodologist Rowland Shelley. Officially S. robusta are a similar looking, though much smaller (though still largeish in the grand scheme) species from Mexico and S. gigantea are a HUGE centipedes from the Amazon... 

so i *think* this is S. gigantea, even though it was sold to its current owner as S. robusta.

*hifi!*
[THIS MOVIE WAS UPLOADED FROM A 40MB WMV FILE]
[YOUTUBE]Ps82VSoLQY4[/YOUTUBE]


*lofi*
[THIS MOVIE WAS UPLOADED FROM A 14MB WMV FILE]
[YOUTUBE]ncD2k1NiDfo[/YOUTUBE]


*tinyfi*
[THIS MOVIE WAS UPLOADED FROM A 5MB WMV FILE]
[YOUTUBE]8oMnUma0F44[/YOUTUBE]


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## moose35 (May 21, 2007)

caco you have some huge gonopods...


          moose


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## beetleman (May 21, 2007)

ya very impressive:clap: i would hold the smaller ssp. but the larger..........hmm, i have my scolo.gigantea gigantea(whiteleg)(she's about 11") raised her since she was about 4" and she is still very aggressive,when i open the sterilite to feed/water,i'm very careful,she just molted so she can be even bigger now,as for handling not for me.


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## cacoseraph (May 23, 2007)

*Scolopendra heros cf arizonensis (bugfair) hifi/lofi 01:10*

Scolopendra heros cf arizonensis (bugfair) hifi/lofi 01:10

This is a very large specimen of Scolopendra heros arizonensis that i got to play with at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum Bugfair 2007.

It belongs to my bug buddy Francisco Torres, of Insect Adventures

I don't necesarily think handling this species of centipede is a good idea... but i just love doing it and how many chances am i going to get to play with pedes this big? I get bit a lot, a lot of the time nothign happens even when i see venom dripping from my wounds... but sometimes it hurts a lot.

[4.7MB WMV FILE]
[youtube]L7eJ8aHOUU8[/youtube]


[2MB WMV FILE]
[youtube]zT_0lRmHd1g[/youtube]


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## Galapoheros (May 23, 2007)

Son of a diddly, that IS a big one!  I'm kind of shallow, I like the big pedes.  Thanks for the vid!


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## P. Novak (May 23, 2007)

That thing sure is big! Great video once more Caco; it's very informative. What was the after effect from the venom like?


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## beetleman (May 23, 2007)

ahhh:clap: very nice!


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## cacoseraph (May 24, 2007)

Novak said:


> That thing sure is big! Great video once more Caco; it's very informative. What was the after effect from the venom like?


absolutely nothing happened. i didn't see any venom drip out of the wound like i have before so i don't know if it was a wet or dry bite.



beetleman said:


> ahhh:clap: very nice!


thanks man


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## 8+) (Jun 12, 2007)

*Handling S. subspinipes mutilans*

All these giant centipede handling videos inspired the courage in me to handle one of my own!!!

[YOUTUBE]MC0aR0-RFMs[/YOUTUBE]

;P


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## cacoseraph (Jun 12, 2007)

8+) said:


> All these giant centipede handling videos inspired the courage in me to handle one of my own!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ;P


argh. no youtube at work. can't wait to see.


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## syiware (Jun 12, 2007)

8+) said:


> All these giant centipede handling videos inspired the courage in me to handle one of my own!!!
> 
> [YOUTUBE]MC0aR0-RFMs[/YOUTUBE]
> 
> ;P


oh my god.. it has no head.. you did?


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## 8+) (Jun 12, 2007)

NO! I wanted a community of these. I had two that were together for a while, and showed no aggression toward each other. I bought four more, and I believe I made two mistakes: One, I only had one large hide. Two, I probably should have rearranged the enclosure and reintroduced them all together.

Maybe they would have still had some sorting out to do? Anyway, I broke the big piece of bark into several pieces and I know that at least four are still doing fine together, and one more may be burrowed under.

I suppose it's possible they are not all mutilans as well?

I make sure I keep them well fed.


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## markface (Jun 12, 2007)

those are some awesome vids ! i definately want to get some more pedes in the near future . the only one i have at the moment is a little 2 inch wild caught Hemiscolopendra marginata . i'm hoping it will get bigger .


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## cacoseraph (Mar 12, 2010)

cacoseraph said:


> well, there are these MEAN tiger centipedes by my house... Crankypants is one of them... they all have this real toxic yellow color to them
> 
> so, cranky bit me about 5 times, i got bit four times (once each by four dif pedes) the last time i was collecting, and then there are two baby polymorpha from my brother's poly (RIP) that have bit me lots.
> 
> ...





cacoseraph said:


> Scolopendra heros, arizonensis colorform
> 
> Scolopendra heros, arizonensis colorform: Handle & About low
> 6:57 uploaded from a 15 MB WMV file (lofi version)
> ...



i honestly couldn't count how many times i have been bitten and stung and sprayed and exuded upon now.  a thousand is no longer outside the realm of possibility.  i have easily taken 400+ centipede bites between ~15+ species, and only three have really messed me up.  Scolopendra sp. "thai jewel" (likely one of the gazillions of S. subspinipes) was narrowly the worst. the other two species that really sucked where S. morsitans, "tanzanian tiger, black head morph, male" and Ethmostigmus trigonopodus, "yellow legs".





i kind of took some time off from bug world and definitely took some time off from making vids and posting online.  since time i linked to youtube here, i have made only a single additional handling video... of my beloved S. polymorpha

Catch a Tiger (centipede) By The Tail
[YOUTUBE]LWYBt4IYU9w[/YOUTUBE]
"Scolopendra polymorpha, North American tiger centipede, is probably the most commonly found giant centipede in California. They can give a bit of a bite and large specimens can inject a sizable amount of venom if you let them but they should not be considered dangerous to humans. They are known as tiger centipedes due to the dark horizontal barring you can see on this dude, but not all localities andor specimens from normally barred localities possess the stripes. They will take down other bugs and scavenge meat."
lofi version --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anL6nubJ7EQ


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