# How to feed baby pedes ?



## centiMike (Dec 20, 2005)

Hi

     I am newbie here. Hope to learn all about centipede from fellow brother and sister forumers. I have an immediate question wish to ask, is anyone out there know how to feed baby centipede ? I have a small group of baby pede ( those that are still in milky color ), just picked from a woods near my home.
I now face the problem to feed them, cos I just can't figure out what is the best food to give and if there's any, how do I feed ? They are so tiny and huddle together that I am really lost as how to put food into their mouth ?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.


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## cacoseraph (Dec 20, 2005)

centiMike said:
			
		

> Hi
> 
> I am newbie here. Hope to learn all about centipede from fellow brother and sister forumers. I have an immediate question wish to ask, is anyone out there know how to feed baby centipede ? I have a small group of baby pede ( those that are still in milky color ), just picked from a woods near my home.
> I now face the problem to feed them, cos I just can't figure out what is the best food to give and if there's any, how do I feed ? They are so tiny and huddle together that I am really lost as how to put food into their mouth ?
> Any advice is greatly appreciated.


dead crix

dead anything really

you can try offering various fruits, as Orin McOngle (sorry, i'm sure i butched his name), Lewis, and others (including myself) have found some will accept it

but i've only had one centipede who seemed to prefer fruit over bugs

edit:

i can't quite remember... but i think cents (at least some) go through an instar just after birth were they don't really move and don't eat... then next molt they behave normally

edit^2:
oh... and pics please!
i love babies.

er, non human babies

human babies are only good lightly braised


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## centiMike (Dec 20, 2005)

*All but dead babies*

Hi cacoseraph,

    Thanks for advice. Came home from work and found out all babies
pede have becoming dead meat.  Reason that I tried dropping 
few drops of egg white ( ALBUMEN ) on the babies and hope
that they'll just drink it but I think has instead drowned them all.  :wall: 
Sorry I dont have any digicam but will try to get one soon and
hopefully able to make it to snap at least the dead babies. 
By the way wats the meaning of instar, your enlightening is definitely
appreciated


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## bistrobob85 (Dec 21, 2005)

Wow, its quite a funny idea to feed eggs to baby 'pedes... Anyhow, the question on what to feed pedes is pretty interesting. As for me, i wonder how often they should be fed. I have a juv. sc.heros.castaneiceps and i really have no idea on how much i should feed it. Of course, it eats everything i offer, but how much is healthy for it?!?! It's about 3.5'' long and eating about 2-3 big crickets per week, what do you guys think of it?!?!

 phil.


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## centiMike (Dec 21, 2005)

I fed them egg cos I'm new in this hobby, and dont know what to feed but only act on impulse. Its really great for you that your
pede can eat up to 2-3 big crickets per week. I have no doublt your
pede is quite settled. Where did you get your castaneiceps from ? 

As for those dead babies, they are not breed by me but I caught them in a woods near my home. I went there recently to hunt for big centipede, I caught a few and house them in 2 small container. I believe all are of sc. suspinipes. One of them measure up to 5". I removed all their fangs, but they dont seems to eat since then even I threw them meal worms and small cockroachs. 

I have also just got a digicam to snap a pic of the dead babies but the quality is secondary due to low end cam. Here it is


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## Steven (Dec 21, 2005)

First of all welcome  

the white "baby" centipedes you found,... were they alone ? without mother ?
if so,... how many leggs or segments do the small ones have ?

you can feed "egg" to bigger centipedes,... it's been done before. but don't put them on an "egg"-diet only,... try feeding crickets or roaches,... or raw meat.

only thing disturbing i just read is why you removed the fangs ? :evil: 
i know it's common in Azian countrys to remove the fangs of scolopendrids when they are used as "bait" for fishing or other purposes,... but if ya want to keep them as pets,... cutting fangs is an absolute NO !
Without fangs they will have trouble eating,... and die! Only thing you can do is hoping the fangs will grow back on after a molt.

please don't cut fangs !


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## cacoseraph (Dec 21, 2005)

Steven said:
			
		

> First of all welcome
> 
> please don't cut fangs !


oh, i'm very sad to hear they died

i also agree with Steven, about fang cutting.  i would much rather see a centipede chilled than defanged.

i personally believe the centipede venom starts digesting/preparing the animal they are eating, similar to spider venom. i have no scientific evidence, nor do i particularly remember reading about it... just a personal belief


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## fatbloke (Dec 21, 2005)

i agree with Steven about cutting the fangs thats a big NO!! in the hobby the pedes ive had in the past with no fangs just seem to starve to death over a period of time.
as why people cut fangs the most common reason ive found is that exporters usually defang pedes so they can ship more at a time

john

ps: Steven how the pedes doing that you got from me?


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## Steven (Dec 21, 2005)

fatbloke said:
			
		

> ps: Steven how the pedes doing that you got from me?


Hey John ! nice to see you're still hanging around here  
they are doing EXTREMELY good btw !!!

if i have some time i need to post some pictures 
they are FATTTTTTTTTT


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## Stylopidae (Dec 21, 2005)

De-fanging is just a bad idea. Pedes aren't meant to be handled. At all.


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## cacoseraph (Dec 21, 2005)

Evil Cheshire said:
			
		

> De-fanging is just a bad idea. Pedes aren't meant to be handled. At all.


kindly, i disagree

...


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## Stylopidae (Dec 21, 2005)

:worship:  With the exception of Cacoseraph :worship:


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## fatbloke (Dec 21, 2005)

cant see why pedes shouldnt be handled ive never handled mine but i cant see why other people shouldnt handle theirs people know the risks when handling them

john

ps: Steven glad to hear the pedes are doing well look forward to seeing the pics and im still hanging around the boards but dont get that much time to post now as most of it is spent with the lizards my whitethroat died but a nile and water monitor has taken his place


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## centiMike (Dec 21, 2005)

Steven said:
			
		

> First of all welcome
> 
> the white "baby" centipedes you found,... were they alone ? without mother ?
> if so,... how many leggs or segments do the small ones have ?
> ...


Thanks for all valuable advice. I am feeling so terribly guilty now for the defang. The reason I defangged cos I thought of safety measure for in case it does escape from the container, it still cant harm others. 
But, as of now, I will not defang them, unless I totally give up this hobby, there is no doublt about this 

As for question from Steven, the baby pedes I found were covered under the soil. I am not 100% sure whether they were with their mom, but I suspect they were, cos that moment was quick. 

What happened was when I used a spade to dig a cone shape like soil or peat on the ground, a centipede about 3" quickly rush out of it and disappear whitin second. I kept digging and slowly this time hoping there will be more hiding inside and as I had thought, saw another one and again lost sight of it. 

Both pede escaped were lighting fast so, as I lost patience with it, I quickly digged more into the cone and finally saw the whitish babies huddle in a small chunk, but I really cant see and count how many legs and segment of each. I guess there are at least 30 - 40 babies in within.

After I carefully transfer the babies into a small box, I also saw and caught 3 small pedes in that cone that are about 1". I will take a snap and upload later. Now I need to go to sleep see ya


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## cacoseraph (Dec 21, 2005)

centiMike said:
			
		

> Thanks for all valuable advice. I am feeling so terribly guilty now for the defang. The reason I defangged cos I thought of safety measure for in case it does escape from the container, it still cant harm others.
> But, as of now, I will not defang them, unless I totally give up this hobby, there is no doublt about this


that is a very interesting point... certainly an interesting point

i have a question on the mechanics of defanging... how did you do it?
i've always wondered... cuz in my free handling experience when you try to restrain them they go nuts!


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## cacoseraph (Dec 21, 2005)

centiMike said:
			
		

> Hi cacoseraph,
> 
> 
> By the way wats the meaning of instar, your enlightening is definitely
> appreciated


sorry, i didn't see you asked another question

instar is the period between molts


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## centiMike (Dec 22, 2005)

Hi, have forgotten to thanks Steven from Belgium for his welcome. Here I would like to say thank you Steven. You make me feel home.
This is my latest picture as I have said of 1 of the 3 babies I caught. The fang is not remove.



This is one of my biggest pede and its fang has been removed, thats why you see I am not afraid using my bare hands to handle it. Any kind soul can identify wat species is this ? 






			
				cacoseraph said:
			
		

> that is a very interesting point... certainly an interesting point
> 
> i have a question on the mechanics of defanging... how did you do it?
> i've always wondered... cuz in my free handling experience when you try to restrain them they go nuts!


Hi cacoseraph, its true they go nuts, so I wore a thick gloove on my left hand and carried a long tweezer on my right hand for adjusting to a good position. As my left hand was protected by the gloove
I dont scared of the bite, before changing from the tweezer to a small scissor to remove the fangs. I would not like to elaborate any futher and again, I am terribly sorry doing that and will never in future.


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## centiMike (Dec 22, 2005)

cacoseraph said:
			
		

> sorry, i didn't see you asked another question
> 
> instar is the period between molts


Thanks. But how long does this period take ?


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## Steven (Dec 22, 2005)

That looks like a nice big Scolopendra subspinipes  

you can try to handfeed(using a pincet) it prekiled roaches/crickets (only the soft parts)
you know what i mean?,... just rip of the head and try to let the pede "drink" the inner body fluids,.. that way it could make it to a next molt to regrow his fangs  raising the humidity after a bit more dry period can also stimulate the pede to go into molt.

PS: Far East ? what country are ya from more exactually ?  :?

@John:
sorry to hear that the whitethroat died,.. to bad


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## centiMike (Dec 22, 2005)

Steven said:
			
		

> That looks like a nice big Scolopendra subspinipes
> 
> you can try to handfeed(using a pincet) it prekiled roaches/crickets (only the soft parts)
> you know what i mean?,... just rip of the head and try to let the pede "drink" the inner body fluids,.. that way it could make it to a next molt to regrow his fangs  raising the humidity after a bit more dry period can also stimulate the pede to go into molt.
> ...


Thank you so much Steven. That info is going to be very helpful for me.

Sorry but I cant directly disclose which country I am from, otherwise the local authority is going to come after me for keeping centipede. It is an offence keeping exotic insects in my country.  Anyone caught doing so will be handed hefty fine and/or jailed. By telling you that, I think you can now guess easily where I am from. If not, here's another obvoius clue.... An island country surroundded by sea in S.E. Asia


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## cacoseraph (Dec 22, 2005)

centiMike said:
			
		

> Hi, have forgotten to thanks Steven from Belgium for his welcome. Here I would like to say thank you Steven. You make me feel home.
> This is my latest picture as I have said of 1 of the 3 babies I caught. The fang is not remove.
> View attachment 47811
> 
> ...


don't feel too bad, man!
it's not like we are absolutely right and you are absolutely wrong

we just said what we thought

thanks for sharing



i would say some kind of Scolopendra subspinipes, but you'll have to wait for Steven (he is one of the brains around here... i consider myself more of a mouth). subspinipes have probably the broadest distribution and are very common in Asian countries


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## centiMike (Dec 22, 2005)

cacoseraph said:
			
		

> don't feel too bad, man!
> it's not like we are absolutely right and you are absolutely wrong
> 
> we just said what we thought
> ...


Hi cacoseraph Thanks for your cheer up  

Yeah Steven already said its SC. subspinipes. I have read from other threads about both you and him giving comments and I have no doublts both of you are expert. Specially those pictures showing you handling non defangged pede with your bare hands. Really, I kow tow :worship: :worship:


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## Steven (Dec 22, 2005)

let's get one thing straight,... i'm NO expert !  
neither is cacoseraph    hehehe


just some enthousiast centipede-freaks


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## cacoseraph (Dec 22, 2005)

centiMike said:
			
		

> Thank you so much Steven. That info is going to be very helpful for me.
> 
> Sorry but I cant directly disclose which country I am from, otherwise the local authority is going to come after me for keeping centipede. It is an offence keeping exotic insects in my country.  Anyone caught doing so will be handed hefty fine and/or jailed. By telling you that, I think you can now guess easily where I am from. If not, here's another obvoius clue.... An island country surroundded by sea in S.E. Asia


some euro is going to have to deal with that clue... me american, me no is good geography


wait... canada?


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## cacoseraph (Dec 22, 2005)

Steven said:
			
		

> let's get one thing straight,... i'm NO expert !
> neither is cacoseraph    hehehe
> 
> 
> just some enthousiast centipede-freaks



oh, i could be considered an expert at some things

programming, maybe
being a smart-a, er, smart-aleck... definitely!

social nicety.. no
centipedes.. no!

i will say this for myself... i do try to tell ppl my level of confidence in what i say... sometimes i'm just making logical (well, to me logical) inferences, sometimes i read something, somtimes i saw something... 

i tried three times, and i can't say "cacoseraph is a centipede expert" without laughing!

i do love the little beasts, though!

Steven is far too modest, however

(whisper to centiMike... that guy knows almost everything, trust me)


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## cacoseraph (Dec 22, 2005)

centiMike said:
			
		

> Thanks. But how long does this period take ?



it is highly variable

from my own experiments, centipedes (at least Scolopendra polymorpha) grow faster when fed more food

it is likely once the temperature drops to a certain low point centipedes will grow slower

a reasonable guess for those tiny things, they could molt in 1-3 months

i bet there are ppl on the board who have raised them, i am just guessing


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## centiMike (Dec 23, 2005)

Steven said:
			
		

> let's get one thing straight,... i'm NO expert !
> neither is cacoseraph    hehehe
> 
> 
> just some enthousiast centipede-freaks





			
				cacoseraph said:
			
		

> oh, i could be considered an expert at some things
> 
> programming, maybe
> being a smart-a, er, smart-aleck... definitely!
> ...


Both of you are just modest in my opinion. ;P  :worship: 
I have a new attchment here please help to identify wat species this is ?


That is the gloove I mentioned to handle it when its fang is active. I bought that pede from a local aquarium fish store. It cost me SGD1.60 per piece ( now is too obvious where I am from   This is the only species that allow import into my country. I heard there is a mass breeding farm in China and the reason for the supply is none other than serving as fish food for Arowana. Centipede is Arowana first love appetite. There is short supply and marketable whitin this region. Hopefully, by saying this, I am not getting any offend to fellow hobyist here. :8o


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## Steven (Dec 23, 2005)

by the looks,...
i would say you got a Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans on your gloove  


And yes it's quite clear where ya from now  
we have some more members from your country around here


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## Randolph XX() (Dec 23, 2005)

well. it is true that centipedes do enhance the redness of Arowanna, according to some experienced keepers and some breeders
but yeah, Steven ,Dan, and Vincent are both some of the moddest in this hobby
I had some eggs laid b4 but never escape from their momas' mouth
Steven:
we need more photo update of that Sc. virdicornis/galapogenis a.k.a "Black Robusta"!
and when exactly will scolopendra.be be ready?it'll be my database for sure


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## Steven (Dec 23, 2005)

Randolph XX() said:
			
		

> and when exactly will scolopendra.be be ready?


some day  

no serious,... i only have begun working on it again last month
i'm learning MySQL driven websites,... so scolopendra.be is a good study-project


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## bengerno (Dec 23, 2005)

Hi centiMike,

You have nice pedes there! :worship: 
I'm just curious why are exotic animals are banned on that island in the far east  ?


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## centiMike (Dec 23, 2005)

Randolph XX() said:
			
		

> we need more photo update of that Sc. virdicornis/galapogenis a.k.a "Black Robusta"!
> and when exactly will scolopendra.be be ready?it'll be my database for sure


Hi, is regarding what database ? May I share any info ?  



			
				Steven said:
			
		

> no serious,... i only have begun working on it again last month
> i'm learning MySQL driven websites,... so scolopendra.be is a good study-project


And This too  

Hi Steven, I have seen some gallery photos of fellow forumers here. 
I somehow feel my scolo is very similar with that from Malaysia 
and Philipine, but there is a slight diff. in its leg. The legs of my 
scolo has very red intensity.  :? 




			
				bengerno said:
			
		

> Hi centiMike,
> 
> You have nice pedes there! :worship:
> I'm just curious why are exotic animals are banned on that island in the far east  ?


Hi bengerno, this is one of the strict control set out by the local environmental authorithy, I call it XX.  I would not say this is a definite no on this island, but almost 80% of the population here stay in 12 storeys residental flat. To let loose centipede in the flats may cause fright or harm to other family living in the same flat. So, XX cited this as reason to ban exotic pets on all buildings, except, maybe to keep them in agro farm, but this involve $$$  and not all species is allowed to be kept or imported, only those under the Scolopendromorpha family is allowed


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## bengerno (Dec 25, 2005)

Thanks centiMike,

Now everything is clear!  But you have a few native species, and they can go into flats too...


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## centiMike (Dec 26, 2005)

bengerno said:
			
		

> Thanks centiMike,
> 
> Now everything is clear!  But you have a few native species, and they can go into flats too...


Thats why I defangged it... but not again, so I just have to be careful.
I really not sure is this a native species, but will do more research on it 
and also look out to see whether there's any differing species around 
in this island. It is quite fun hunting in the woods


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## bengerno (Dec 29, 2005)

centiMike said:
			
		

> Thats why I defangged it... but not again, so I just have to be careful.
> I really not sure is this a native species, but will do more research on it
> and also look out to see whether there's any differing species around
> in this island. It is quite fun hunting in the woods


Yep you are lucky to have some in the woods.... and I'm so envy.


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