# Scolopendra subspinipes nightmare!!!!!!



## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

My 20cm Scolopendra subspinipes escaped!!!! 

Can a scolopendra this big travel in walls???

How long can this animal last without food?

Any trick to catch it?

Thank you very much for your kind help


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## Scolopendra777 (Jan 3, 2009)

WoW My Little pedeling escaped also i was takeing a piture and the little bugger jumped onto the floor from now on i will be keeping them all in tall contaners


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## peterbourbon (Jan 3, 2009)

Hey,

don't be worried. It's not a Phoneutria.

Regards,
Turgut


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

peterbourbon said:


> Hey,
> 
> don't be worried. It's not a Phoneutria.
> 
> ...


Of course I worry!!! I have two kids!!!!!! 

It is in a basement...but I fear that she may came up the stairs...if she is not already here... bloody day I decided to have a scolopendra...believe me or not...I got the best box I could for her...


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## peterbourbon (Jan 3, 2009)

Hey,

i lost some centipedes due to escapes and never saw anyone again.
You can try to find it, but i guess it will be very difficult.

Maybe you can try the "towel-trick" - never worked for me, but for some others i heard.

Good luck!

Regards
Turgut


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

peterbourbon said:


> Hey,
> 
> i lost some centipedes due to escapes and never saw anyone again.
> You can try to find it, but i guess it will be very difficult.
> ...


Ever had one this big escaping????

Can one animal this big climb stairs ou walk on walls?? or is it too heavy???

How long will it take to die starving? how cold it must be to kill it?

How to do the towel trick???

Thanks for the help!!


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## Steven (Jan 3, 2009)

A method that has worked for me, is placing a moist towel on the floor where you think it might be hiding,... if the room whith enclosures is dryer then the towel, you can have succes finding the subspinipes underneath it one morning.

good luck 


PS: i also have 2kids and an arachnid-killing girlfriend,
i know what you're going trough 



*edit Turgut was a sec. faster then me


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## Spider787 (Jan 3, 2009)

Hate to give you bad news but pedes are almost always good at getting were they want to go.  They can squeeze into tight spaces easily and will and can catch small rodents for food.  So keep looking and watch your step.


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

Steven said:


> A method that has worked for me, is placing a moist towel on the floor where you think it might be hiding,... if the room whith enclosures is dryer then the towel, you can have succes finding the subspinipes underneath it one morning.
> 
> good luck
> 
> ...


If you have two kids I am sure you understand me!!!!

Can you please try to answer some of the above questions please?

Thank you


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

Spider787 said:


> Hate to give you bad news but pedes are almost always good at getting were they want to go.  They can squeeze into tight spaces easily and will and can catch small rodents for food.  So keep looking and watch your step.


I have no rodents on that basement...it is my cinema...well...it was...I will not allow my family there anymore!

Could somebody please let me know if a scolopendra this big can climb stairs or walk on walls?????


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## peterbourbon (Jan 3, 2009)

Asgard said:


> Ever had one this big escaping????


Yes, an _Ethmostigmus trigonopodus brown-leg_ from Nigeria.
The glass broke overnight due to temperature changes, but i never noticed, cause it was just a very small groove in the back of the enclosure.
I thought the sound was only something usual from the artist living on the floor above me. 
Approx. two months later (i guess) i saw the groove and no pede in the enclosure.



Asgard said:


> Can one animal this big climb stairs ou walk on walls?? or is it too heavy???


Scolopendra have tarsal and claw spines. As long as the surface is "rough" they are able to engage those spines in the surface and climb easily.



Asgard said:


> How long will it take to die starving? how cold it must be to kill it?


As long as it finds a place with water (maybe bathroom) it will survive. And if it comes from China then it is used to very low temperatures.


Regards,
Turgut


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## Steven (Jan 3, 2009)

Asgard said:


> Ever had one this big escaping????


several times  


Asgard said:


> How to do the towel trick???


Put some hot water in a bucket, dip the towel inside (like you're gonna clean the floor  ) and just lay the towel in a corner, or in front of a door, somewhere you think the Scolopendra might pass.
don't lay the towel completely flat, but let it have some "entraces"

put your temps down in the place where it escaped and see if it's underneath the towel in the morning, same procedure the next day, for 2 or 3 days,.... it worked for me,.... lost 2 subspinipes once at the same day (broken enclosure-lids) and got them both back after 3 days, one underneath the towel trick, the other underneath the bathroom doormat.
tmo subspinipes will always go for a moist/a bit warmer place then a cold/dry floor.


*edit
maybe i wasn't clear but better put 3 or 4 towels to increase the chances, rather then just 1


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

Done it!! now just wait!!!!!

I just fear that it may have gone to the second floor...and got into my kids bedroom...a place with thousands of places to hide!!!!!!!!

Can you supply me medical protocol for the scolopendra subspinipes bite please?
(If something bad happens I need to take it to the hospital with me)

I am considering taking my family out of the house until I catch it...


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

I have about 12 towels already...


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## peterbourbon (Jan 3, 2009)

Hey,

sounds like a military assault.  
Wanna see pics!

Good luck!

BTW: Don't you have plenty of _Sc. cingulata_ running free in Portugal? (nothing compared to south asian scolopendra, but still...) 

Regards
Turgut


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## NecroWxrst (Jan 3, 2009)

Hello Asgard!

The most relevant toxinfos on Scolopendra subspinipes are:
- a cardiotoxical protein (MG 60 000) was isolated in the toxin.
- LD 50
 - intravenous: 2,25 mg/Kg
 - intramuscular 60 mg/Kg

German Toxinfo (http://www.toxinfo.org) says:
For therapy:
- calm down the victim, there is just one case of death by a centipede bite known!
- Clean the wound, give some tetanus prophylaxis and maybe some painkiller


But another question:
Did you ever think about such an situation BEFORE buying a centipede?
Did you inform yourself about their toxicity, abilities to climb and escape BEFORE you bought your Sc. subspinipes?

And: Aren't there Sc. cingulata in Portugal? What if your children find some local centipede in your garden and get biten?
What about Chinese children finding subspinipes in their beds?

Don't get me wrong, but think about those circumstances and calm down a bit, there are no known cases of death caused  by a Sc. subspinipes from China!

Greetings
Chris


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

peterbourbon said:


> Hey,
> 
> sounds like a military assault.
> Wanna see pics!
> ...



Yes just in my garden I have many S. Cingulata, Steatoda sp. and some buthus ibericus...still nothing to compare with a monster scolopendra like this one....

No medical protocol?

There is no antivenom...only symptomatic treatment is done in case of bite...what else please?


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

NecroWxrst said:


> Hello Asgard!
> 
> The most relevant toxinfos on Scolopendra subspinipes are:
> - a cardiotoxical protein (MG 60 000) was isolated in the toxin.
> ...


Thank you for your answer.

Yes I did thought about all that...but since all literature said that only one death resulted from a bite...so it should not be medically important...I considered it fairly safe...since just in Portugal many people die every year due to wasp and bee stings...

But to be honest I never thought the box would break...

About portuguese children being bitten...it does happen often...my wife was bitten by one when she was 5 years old! But it is not possible to compare both species...


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## NecroWxrst (Jan 3, 2009)

Hello!

Why should it not be possible to compare both situation? Do you know about toxicological information on Sc. cingulata to compare to Sc. subspinipes?
What makes you shure your Chinese pede is more dangerous? Because it's bigger?

And in the worst case: What should happen to your children, when they get bitten by your "monster" (by the way, you kept it as a pet... and now it is a "monster"? Nice how you think about an animal....)? Your child will not die!

Greetz
Chris


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

NecroWxrst said:


> Hello!
> 
> Why should it not be possible to compare both situation? Do you know about toxicological information on Sc. cingulata to compare to Sc. subspinipes?
> What makes you shure your Chinese pede is more dangerous? Because it's bigger?
> ...


I've always called it ..."monster"...since the day I've got it...


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## pandinus (Jan 3, 2009)

to be honest the buthus ibericus in your garden are probably much more dangerous to you kids than the scolopendra.



John


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## Galapoheros (Jan 3, 2009)

Good luck!  I usually find the stuff that gets out a little more than half of the time.  But it seems like the ones I like the most don't show up again.  I'd look close at your clothes if you have any on the floor before you wash them.


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

For about 3 weeks that the scolopendra would not come up...she would not take any of the food I was putting there...so today I've decided to empty all box...and she was gone... so I have no idea...if it was out....today...or 3 weeks ago...

now I have 600m2...with 3 floors to look...I really hope it is still in the basement...

I have now 12 towels and 7 dead fish... all I can do is wait...

Thanks for all the help!


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## peterbourbon (Jan 3, 2009)

Asgard said:


> I have now 12 towels and *7 dead fish*... all I can do is wait...


You put dead fish on the house floor?  

Regards,
Turgut


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

peterbourbon said:


> You put dead fish on the house floor?
> 
> Regards,
> Turgut


on top of plates


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## Asgard (Jan 3, 2009)

inside the house now is around 18ºC...can it survive for long periods with this temperature?


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## szappan (Jan 3, 2009)

Asgard said:


> inside the house now is around 18ºC...can it survive for long periods with this temperature?


Hello "Asgard",

I would say that temp should be fine for it.  At night it probably gets colder in some of it's native habitat - (sorry).

I think you might be on to something with fish, a strong smelling bait of a high protein source.  However, it may just come out, feed on it, and hide again.  Perhaps putting the fish in the bottom of a deep, smooth sided bucket.  Have some sort of ramp (such a piece of wood) for it to climb up the outside, if it takes the bait and drops in, then you'll have your monster.  Additionally, you could put a towel underneath the fish in the bucket, so that after it feeds it has an option to hide and not feel the urge to escape.

Sorry you're going through this stress.  I remember your thread when you first got your "monster", happier times for sure.  Anyways, it seems as though you have all the advice you need, so all that's left for now is a big "best of luck!" and I hope you find it soon!

PS:  Not sure how this will make you feel, but I know of a (very) reliable story of an escaped _sc. subspinipes_ that was found about 2 years later in the attached basement of a neighbor.


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## cjm1991 (Jan 4, 2009)

Man I hate loosing pedes, always the trickiest things to find. The towel and bait idea's are both good ones, try putting them along the walls and near anything you think it may be under and havent thoroughly checked. Good luck and I feel sorry for you, is this your first pede?


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## pandinus (Jan 4, 2009)

double and triple check the substrate of the enclosure, i know it sounds stupid, but sometimes they can just burry themselves and hide really well, so who knows it might still be in the substrate.


John


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## Elytra and Antenna (Jan 4, 2009)

If you find it (or at least nobody else does) and you are not banned from the hobby by yourself or your wife, consider using the plastic jar caging. There's a reason I suggested that type of caging. Many people use it to prevent such problems.
The scorpions you have are almost certainly more dangerous but not so impressive and not put there by you of course.
Good luck!


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## Asgard (Jan 4, 2009)

pandinus said:


> double and triple check the substrate of the enclosure, i know it sounds stupid, but sometimes they can just burry themselves and hide really well, so who knows it might still be in the substrate.
> 
> 
> John


all done....on the floor!!!! 

the scolopendra is out...


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## Asgard (Jan 4, 2009)

Elytra and Antenna said:


> If you find it (or at least nobody else does) and you are not banned from the hobby by yourself or your wife, consider using the plastic jar caging. There's a reason I suggested that type of caging. Many people use it to prevent such problems.
> The scorpions you have are almost certainly more dangerous but not so impressive and not put there by you of course.
> Good luck!


well...I will still keep crotalus...scorpions...latrodectus...Tarantulas...but no scolopendras...for sure....well..I will keep one...in a huge cage...my all house!!!


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## Steven (Jan 14, 2009)

And ? :? 

is it found ?


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## Oasis Inverts (Jan 23, 2009)

Yes an update PLEASE..........


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## GartenSpinnen (Jan 24, 2009)

All i have to say is.....


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## Asgard (Feb 21, 2009)

I've just got it back!!!!(1hour ago)

It was under the floor

Thank you very much for your help...

Regards


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## GiantVinegaroon (Feb 21, 2009)

Asgard said:


> I've just got it back!!!!(1hour ago)
> 
> It was under the floor
> 
> ...


holy crap this sounds like complete udder madness.  what do you mean by under the floor?  did you have to rip it up to find it?


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## Asgard (Feb 21, 2009)

ScottySalticid said:


> holy crap this sounds like complete udder madness.  what do you mean by under the floor?  did you have to rip it up to find it?


No..I did not!
 My wife and her sister were preparing our basement for a party next monday...when from under the boards of the floor (floating floor) my monster started to crawl out (sounds like a horror movie ehehehe)... easy to catch after that...


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## szappan (Feb 22, 2009)

WOW!  Congratulations man!  You're very lucky!  I can only imagine how happy you were when you saw it.  :clap:
Is it in good condition?  Dehydrated?  Hungry?


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## Asgard (Feb 22, 2009)

szappan said:


> WOW!  Congratulations man!  You're very lucky!  I can only imagine how happy you were when you saw it.  :clap:
> Is it in good condition?  Dehydrated?  Hungry?


Thanks mate!!

It is in very good condition...it was just a little dehydrated...but it was not hungry...since it had part of the fish I had to catch it...


(Special thanks to Martin and Chris)


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