# giant centipede eating



## bioshock (Feb 23, 2010)

how many crickets should i normally feed my giant centipede a week?? is it okay to feed it a mouse once a month its about 7 inches at the most??


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## Travis K (Feb 23, 2010)

Overall I would say it's a bad idea


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## bioshock (Feb 23, 2010)

but its venom is so strong i dont see y not??


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## BiologicalJewels (Feb 23, 2010)

Venom toxicity has absolutely nothing to do with the size of the meal.
Just because it can kill it doesn't mean it should eat it.
You are risking your animal to potential harm and are brutalizing and killing another one unnecessarily.
A "Black Mamba" has venom potency that is more than enough to kill a human, but this does not mean it can eat one... and definitely not one a month 

Think of the fact that these animals can go for long periods without food (humidity is a far more important aspect of keeping a 'pede IMO).

May I ask, what is the species? Do you have a name? Or does this animal just go by the name Giant Centipede???

and do yourself, but more importantly, the animal a favor... read up on info by using the search function...

OR


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## robd (Feb 23, 2010)

balam said:


> Venom toxicity has absolutely nothing to do with the size of the meal.
> Just because it can kill it doesn't mean it should eat it.
> You are risking your animal to potential harm and are brutalizing and killing another one unnecessarily.
> A "Black Mamba" has venom potency that is more than enough to kill a human, but this does not mean it can eat one... and definitely not one a month
> ...


Jeez dude. Is your main purpose by responding this way to help guide this person in the right direction or instead to judge them and slap them with the stereotypical troll "use the search function" response?

To the OP, obviously knowing the specific species will help in regards to how it should be cared for. If you aren't sure, you could always post a picture here and someone could help identify it. As far as feeding an invertebrate a vertebrate, it's probably not a good idea. If you want to keep your centipede alive longer, you should just feed it roaches, crickets, etc. Feeding it a mouse could very easily cause complications.

balam is certainly right about one thing though, humidity is the #1 factor in regards to keeping centipedes. Having a false bottom in your enclosure would be a good idea. There's a lot of different ways to go about doing that though. I prefer AbraxasComplex's method. He went into slight detail on it in his Chicken Spider Diary thread in Tarantula Questions and Discussions. I like it.


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## super-pede (Feb 23, 2010)

Hey I have 20+ pedes and some of my big ones (11inches+)only eat bigger bugs (roaches)and pinkies.I'd say if you decide to feed mice only  use pinkies or fuzzies (any thing larger can harm your pedes).


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## MD92 (Feb 23, 2010)

How many crickets (or whatever you decide to feed it for that matter) per week really depends on how long you want it to live.  It's a known fact that we tend to "power feed" our animals, sometimes without thinking about it.  While this can be useful to help raise healthy, strong, quick growing inverts when they are younger, as they grow older such constant feeding is usually counter productive.  All inverts can only grow so much, and once they hit that limit they're lives will end.  In the wild these inverts will get some, a lot, or very little food at any given time, however they are built for these times of either great fortune (more prey available), or even no food at all (zero prey available).  The problem with captivity is that we fool ourselves into thinking our inverts are like a dog, cat or hamster which needs new, fresh food every day.

So to answer your question...A few crickets, roaches, etc one time, to four times a month (in my opinion), is your best bet.  If you insist on feeding mice, only feed pinky, or fuzzy mice (basically mice without access to vision), as they are less likely to (or in the case of pinkies, incapable of) fighting back and possibly damaging your pede.  Still, rodents are not exactly an ideal diet, and more than ONE every few months is more than pushing it.  So there you go.  And to all the people who are telling you to search, they're right, there's some really great info on the board to be had 

Have a good one.

Matt


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## bioshock (Feb 24, 2010)

thanks for the advice guys!! its a vietnamese giant centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes) about 6 or 7 inches at the most. i have it in a gallon jar with spagnum moss and peat moss keeps humidty real well. i feed it crickets only at the moment and its an aggressive eater and quick at that!! i wasnt going to attempt to feed it a mouse unless its a pinky unthawed or a rat pup but prolly wont even do that haha!!


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## BiologicalJewels (Feb 24, 2010)

Hey there,

thanks for the reply on the sp.
S. subspinipes (Vietnamese...orange leg?) are pretty rad, voracious at that, but even then, refrain from over feeding. Centipedes can become overweight fairly quick.

Regarding the mouse. A fuzzy _might_ be fine every two, maybe three months IMO (that's preference, I am not telling you it mUST be this way).
Centipedes are crummy eaters, very messy. Feeding a mouse may implicate having to clean the enclosure soon after.
Body parts left to rot, and the concentration of humidity may be asking for trouble i.e. mites and other nasty things.

A quick google search came up with this:
http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/S-subspinipes.html

Take everything with a grain of salt.

ROBD, to each their own buddy .

OR


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## robd (Feb 24, 2010)

Fair enough.


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