# S. polymorpha care sheet version 1: Comments please



## cacoseraph

hello,

I put together a care/info sheet for Scolopendra polymorpha and would like comments on it.  Please comment on anything, from accuracy to the fact you just plain don't like it... or me =P

Caresheet follow:
_Scolopendra polymorpha_
The author of the care sheet, Andrew Olson ~ cacoseraph, is no an expert and has not formal invertebrate education.  Unless otherwise noted, the following is based on his personal observations and could very well be incorrect. Caveat Emptor.






*Scolopendra polymorpha*

This species should be kept as a drier giant centipede.

Type: Scolopendra, Giant Centipede
Flooring:  terrestrial/burrowing
Conditions:  Dry 
Humidity:  Dry
Temp. 70-85*F
Temperment: Nervous and Aggressive
Size: I have seen 6"BL and would not be suprised by 7"
Feeding:  Crickets ,roaches,meal worms,etc
Substrate:  peat moss,vemiculite,potting soil,Bed-A-Beast, Jungle Mix

*Type/Natural History*
This is a tough North American species. Found in U.S. states of CA, NV, AZ, TX for certain, and probably in some surrounding states. Likely found in Mexico.  The range extends through most of Western United States, distribution map by R. Shelley here

This centipede is available under a host of common names.  Geographic variation names often include state names, such as Texas Tiger Centipede.  Reference to the coloration, specifically the banding are common. I purchased my largest polymorpha as "Arizona Blue-Banded Centipede".  "Banded", "Striped", and "Tiger" are all possible parts of a common name for _S. polymorpha_. The strangest name i saw this sold under was "Striped Desert Centipede".

*Substrate/Flooring*
In the wild i find these centipedes under various size debris, such as boards, logs, stumps, mattresses, etc.  Sometimes evidence of a scrape type of hide can be found, othertimes it appears the centipedes have made no modifications at all.  I also find them in piles of garbage/decaying vegetation.

In captivity, so far all the specimens i have observed (25-30) have burrowed for at least some periods of time, if given the opportunity.  This leads me to believe there are many more hidden centipedes in the wild, that i will never encounter.

If you are willing to possibly not see your centipede for months at a time, i would suggest you allow it a chance to burrow.  If not, a hide is required. Otherwise the centipede is likely to become agitated when you open its container. Most centipedes are fairly secretive animals. Some are VERY secretive.

*Conditions/Humidity/Temperature*
I live inside this species native habitat. Therefore I have to pay less attention to these things.  In an effort to let all my bug pets sync up with the seasons for breeding and molting purposes i keep my bedroom/bugroom window wide open with a fan drawing outside air in as much as possible.  Hopefully, this will make cage conditions reflect outside conditions to a limited degree.

I used to only mist my giant centipedes, but a death of a favored captive made me change my mind. Now i religiously use 1oz tall condiment cups.  These are tall enough that they retain water for a decent amount of time and also _sometimes_ even stay free of dirt that most water dishes in centi enclosures seem to accumulate.  It don't believe it is important to make sure the water dish is always full of water and clear of dirt... just make sure the centipede has access at least once a week.

One thing i have noticed, ventilation seems to be somewhat important to these guys.  I found this suprising, as in the wild i would find them under a foot or two of decaying vegetation that was left in large mounds.  Perhaps they stay more near the surface normally, and are driven deeper when they sense my presense.  At any rate, _S. polymorpha_ I kept in very humid and poorly ventilated containers seemed to die more often than my other guests. 

Ventilation must be balance with access to moisture. 

The following information is from Biology of Centipedes by Lewis (1981). Most centipedes have very poor moisture retention, leaking moisture out of their breathing spiracles. Scolopendramorphae have a limited ability to seal their spiracles against water loss, but are still more susceptible than a tarantula or scorpion.

*Temperment*
All giant centipedes should be considered nervous and defensive.
If you want to think about holding them, look at this:






*Size*
The eggs from my brother's ~3.5"BL (9cm) WC female appeared to be 3-6mm clear yellow "jelly" globes.  These turned into postembryo/protonymps that were about 10-15mm long, with only 3 pairs of legs.

Measuring centipedes: From what i have read, the correct way to measure the length of a centipede is Body Length, or BL.  Body Length consists for measuring the centipede from tip of face to tip of last body segment. Antenna and legs, terminal or otherwise, are NOT counted.

Females can be as small as 3"BL, and lay viable eggs.

I purchased an _S. polymorpha_ from a petstore that is 6-6.5"BL (12-13cm), perhaps more when stretching out lengthwise.

*Feeding*
My centipedes eat mainly crickets.  This is occasionally supplemented by mealworms, waxworms, roaches, and i know some of my centipedes bought from petstores were fed pinkies.  A key to good pet nutrition is good feeder nutrition.  I try to make sure my feeders have constant access to some form of food and water. I feed them a variety of fruits, vegetables, and commecial gut load.

Reactions: Like 3


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## warry

well done :clap:


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## danread

Thats nice. It might be a good idea to have a sticky where we can submit species accounts, much like in the scorpion forum. What does everyone think about that? If enough members think it's a good idea, i'm sure one of the mods would arrange it.

Cheers,


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## BugToxin

Cacoseraph,
This is an *AWESOME* :worship:  caresheet.  I could only dream of having caresheets that are this detailed for every available species that I have or want.  One question though, you mention that you don't use a water dish with *ANY* of your pedes, and that you only mist 4-8 times a month.  Is this correct?  I know that some people don't use water dishes for pedes, and I seem to remember reading that it wasn't really nessecary in a book somewhere, but I doubt that misting 4-8 times a month would work where I live (Denver).  Most every caresheet, thread on Arachnoboards, or book I have ever seen has led me to believe that they need either a wide water dish, or relatively moist substrate.  I know that if I only misted once a week, my peat would dry out pretty bad.  Obviously it's working well for you though, so it may just be the difference in humidity levels from your region to mine.  It could also be my substrate vs. yours as you listed several that would work, but didn't say what you were using yourself (Unless you are using them all?).  I use straight peat, and have used peat-vermiculite as well as peat-sand mixes.  They all dry out pretty quickly in the desert-like Denver climate, however I never really added a very high percentage of vermiculite.  Anyway, just my two cents worth (probably worth closer to one cent  ).  That was the only part that confused me, the rest as I mentioned is a wonderful source of information!!! :worship:  :worship:  :worship:


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## BugToxin

danread said:
			
		

> Thats nice. It might be a good idea to have a sticky where we can submit species accounts, much like in the scorpion forum. What does everyone think about that? If enough members think it's a good idea, i'm sure one of the mods would arrange it.
> 
> Cheers,


Oh Yea, I like the sticky idea too.


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## CedrikG

I like that too


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## cacoseraph

BugToxin said:
			
		

> One question though, you mention that you don't use a water dish with *ANY* of your pedes, and that you only mist 4-8 times a month.  Is this correct?


yeah, i am least happy with my humidity section.

part of the reason i don't mist that often is that if i mist more mites get out of control.  I think my containers still don't have enough ventilation. I use large 1-2gallon (4-8L) screw top plastic jugs. I bore vent holes in the sides near the lid and in the lid itself.

I use coco-coir with maybe 10% sphagnum moss. This mixture soaks up a lot of water and does't seem to dry out very vast.  This combined with the lower vent lets me get away with no water dish.  I've only had two centipedes die on my from dessication, and those were two i "lost" for a while. Their containers were small and got misplaced (i have an insanely cramped and chaotic set up right now... my brother and i share a bedroom with ALL of my bugs). When i found them again they centipedes were completely dehydrated sticks with legs.  It sucked!

Since i don't use a central heater and my window is open all the time, my bedroom's humidity is close to the outside air. So i have a decent humidity base, and don't need to add much.

I definitely want to change that section, doubly so now that another person has mentioned it


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## Randolph XX()

shouldn't the humidty be slightly moist?


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## BugToxin

cacoseraph said:
			
		

> I use large 1-2gallon (4-8L) screw top plastic jugs. I bore vent holes in the sides near the lid and in the lid itself.


It's funny that I didn't even think of the housing issue.  I'm keeping mine in completely open, double screen top aquariums.  I don't restrict ventilation *AT ALL*, which is likely the biggest reason my tanks dry out so much quicker.  With an enclosure like you are using, there would undoubtedly be much less ventilation, which would help to maintain a much higher humidity.

And now that I'm thinking about it, the housing issue in general is another thing you might add, although I know it is somewhat debatable.  There is a very popular centipede book that suggests using screw top jugs like the ones you are using for all sizes of centipedes including the real giants.  Other keepers (I think Steven has mentioned this several times in the past.) think that the container should be about double the length of the pede for the length of the tank, and at least as long for the width.  I don't think that anyone would argue that a polymorpha wouldn't be just fine in a jug like that, but I didn't see enclosures mentioned anywhere in the caresheet.  Again though, that is just my one cents worth.


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## cacoseraph

Randolph XX() said:
			
		

> shouldn't the humidty be slightly moist?



i suppose that would probably be less confusing.  By dry i mean that i keep these guys on the least watering regimen, not that there is no moisture in the enclosure.  What i am shooting for is the substrate to be almost dry by the time i water again.  Any thing else and mites get rediculous.  

Aside from the fact i have had such low mortality with them, and i think they are the securest enclosures the jugs i use seem to be custom designed to grow mites.  It is really annoying.


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## cacoseraph

BugToxin said:
			
		

> It's funny that I didn't even think of the housing issue.  I'm keeping mine in completely open, double screen top aquariums.  I don't restrict ventilation *AT ALL*, which is likely the biggest reason my tanks dry out so much quicker.  With an enclosure like you are using, there would undoubtedly be much less ventilation, which would help to maintain a much higher humidity.
> 
> And now that I'm thinking about it, the housing issue in general is another thing you might add, although I know it is somewhat debatable.  There is a very popular centipede book that suggests using screw top jugs like the ones you are using for all sizes of centipedes including the real giants.  Other keepers (I think Steven has mentioned this several times in the past.) think that the container should be about double the length of the pede for the length of the tank, and at least as long for the width.  I don't think that anyone would argue that a polymorpha wouldn't be just fine in a jug like that, but I didn't see enclosures mentioned anywhere in the caresheet.  Again though, that is just my one cents worth.


excellent.... i think that is a very important part i forgot all about, what with the Legendary status of these escape artists.

good good, thanks


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## Scorp guy

great caresheet man, AWSOME! im getting a scolopendra heros tomorrow anyone wanna help me out on the humidity with him? should i treat him as i would my scolopendra subspinipes? please let me know


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## Greg Pelka

It`s the best care sheet I`ve ever seen))
Congrats, good work


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## vlada

Hi,
Really great. I appreciate also the info on species´geographical distribution. 
I would like to see more such caresheets for other species. Alas, I am not so experienced to write one.


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## cacoseraph

Scorp_Lver said:
			
		

> great caresheet man, AWSOME! im getting a scolopendra heros tomorrow anyone wanna help me out on the humidity with him? should i treat him as i would my scolopendra subspinipes? please let me know


i keep subspinipes moister than heros. i would consider S. subspinipes a tropical centipede and heros a desert centipede


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## edesign

cacoseraph:

In your type/nat. history section you can add Louisiana to the list of native states. A coworker found a 2.5"BL specimen in his baby's crib a few weeks ago and saved it for me  And after showing it to another coworker who moved here from New Orleans, she said that she them all over around by her old house.


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## cacoseraph

edesign said:
			
		

> cacoseraph:
> 
> In your type/nat. history section you can add Louisiana to the list of native states. A coworker found a 2.5"BL specimen in his baby's crib a few weeks ago and saved it for me  And after showing it to another coworker who moved here from New Orleans, she said that she them all over around by her old house.


yeah, i need to change that part
they have a pretty massive range and i don't reflect that well enough, at all


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## Spike

Maybe a lifespan or estimated would be a good add.  For the most part I wish we could have care sheets like this for more species... great job


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## bistrobob85

Hey Caco, with all the clutches you've had of Sc.polymorpha and therefore, certified female specimens, did you observe any dimorphism in that specie?

 phil.


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## cacoseraph

Spike said:


> Maybe a lifespan or estimated would be a good add.  For the most part I wish we could have care sheets like this for more species... great job


thanks. the "official" version of that caresheet can be found here
http://www.geocities.com/blight_child/centis/S_polymorpha.html
i definitely think some ppl might be interested in my thoughts on longevity and time to maturity. it would be good to hear other people's experiences in those areas too



bistrobob85 said:


> Hey Caco, with all the clutches you've had of Sc.polymorpha and therefore, certified female specimens, did you observe any dimorphism in that specie?
> 
> phil.


heheheh... maybe.  there might be a difference in terminal legs. i need to get off my ass and take some pics and do some breeding to confirm a male or two


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## bistrobob85

Please do . 

 phil.


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## KUJordan

awesome caresheet!  and as far as that geographic range is concerned, you can add 'statewide in Oklahoma' and 'entire eastern third of Kansas'...probably even far SE Nebraska, far SW Iowa, and hopefully in May we'll be able to prove their range extends into western Missouri (even though I have already found them in MO).  Oh yeah, and has to be in Arkansas as well I'd imagine...


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## cacoseraph

working on version 2.0.  figure i know a bit more, have a bit more experience, and well, i have been bit more =P


version 1.0 wasn't exactly wrong... but i do things pretty different these days and would like my "officially" endorsed care sheets to reflect that


virtually all of my centipedes are in low vent, low moisture (NOT DRY THOUGH!) setups and do great.  i keep anything upto around ~3-4"BL in 10-20dram vials. bigger in smallish plastic jars and bigger than that in large jars. though i don't really have any plans to work with anything bigger than about 6"BL, i will include my previous experiences in 2.0



also, i've came to the conclusion that there are really only two major spectrums that most pedes fall into.  spectrum A is moisture levels... some pedes are "drier" and should be kept like polymorpha and some are "moister" and should be kept like S. subspinipes.  spectrum B is temp. i think that some centipedes really can't handle much temp past ~80*F unless they have conditions that let them cool down faster somehow.  i expect this is for more montane type species... and possibly the blind underground dwellers.  some centipedes, like a lot of the USA SW species can live in temps up to around 100*F w/o seeming to be overtly damaged by them


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## zonbonzovi

regarding the polymorphas: i get the impression that some of these are found in areas that would qualify as montane, i.e., central CA mtn. ranges.  have you experimented much with temp./moisture levels for those far above sea level?


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## Nomadinexile

I just found a bunch of them at the N.E. border of the Chihuahuan desert.  This area is much dryer than our local area.   There are areas with higher humidity, but it is generally dryer.   

I really don't know squat about pedes though, so.....


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## cacoseraph

yeah, see that is the thing... i've been catching them and watching them in nature and captivity for like 5 years now... and i kind of think they are like, way more adaptable and cool and crazy than maybe i was giving them credit for. 
don't get me wrong, centipedes are working with much stricter limitations than a lot of the other big hobby bugs like scorpions and tarantulas might have... but i think in nature they really maximize the heck out of their opportunities.


coloration is one thing i have never been able to figure out, though!  i found, literally within a 1000' stretch a brick red ~5" centipede, a greenish dude, a blueish dude, and a couple others with interesting color legs or cast to their bodies... among maybe 10-13 more "normal" colored ones.  of course, i later turned around and kinda sold them to a dealer type and the centipedes gods have not looked upon me with such color "morph" kindness, since. oh man, heh! i just remembered i totally fished a ~3-35."BL normal color tiger from a hole under a rock at that loc, too  i had kinda forgotten about that

i've also been talking to ppl that have been along for the ride and stuff... i really want to make a new, more in depth "care sheet" type of thing


p.s. why are coloration variations called morphs?  morphs means shapes.  colorations should be called chromatas... which is a much prettier word anyways!


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## Noexcuse4you

Andrew, you should perform an experiment.  I'm not exactly sure how you'd go about doing it, but it'd be interesting.  I'm curious to find out just how far these guys burrow during the dry season.  Maybe you could set up, like, a giant swimming pool sized container full of dirt and put some in there.  Then, in, say August, dig them up and see how far down they've gone.

Edit:  or maybe take a long piece of PVC pipe and stick it in the ground.  Might be more practical than a swimming pool...


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## Nomadinexile

That's a great idea, except the digging them up part.  Wouldn't they try and adjust their level during digging?  And it would be hard to dig up a burrow without collapsing it as well?  What about using a thermal imaging camera?  Could you pick up a 4"-5" pede with one of those?   Anyone have one?  hehe


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## cacoseraph

i could do 1" clear tubing and wrap it in foil or paper and just peak once a week or whatever. 3-4' lengths.


that would make a wicked cool looking display, too!

of course, i would probably be filling it with coco-something and just be dribbling water in the top of the tube for hydration... but given the right circumstances and stuff i think that could be rather fun.

actually a bit in line with stuff i have been thinking about since my last little foray into the wastelands, in fact


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## asher8282

cacoseraph, are you still working on that ver. 2?  i hope so, i like ver. 1, but unless i missed it, i didnt see anything about frequency of feeding.. and i wanted to suggest adding that...

i keep one that i have had since about aug. of 09 which is my 1st and only pede...  ive been matching what i give my T's pretty much, which is 1-2 Lg. crickets every 1-2 weeks..


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## cacoseraph

oops, i had kind of forgotten about this. good reminding me!



yes, that's actually a very good thing to have :/
should have been on there already, i am just silly i guess =P

i would say the that they do seem to eat similar to a tarantula of almost equal weight, for sure. good observation


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## ectocritterz

*Well done, friend. Nice logistics on these critters.*

Good work on this species logistics. Well played, sir. May the schwartz be with you.






cacoseraph said:


> hello,
> 
> I put together a care/info sheet for Scolopendra polymorpha and would like comments on it.  Please comment on anything, from accuracy to the fact you just plain don't like it... or me =P
> 
> Caresheet follow:
> _Scolopendra polymorpha_
> The author of the care sheet, Andrew Olson ~ cacoseraph, is no an expert and has not formal invertebrate education.  Unless otherwise noted, the following is based on his personal observations and could very well be incorrect. Caveat Emptor.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Scolopendra polymorpha*
> 
> This species should be kept as a drier giant centipede.
> 
> Type: Scolopendra, Giant Centipede
> Flooring:  terrestrial/burrowing
> Conditions:  Dry
> Humidity:  Dry
> Temp. 70-85*F
> Temperment: Nervous and Aggressive
> Size: I have seen 6"BL and would not be suprised by 7"
> Feeding:  Crickets ,roaches,meal worms,etc
> Substrate:  peat moss,vemiculite,potting soil,Bed-A-Beast, Jungle Mix
> 
> *Type/Natural History*
> This is a tough North American species. Found in U.S. states of CA, NV, AZ, TX for certain, and probably in some surrounding states. Likely found in Mexico.  The range extends through most of Western United States, distribution map by R. Shelley here
> 
> This centipede is available under a host of common names.  Geographic variation names often include state names, such as Texas Tiger Centipede.  Reference to the coloration, specifically the banding are common. I purchased my largest polymorpha as "Arizona Blue-Banded Centipede".  "Banded", "Striped", and "Tiger" are all possible parts of a common name for _S. polymorpha_. The strangest name i saw this sold under was "Striped Desert Centipede".
> 
> *Substrate/Flooring*
> In the wild i find these centipedes under various size debris, such as boards, logs, stumps, mattresses, etc.  Sometimes evidence of a scrape type of hide can be found, othertimes it appears the centipedes have made no modifications at all.  I also find them in piles of garbage/decaying vegetation.
> 
> In captivity, so far all the specimens i have observed (25-30) have burrowed for at least some periods of time, if given the opportunity.  This leads me to believe there are many more hidden centipedes in the wild, that i will never encounter.
> 
> If you are willing to possibly not see your centipede for months at a time, i would suggest you allow it a chance to burrow.  If not, a hide is required. Otherwise the centipede is likely to become agitated when you open its container. Most centipedes are fairly secretive animals. Some are VERY secretive.
> 
> *Conditions/Humidity/Temperature*
> I live inside this species native habitat. Therefore I have to pay less attention to these things.  In an effort to let all my bug pets sync up with the seasons for breeding and molting purposes i keep my bedroom/bugroom window wide open with a fan drawing outside air in as much as possible.  Hopefully, this will make cage conditions reflect outside conditions to a limited degree.
> 
> I used to only mist my giant centipedes, but a death of a favored captive made me change my mind. Now i religiously use 1oz tall condiment cups.  These are tall enough that they retain water for a decent amount of time and also _sometimes_ even stay free of dirt that most water dishes in centi enclosures seem to accumulate.  It don't believe it is important to make sure the water dish is always full of water and clear of dirt... just make sure the centipede has access at least once a week.
> 
> One thing i have noticed, ventilation seems to be somewhat important to these guys.  I found this suprising, as in the wild i would find them under a foot or two of decaying vegetation that was left in large mounds.  Perhaps they stay more near the surface normally, and are driven deeper when they sense my presense.  At any rate, _S. polymorpha_ I kept in very humid and poorly ventilated containers seemed to die more often than my other guests.
> 
> Ventilation must be balance with access to moisture.
> 
> The following information is from Biology of Centipedes by Lewis (1981). Most centipedes have very poor moisture retention, leaking moisture out of their breathing spiracles. Scolopendramorphae have a limited ability to seal their spiracles against water loss, but are still more susceptible than a tarantula or scorpion.
> 
> *Temperment*
> All giant centipedes should be considered nervous and defensive.
> If you want to think about holding them, look at this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Size*
> The eggs from my brother's ~3.5"BL (9cm) WC female appeared to be 3-6mm clear yellow "jelly" globes.  These turned into postembryo/protonymps that were about 10-15mm long, with only 3 pairs of legs.
> 
> Measuring centipedes: From what i have read, the correct way to measure the length of a centipede is Body Length, or BL.  Body Length consists for measuring the centipede from tip of face to tip of last body segment. Antenna and legs, terminal or otherwise, are NOT counted.
> 
> Females can be as small as 3"BL, and lay viable eggs.
> 
> I purchased an _S. polymorpha_ from a petstore that is 6-6.5"BL (12-13cm), perhaps more when stretching out lengthwise.
> 
> *Feeding*
> My centipedes eat mainly crickets.  This is occasionally supplemented by mealworms, waxworms, roaches, and i know some of my centipedes bought from petstores were fed pinkies.  A key to good pet nutrition is good feeder nutrition.  I try to make sure my feeders have constant access to some form of food and water. I feed them a variety of fruits, vegetables, and commecial gut load.


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## MelissaDBrown

Extremely thorough care sheet, amazing work! Thank you for taking the time to make this for everyone. So for the water part, would you just use tongs to pick up the cup, fill it, and use tongs to put it back? I'm assuming this would be the safest way.


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## cantthinkofone

yes tongs would be the safest. one of the last times i spoke to cacoseraph was when i joined. have not seen him on since.


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## Greenjewls

cantthinkofone said:


> yes tongs would be the safest. one of the last times i spoke to cacoseraph was when i joined. have not seen him on since.


Yeah his last post was 9/30/12.  I hope he didn't get eaten by giant centipedes... or maybe that is how he would have wanted it...

Reactions: Funny 1


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## razorquad

I think S P can handle much colder temperatures see below 

https://books.google.com/books?id=y...lopendra polymorpha temperature range&f=false


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## SDCPs

Does anybody know where Caco went anyhow?


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