# Socializing Centipedes



## Loops117 (Jul 12, 2018)

Hello all. Im rather new to owning centipedes. I've had two in the past. One was a Scolapendra sp, the other being a long tailed centipede.I held my long tailed pede many times, but was always afraid to hold the Scolapendra.

Recently i've read a couple posts mentioning that you need to "Spend weeks of socializing before even thinking of free handling". So i did some searching and found a few more posts about Socializing pedes and scorps. I imagine this also works with others as well, but i was hoping you guys could help me out and give a few pointers? I'd LOVE to hold my scolapendra, so any tips on socializing would be swell.

I'd like to socialize my L.parahybana juvi as well.

Thank you.

Edit: Thought i clicked the centipede section. Sorry this is misplaced. Could a mod please move it for me?


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## AnimalNewbie (Jul 12, 2018)

You can socialize centipedes and scolopendra but it doesn't work with scorpions or Tarantulas.
You never told us what species of scolopendra it is too.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 2


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## Chris LXXIX (Jul 12, 2018)

Loops117 said:


> I'd like to socialize my L.parahybana juvi as well.


I'm 100% certain that your hand, on the other _hand _(ih ih a word joke) wouldn't like that so much man 

And btw, even with 'pedes, the risks of escapes and to receive nasty bites are always behind the corner. Yes, there's (very, but very few) users here that tried that, and with nice results, still that risk is always present.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## Loops117 (Jul 12, 2018)

AnimalNewbie said:


> You can socialize centipedes and scolopendra but it doesn't work with scorpions or Tarantulas.
> You never told us what species of scolopendra it is too.


Really? That's odd as i read someone was socializing their imperator? Not sure as they didn't mention much else.
It was sold as a "Vietnamese giant centipede" and that was it. I know it's Scolapendra sp, but that's as far as that goes. 
Here's an image.









Chris LXXIX said:


> I'm 100% certain that your hand, on the other _hand _(ih ih a word joke) wouldn't like that so much man
> 
> And btw, even with 'pedes, the risks of escapes and to receive nasty bites are always behind the corner. Yes, there's (very, but very few) users here that tried that, and with nice results, still that risk is always present.


I understand there's always going to be a risk. I've done quite a bit of research on bites, and it seems as though bites delivered during test bites and other instances are very mild when the specimen is not agitated. Could be wrong?
As for the L.parahybana, should i just not try it? I really want to be able to hold my giant girl when she reaches adult sizes, and i really wont try it if i cant trust her as a juvi.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Jul 12, 2018)

Loops117 said:


> I understand there's always going to be a risk. I've done quite a bit of research on bites, and it seems as though bites delivered during test bites and other instances are very mild when the specimen is not agitated. Could be wrong?


Yes, man. I think you are wrong. For a reason: doesn't exist - when Asian 'pedes are concerned - something as a very mild bite. Their venom is brutal, I don't have other words for describe that 




Loops117 said:


> As for the L.parahybana, should i just not try it? I really want to be able to hold my giant girl when she reaches adult sizes, and i really wont try it if i cant trust her as a juvi.


What you want to do, is basically 'handling', nothing more, nothing less. Do not expect something like 'socializing' or else, 'handling' is nothing but a spider crawling on your hand

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## Loops117 (Jul 12, 2018)

Chris LXXIX said:


> Yes, man. I think you are wrong. For a reason: doesn't exist - when Asian 'pedes are concerned - something as a very mild bite. Their venom is brutal, I don't have other words for describe that
> 
> Hmm, that's really odd. I've read multiple times on here that people have been bitten by their S.heros as well as others and depending on their attitude during the bite, their reaction was either very mild or very intense.
> 
> ...


Oh really? I was overthinking it. Thought maybe i had to use my hand for feeding or something, maybe hold their enclosure in my hand and get them used to subtle movements and vibrations. Youtube video said to just make your hand/arm part of the flooring they're crawling across, and you'll have no problems. This guy was also holding a giant red like it was a pet rat snake.

As for handling, that's exactly what i meant. Im not trying to get my collection to do tricks or chill in my pocket, just crawl across the hands on occasion. Maybe lay down holding a bouquet of flowers and pose for a picture for valentines day, but nothing crazy.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## NYAN (Jul 12, 2018)

That’s a dehanni. I would read some bite reports before you consider handling it. Also, I hope that’s not it’s perminant enclosure because it’s way too small. Go on YouTube and watch thepurelife’s videos on socializing Pedes.

Reactions: Like 4 | Agree 2


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## Loops117 (Jul 12, 2018)

NYAN said:


> That’s a dehanni. I would read some bite reports before you consider handling it. Also, I hope that’s not it’s perminant enclosure because it’s way too small. Go on YouTube and watch thepurelife’s videos on socializing Pedes.


Thank you very much, i'll go check out the reports now. As for it's container, that was what it was bought in. It's now living in a much larger enclosure with plenty of substrate to dig in.

Reactions: Like 1


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## AnimalNewbie (Jul 12, 2018)

Loops117 said:


> Thank you very much, i'll go check out the reports now. As for it's container, that was what it was bought in. It's now living in a much larger enclosure with plenty of substrate to dig in.


I wouldn’t handle the dehanni. The venom isn’t brutal and trust me it’ll hurt. I wouldn’t bother with the LP because of those hairs the mechanical damage the bite could do and to prevent the risk of rupturing the abdomen.

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## Loops117 (Jul 12, 2018)

Ok cool! It was a fun thought while it lasted!
I've never tried holding them in the past and i don't mind continuing that.
My scorps are prolly the exact same way. Here goes to "Hand" rearing a baby.

So really all i can hold is my _Rhysida longipes _and _Phiddipus regius_.


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## NYAN (Jul 12, 2018)

Loops117 said:


> Ok cool! It was a fun thought while it lasted!
> I've never tried holding them in the past and i don't mind continuing that.
> My scorps are prolly the exact same way. Here goes to "Hand" rearing a baby.
> 
> So really all i can hold is my _Rhysida longipes _and _Phiddipus regius_.


Buy a heros or a giant species.


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## Loops117 (Jul 12, 2018)

NYAN said:


> Buy a heros or a giant species.


Whats a good "giant" species? I thought this thing was a giant.


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## NYAN (Jul 12, 2018)

Loops117 said:


> Whats a good "giant" species? I thought this thing was a giant.


A true giant is a South American species.
Scolopendra gigantea and galapagoensis for example.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris LXXIX (Jul 12, 2018)

Loops117 said:


> Oh really? I was overthinking it. Thought maybe i had to use my hand for feeding or something, maybe hold their enclosure in my hand and get them used to subtle movements and vibrations. Youtube video said to just make your hand/arm part of the flooring they're crawling across, and you'll have no problems. This guy was also holding a giant red like it was a pet rat snake.


Don't trust too much YT vids on that sense. Such platform is ok for music, movie/game trailers, whatever... but definitely the reliable persons - arachnids/inverts talking - present are less in numbers than the fingers remained in the hands of an old and skilled retired carpenter 




Loops117 said:


> As for handling, that's exactly what i meant. Im not trying to get my collection to do tricks or chill in my pocket, just crawl across the hands on occasion. Maybe lay down holding a bouquet of flowers and pose for a picture for valentines day, but nothing crazy.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## NYAN (Jul 13, 2018)

For some reason This thread is in the true spiders section of the forum?

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## Staehilomyces (Jul 13, 2018)

Bit late to the party here, but I'll add my 2c anyway. 

If you're going to socialise a centipede (and mark my words, it can be very fun if done right), don't do it with a dehaani, especially as a novice. I suggest polymorpha, E. trigonopodus or morsitans. Heros is apparently good too, but it is rather more potent than the aforementioned three.

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## Staehilomyces (Jul 13, 2018)

I'd also like to add that the socialisation process doesn't take *as* long as I used to say it did, and sometimes, depending on how comfortable you are, jumping straight into freehandling can yield the best results.

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## Mirandarachnid (Jul 13, 2018)

I've been very interested in this topic as well, I was probably going to post this exact thread sometime in the next few days (I, however, have no desire to handle my LP, that guy is a little monster and kicks hairs for fun )

@Staehilomyces, do you have a video or post with the steps you take to socialize your pede's? I've watched some of thepurelife's videos where he kind of goes over it, but I'd like something a little more in depth before I start the process.


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## StampFan (Jul 13, 2018)

Mirandarachnid said:


> I've been very interested in this topic as well, I was probably going to post this exact thread sometime in the next few days (I, however, have no desire to handle my LP, that guy is a little monster and kicks hairs for fun )
> 
> @Staehilomyces, do you have a video or post with the steps you take to socialize your pede's? I've watched some of thepurelife's videos where he kind of goes over it, but I'd like something a little more in depth before I start the process.


I also watched a vid with that guy where he appears to be tagged like 20 times in about 5 minutes, would like to watch a vid from a sane human being.....

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## NYAN (Jul 13, 2018)

Mirandarachnid said:


> I've been very interested in this topic as well, I was probably going to post this exact thread sometime in the next few days (I, however, have no desire to handle my LP, that guy is a little monster and kicks hairs for fun )
> 
> @Staehilomyces, do you have a video or post with the steps you take to socialize your pede's? I've watched some of thepurelife's videos where he kind of goes over it, but I'd like something a little more in depth before I start the process.



What I did was while the pede was exploring its enclosure and doing centipede stuff I had my hands in there. The pede would walk over my hands, test bite a few times, get my scent and not associate me as a threat. A bit later I would let it walk onto my hand and I held it while it was inside the enclosure. Eventually I would handle it and pet it. Now I can take it out daily and handle it, pet it etc. I’ve also just started handling them straight away and they ended up becoming socialized.

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## NYAN (Jul 13, 2018)

StampFan said:


> I also watched a vid with that guy where he appears to be tagged like 20 times in about 5 minutes, would like to watch a vid from a sane human being.....


Define ‘sane’? Here we are talking about how to hold a venomous snake with legs.. with all seriousness he knows a lot about the hobby, I think most of what he does is reasonable from my perspective. Has anyone mentioned socializing centipedes to someone outside of the hobby? I’ve done it a few times and everyone always thinks I’m crazy haha.


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## StampFan (Jul 13, 2018)

NYAN said:


> Define ‘sane’? Here we are talking about how to hold a venomous snake with legs.. with all seriousness he knows a lot about the hobby, I think most of what he does is reasonable from my perspective. Has anyone mentioned socializing centipedes to someone outside of the hobby? I’ve done it a few times and everyone always thinks I’m crazy haha.


There has to be a better, more methodical scientific way then to get tagged a bunch of times....

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## Mirandarachnid (Jul 13, 2018)

Now that I think about it, I think that pede he got tagged by a bunch of times was one he caught with his hands, and now the pede sees him as a threat? I'd have to find that video again, but I know he mentioned that about one of them.

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## StampFan (Jul 13, 2018)

Mirandarachnid said:


> Now that I think about it, I think that pede he got tagged by a bunch of times was one he caught with his hands, and now the pede sees him as a threat? I'd have to find that video again, but I know he mentioned that about one of them.


All I know is I watched a vid where this guy on that channel had about 15 "ouches" before I turned it off.  It was ridiculous.  Won't watch again.  

On another completely unrelated note, I watched a vid tonight from another YouTuber who will remain unnamed, who re-housed some T's into enclosures that looked about 1-2 inches longer/wider.  Also beyond ridiculous, in a different way.


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## Smokehound714 (Jul 13, 2018)

Theyre not 'socialized', theyre simply smart enough to understand you are their food source.  Never ever drop your guard around any large scolopendra.

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## Staehilomyces (Jul 13, 2018)

"Socialized" is simply the term used to describe a centipede that no longer perceives its owner as a threat, and can thus be freehandled with minimal issue. I honestly doubt that the centipedes recognise the owner as a food source - all mine get tong fed, and I've had success socialising every pede I've worked with except adult E. rubripes.

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## Loops117 (Jul 13, 2018)

Ok. So far.
Don't do it with S.dehaani. 
Try a better species (will try to find .heros), and go from there.
I'm going to get bit....a few times.

I think i'm gonna give it a try. Atleast i'll be able to say i've been bitten by a giant centipede if all else fails.

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## Staehilomyces (Jul 13, 2018)

You're not guaranteed to get bit...its just a possibility that must be accepted.

Also, if you do socialise a S. heros, try your best to rub it in Coyote Peterson's face

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## Loops117 (Jul 13, 2018)

Staehilomyces said:


> You're not guaranteed to get bit...its just a possibility that must be accepted.
> 
> Also, if you do socialise a S. heros, try your best to rub it in Coyote Peterson's face


If i socialize my centipede, i'm gonna tell the world. I'm gonna be that guy walking around with his pet centipede.

Reactions: Funny 3 | Optimistic 1


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## StampFan (Jul 13, 2018)

Staehilomyces said:


> "Socialized" is simply the term used to describe a centipede that no longer perceives its owner as a threat, and can thus be freehandled with minimal issue. I honestly doubt that the centipedes recognise the owner as a food source - all mine get tong fed, and I've had success socialising every pede I've worked with except adult E. rubripes.


Hey, was just watchin your channel the other day.  You have a lot of centipedes!  Love your enthusiasm!  Are you quite restricted on what centipedes you can purchase in Australia like the T owners are?


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## Bill S (Jul 13, 2018)

Staehilomyces said:


> "Socialized" is simply the term used to describe a centipede that no longer perceives its owner as a threat


Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that handling desensitizes them to that particular threat reaction.  It certainly isn't a social issue, so "socializing" is not a good term to use.


Staehilomyces said:


> "... I honestly doubt that the centipedes recognise the owner as a food source ....


I'd go a step further and suggest that centipedes don't recognize their owners - period.  They just don't have that much mental capacity.  If they get accustomed to a particular pattern of actions - such as food appearing at the ends of tongs - they may habituate to that.  But if a hand appears that has something on it that smells or tastes of something resembling food - they are likely to try to eat it.  I have seen wild Scolopendra heros scavenging dead mammals that were clearly too large to be prey items - again the mental capacity of these guys is too limited for them to gauge the size of a food item.  So betting they won't make a mistake on your hands is a bit like Russian roulette.  I'll take my chances with something like a Scolopendra polymorpha, but not a dehanni.  Likewise - the scent of something on your hands may trigger a defensive response.  Roll the dice and take your chances if you want to.  Personally I can appreciate the animal with very little handling or interaction.

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## Staehilomyces (Jul 13, 2018)

Hmm...while I do agree that a pede is obviously unaware of what you are, I think it's perfectly plausible that it's aware of the fact that the handler is a larger animal, especially given the fact that a properly "socialised" pede can be squeezed and "pet" without issue. 
Obviously, they don't recognise the owner as an individual, but they certainly recognise your scent, and cease to associate it with danger. Pedes do seem rather more intelligent than most of the hobby inverts (with some exceptions, like jumpers).

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Staehilomyces (Jul 13, 2018)

StampFan said:


> Hey, was just watchin your channel the other day.  You have a lot of centipedes!  Love your enthusiasm!  Are you quite restricted on what centipedes you can purchase in Australia like the T owners are?


We have the same restrictions as with tarantulas - we can only keep natives. However, there's a lot more variety in appearance among our pedes than our tarantulas. There's an enormous variety of colour forms in several of our pede species, especially E. rubripes and S. morsitans. The only downside is that, due to the fact that no one here breeds them (unless they happen upon a WC gravid female), all but the most commonly encountered forms are nigh absent in the hobby. I had to do some serious probing and waiting to get what I have.

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## Scoly (Jul 14, 2018)

One thing you will quickly realise is that every "rule"  you hold to be true gets broken. I owned a _L. parahybana_ who was untouchable, and from what I heard they were all like that, until I found one in a pet shop which I could pick straight up:


Turns out they have individual personalities. I also had a curly hair, which is supposedly a docile species, who would't let me anywhere near it. There are even videos on youtube of people handling their OBTs, calm as you like.

I also owned centipedes, which you obviously can't handle (that's what everyone told me) until I saw videos from this guy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkEmI1pS0tCOZH0Waa7qmDQ showing that centipedes can indeed be "socialised" as he puts it. But you need to take those videos with a pinch of salt. He claims to get the same result with every pede (which he contradicts in another video). Make no mistake, the guy is a genius when it comes to pede interaction and we owe him a lot for showing us it is possible, but it's not because you see him do it that it will work with you and your pede. What you are seeing there are the successes, not the failures, and with a strong bias towards showing that it can be done.

The aptness of the term "socialising" is also debatable. The centipedes do indeed change their behaviour in response to interaction, so they are learning, and become accustomed to human touch to the point of no longer seeking to bite, and this may well be specific to your touch and not someone else's, but that's as far as you can take it. You won't get to carry it around, and if you give it a fright you'll still get a bite. This is in contrast to tarantulas, which seem to either just let you pick them up or not, and there's not much you can do to change it.

I have also picked up some centipedes on my first encounter with them without being bitten, only for them to transform into little monsters weeks later. Others (@Staehilomyces I believe) have reported similar shifts in behaviour too.

Your pede is a dehaani, of which a handling attempt can be seen here (different colour variant): 



 (They are jumpy, he went about the completely wrong way, and got very lucky)

Here is also how not to do it: 




Here is the person who knows what he is doing finding that even "socialised" centipedes will still go for a bite from time to time:

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## NYAN (Jul 14, 2018)

Just saying, you should never touch a centipede’s terminal legs or poke them. That one video you could tell it wanted to be left alone because of how it jerked back. If you’re going to touch a centipede, have it walk onto you, don’t poke it and if they don’t want to be handled ie spasm, hide, burrow leave them be. Just watched the video where the alternans bites the guy a bunch of times. While the guy was stupid and called it ‘one of the most deadliest animals in the world,’ he didn’t make any mistakes while he wasn’t handling it. Perhaps he grabbed it or did something else off camera.

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## Staehilomyces (Jul 15, 2018)

Yeah, I've watched those videos. I personally don't think touching the pede while it's eating does much at all when it comes to socialization. 
As for both those alternans handling vids, they were both pedes that hadn't been worked with very much before, and alternans is apparently a very test bite prone species. The alternans in Mike's vid stopped biting eventually, as can be seen from his subsequent handling vids of her. I would suggest keeping first-time handling sessions short. 

However, while Mike was the guy who got me into handling pedes, I certainly don't agree with everything he says. It's a good thing to show the gentler side of these misunderstood creatures, but he'd often get a little carried away, and people watching his videos without any prior knowledge could easily come to the conclusion that centipedes are harmless. In these two videos in particular, he seemed dangerously "pro-handling". I'm all for showing socialized pedes on YT, but I personally think it's very important to outline the risks as well.









I'm also glad I didn't take his advice about starting with Ethmos. He told me that members of that genus were some of the most docile pedes out there. Needless to say, I got a bit of a shock when I first saw Azog - 17cm of pure fury. Those of you who've known me for a while would be well aware that Ethmos give me more trouble than any other Aussie pedes when it comes to handling. Every bite I've ever taken came from an Ethmostigmus. 

@Scoly you're certainly right about the shifts in behaviour. I did manage to get Azog to a point where I _almost_ trusted it (It'd still test bite a lot though), but things started going downhill from there. 
Take a look at Azog in this old (and rather long and boring) video of mine:




Seems docile enough, but within a week, it was meaner than ever. I also came close to socializing a slightly smaller tiger form rubripes, with similar results. That pede gave me my first (and only) "wet" bite. While it only injected a tiny amount of venom, it was enough to cause discomfort for nearly a week. 

On the other hand, I've had some successes as well. One was my old S. morsitans. It was amazingly calm - never envenomated under any circumstances whatsoever. Just a pity it died before my YT channel was up and running. 
The most well-socialized pede I currently have is a juvenile green rubripes. It did try to "eat" my hand once, but that was probably due to the fact that I held it right after having a shower, and my hands were covered in soap. I've never had any issues since, and would say I "trust" it as much as my old morsitans, but I don't show it on my YouTube because I can't stand the constant comments about its mite infestation. 
I've also been working with multiple juvenile rubripes and another adult morsitans with good results. 

Personally, I think that juvenile pedes are some of the best for socialization, and when it comes to rubripes, they're all I'm willing to handle. They may be jumpy, but they're far more likely to run than bite, and can't do much harm anyway. Plus, they're super cute.

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## Scoly (Jul 15, 2018)

Staehilomyces said:


> I'm also glad I didn't take his advice about starting with Ethmos. He told me that members of that genus were some of the most docile pedes out there. Needless to say, I got a bit of a shock when I first saw Azog - 17cm of pure fury.


I have currently have 3 Ethmostigmus trigonopodus blue leg, and while they are not aggressive in the fast and jerky sense, they do readily bite forceps, but then they will also sit on your hand without any fuss. A year or two back I had a yellow leg variety of the same species and it was a different ball game altogether, behaved more like an Asian pede!


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## Staehilomyces (Jul 15, 2018)

Yeah, I've noticed similar variations in temperament between different rubripes forms. All of my stocky Townsville rubripes are quite docile. On the other hand, my tigers are psychotic, my larger green form is also a nutcase, and my blue/jade legged rubripes* is not only psycho, but extremely fast as well. My dark tiger rubripes isn't aggressive in the same sense as the ones mentioned above, but if poked/breathed on, it will thrash around like a fish out of water, flinging bits of substrate everywhere. The juvenile green form I've been handling was very jumpy, but given its size, I never found it very intimidating, so I went straight for socialization.

*Used to call this one a Kuranda rubripes, but the actual Kuranda look markedly different.


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## StampFan (Jul 15, 2018)

Scoly said:


> One thing you will quickly realise is that every "rule"  you hold to be true gets broken. I owned a _L. parahybana_ who was untouchable, and from what I heard they were all like that, until I found one in a pet shop which I could pick straight up:
> View attachment 281024
> 
> Turns out they have individual personalities. I also had a curly hair, which is supposedly a docile species, who would't let me anywhere near it. There are even videos on youtube of people handling their OBTs, calm as you like.
> ...


This guy is a member here, has posts in the archive.

My *fav* that I was watching the other day was he was doing his normal 'pede touching when some large monitor or something walks by him in the background, he pets it, and keeps on goin' LOL.


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## StampFan (Jul 15, 2018)

Staehilomyces said:


> Yeah, I've watched those videos. I personally don't think touching the pede while it's eating does much at all when it comes to socialization.
> As for both those alternans handling vids, they were both pedes that hadn't been worked with very much before, and alternans is apparently a very test bite prone species. The alternans in Mike's vid stopped biting eventually, as can be seen from his subsequent handling vids of her. I would suggest keeping first-time handling sessions short.
> 
> However, while Mike was the guy who got me into handling pedes, I certainly don't agree with everything he says. It's a good thing to show the gentler side of these misunderstood creatures, but he'd often get a little carried away, and people watching his videos without any prior knowledge could easily come to the conclusion that centipedes are harmless. In these two videos in particular, he seemed dangerously "pro-handling". I'm all for showing socialized pedes on YT, but I personally think it's very important to outline the risks as well.


I've noticed that in your vids you are using quite shallow tub-type enclosures, and most folks on here suggest DEEP tubs so the 'pede can't reach the top.  Is that by design, convenience (aka space and stacking) or personal preference?

Any opinions on Mike's "my 'pede eats fruit" or his style of keeping many of them in jars?


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## Staehilomyces (Jul 16, 2018)

Mostly out of convenience. I wouldn't recommend it for other keepers, but I don't mind coming into contact with my pedes, so shallow containers aren't much of an issue. Nevertheless, I did rehouse Azog into a deeper enclosure than the one in my old video above, though that was more to do with the fact that the clips on the old enclosure unlocked too loudly, startling the invert inside and making feeding almost impossible. 

As for feeding pedes fruit, I do that as well, though not _nearly_ as often as he does. I think he said in one of his videos that he feeds them fruit twice a week. I don't feed them that often period, fruit or anything else. 
I don't see a problem with jars, though I think they're rather inconvenient. They don't stack well, and their small openings make it hard to reach around inside the enclosure, especially with tongs.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## RTTB (Jul 16, 2018)

Don’t try to handle that species.


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## Smokehound714 (Jul 16, 2018)

Staehilomyces said:


> "Socialized" is simply the term used to describe a centipede that no longer perceives its owner as a threat, and can thus be freehandled with minimal issue. I honestly doubt that the centipedes recognise the owner as a food source - all mine get tong fed, and I've had success socialising every pede I've worked with except adult E. rubripes.


Seems more like they're stressed out from frequent handling IMO.


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## Staehilomyces (Jul 16, 2018)

Really? They don't seem to mind it, if it's done properly. Mine eat and drink just fine, even straight after being handled, and often settle to groom or rest on my hands. Very unlike how most inverts behave when handled.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## NYAN (Jul 16, 2018)

Smokehound714 said:


> Seems more like they're stressed out from frequent handling IMO.


I will almost always handle my Pedes only if they are out and not buried. The only way I could see them becoming stressed is if they are dug up constantly.


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## Staehilomyces (Jul 17, 2018)

Yeah. The green rubripes shows no signs of stress whatsoever. It's drank directly out of my hands on a few occasions, and when I return it to the enclosure, it makes no attempts to seek cover whatsoever. I'm also working with a couple even younger rubripes and an adult morsitans, and have made considerable progress with them as well. The morsitans in particular no longer seeks shelter once handling is finished, though it's still a tad jumpy.


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## Ratmosphere (Jul 18, 2018)

With jumpier centipedes I start petting the centipede with a folded paper towel attached to feeding tongs. I rub the centipede on the back with it for 20-30 minutes a day for as long as it takes for the centipede to calm down. It's important to try and not touch the terminals during this.

Next step would be to feed the centipede well. In the beginning stages you are going to need to make sure the pede has food in its mouth. Dip the "handling hand" in substrate, you can rub it off after you do it. After this, slowly move in and put your fingers next to the centipedes antennae. If the centipede is calm at this point you can rub its head. From here you can start touching different parts of its body. Make sure to stay away from terminals.

If you stay consistent with the process the centipede should let you pick it up. From here you can let it crawl through your hand as you grab it. It is important to stay calm and confident with this process. If you are shaky or nervous things could go wrong.

Below are some videos that belong to me, I hope they help.

Reactions: Like 2


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