# Scolopendra hardwickei



## Draiman (Jul 5, 2010)

Incredible animal. A living, walking piece of pure art.



















Thanks Martin!


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## Galapoheros (Jul 5, 2010)

Way to go!  I tried a long time ago but he said he couldn't send them here, maybe I'll try again:wall:


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## Draiman (Jul 5, 2010)

Galapoheros said:


> Way to go!  I tried a long time ago but he said he couldn't send them here, maybe I'll try again:wall:


Hehe yeah, I'm already contemplating getting a couple more so I could possibly try breeding them. This one measures at least 7 inches, so it's definitely mature.


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## Greg Pelka (Jul 5, 2010)

Hate you! I really hate you!


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## Draiman (Jul 5, 2010)

Greg Pelka said:


> Hate you! I really hate you!


Maybe you'll hate me a little less if I tell you where you can get them for a not-so-outrageous price (think about all those going around in Germany for like €180 each!)


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## Pennywise (Jul 5, 2010)

Beautiful, and an excellent quality photo too. After a few years with
Tarantulas, I started in Pedes this week with a Scolopendra heros c. Texas redhead.

Many years ago in Mineral Wells,Texas one of those scared the crap out
of me.  By this Wednesday, I will get to face one again. Can't wait till it
gets here.


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## AlanMM (Jul 5, 2010)

Hmm...  Nice try, but this one really looks painted.

Reactions: Like 1


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## proper_tea (Jul 5, 2010)

Draiman said:


> Maybe you'll hate me a little less if I tell you where you can get them for a not-so-outrageous price


Do tell... do tell...


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## Greg Pelka (Jul 5, 2010)

Draiman said:


> Maybe you'll hate me a little less if I tell you where you can get them for a not-so-outrageous price (think about all those going around in Germany for like €180 each!)


I love you ;>


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## Draiman (Jul 6, 2010)

AlanMM said:


> Hmm...  Nice try, but this one really looks painted.


   :worship: :wall:


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## rafiqos (Jul 6, 2010)

Show off!! :}


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## Draiman (Jul 6, 2010)

rafiqos said:


> Show off!! :}


Couldn't help it


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## Comatose (Jul 6, 2010)

Draiman said:


> Maybe you'll hate me a little less if I tell you where you can get them for a not-so-outrageous price (think about all those going around in Germany for like €180 each!)


Any chance you can tell me as well? I have my import permit if that helps


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## micheldied (Jul 16, 2010)

Drooling on my keyboard.....


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## Draiman (Jul 16, 2010)

micheldied said:


> Drooling on my keyboard.....


Here's one more for you :}


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## micheldied (Jul 16, 2010)

So... Purty....


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## Pennywise (Jul 27, 2010)

In the classifieds, someone in South Florida is going to have these
gems available soon for just $1500.00 each.


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## Quixtar (Jul 27, 2010)

Pennywise said:


> In the classifieds, someone in South Florida is going to have these
> gems available soon for just $1500.00 each.


What a bargain!!!

...and pedelings no less!


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## Draiman (Jul 27, 2010)

Pennywise said:


> In the classifieds, someone in South Florida is going to have these
> gems available soon for just $1500.00 each.


Yeah, when I saw that I absolutely LMAO.

ADULT hardwickei sell for 70-100 GBP in the UK, and around 120-150 euros in Europe. $1500 for a pedeling is so amazingly ridiculous, I just couldn't stop laughing.


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## bliss (Jul 28, 2010)

Pennywise said:


> In the classifieds, someone in South Florida is going to have these
> gems available soon *for just* $1500.00 each.


for just...


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## Draiman (Jul 28, 2010)

bliss said:


> for just...


I'm quite sure there was a heavy dose of sarcasm in Pennywise's post.


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## bliss (Jul 28, 2010)

Draiman said:


> I'm quite sure there was a heavy dose of sarcasm in Pennywise's post.


no doubt, I just thought it would go better with a little bit of bold.  lol

I have looked at this species, determined it is FRIGGIN' awesome, seen how rare it is and what kind of prices people want for it... and just turn the other way and walk.  lol


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## Draiman (Jul 28, 2010)

bliss said:


> I have looked at this species, determined it is FRIGGIN' awesome, seen how rare it is *and what kind of prices people want for it*... and just turn the other way and walk.  lol


I would wager that you wouldn't do that if you were not in the US of A. Frankly speaking, prices in the American market, across the board, are easily double that of those in Europe; and in some cases, triple or quadruple.


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## Greg Pelka (Jul 28, 2010)

For 1500$ you can go to India and try to smuggle few specimens in your underpants


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## Draiman (Jul 28, 2010)

Greg Pelka said:


> For 1500$ you can go to India and try to smuggle few specimens in your underpants


No need to even try - law enforcement there is so corrupt that you can get away with giving the police/customs officers a little bit of your spare change.


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## Draiman (Jul 28, 2010)

This has to be the funniest thing I have ever seen here on Arachnoboards:



beetleman said:


> i just got a baby hardwicki from luke,excellent person to deal with,this little bugger is awesome,and looking/doing great,if your a serious pede collector like me you know ya gotta have this sp.! thanks again


Oh dear. That's $1500....


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## Envyizm (Jul 28, 2010)

Someone actually bought one for 1500 bucks? wow... Draiman, I take it since your getting a few more specimens that you'll be attempting to breed them? Those hardwickei are some lookers. Kinda makes me want to get into pedes.


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## Draiman (Jul 28, 2010)

Envyizm said:


> Draiman, I take it since your getting a few more specimens that you'll be attempting to breed them? Those hardwickei are some lookers. Kinda makes me want to get into pedes.


Too bad I'm not in the US.


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## Envyizm (Jul 28, 2010)

Draiman said:


> Too bad I'm not in the US.


They'll make it to the states in decent sized quantities sometime between now and my death so go ahead, breed them, I dare you! ;P


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## Draiman (Jul 28, 2010)

Envyizm said:


> They'll make it to the states in decent sized quantities sometime between now and my death so go ahead, breed them, I dare you! ;P


If only it was that easy!


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## peterbourbon (Jul 28, 2010)

The more I think of it all, the more I come to the one and only conclusion.
You just have to think more about this deal, then you'll know. 

Cheers
Turgut


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## Pennywise (Jul 28, 2010)

Until the price comes down a lot, I can enjoy looking at this Pede in
the photos on this thread.


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## peterbourbon (Jul 28, 2010)

True words - and since there are soooooooooo many hardwickei around in the hobby (in my opinion too many) I am quite sure there will be a few people selling pedelings in future for a reasonable price.

Cheers
Turgut


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## Draiman (Jul 28, 2010)

peterbourbon said:


> The more I think of it all, the more I come to the one and only conclusion.
> You just have to think more about this deal, then you'll know.
> 
> Cheers
> Turgut


Yeah, it does smell a little fishy around here...


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## Pennywise (Jul 28, 2010)

It didn't take that long for the "Gooty Sapphire" or the "Singapore Blue"
to drop in price.  The GS is still pricey but if its a must have and the
cost isn't out of range collectors will buy it. I don't do Pokies so it
didn't tempt me. Patience ahhh!


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## Draiman (Jul 28, 2010)

Pennywise said:


> It didn't take that long for the "Gooty Sapphire" or the "Singapore Blue"
> to drop in price.  The GS is still pricey but if its a must have and the
> cost isn't out of range collectors will buy it. I don't do Pokies so it
> didn't tempt me. Patience ahhh!


I think the difference between those two and S. hardwickei is that American dealers first have to get past the hurdle of actually getting the species into the country. There seem to be one or two around (in the hands of those money-obsessed dealers of course), but certainly not enough for breeding. I'm quite sure L. violaceopes (not too sure about the P. metallica situation) was much, much easier to bring into the US, mainly because of regular importation of WC adults from Malaysia. That isn't happening with hardwickei, mainly because India is closed to export (which leads me to wonder about how P. metallica ever got into the hobby; and one single conclusion - smuggling).

EDIT: Come to think of it, I'm a bit puzzled. If P. metallica could be brought in, why not S. hardwickei? Both are from India and are subject to the same export ban, and both are actually found in the same areas - the forested Eastern and Western Ghats of tropical south India - so collectors could theoretically collect both at the same time. How did P. metallica first enter the US hobby?


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## ragnew (Jul 28, 2010)

Pennywise said:


> Until the price comes down a lot, I can enjoy looking at this Pede in
> the photos on this thread.


I'd have to agree with this statement 100%! As much as I'd love to have an S. hardwickei in the collection, I could never justify spending that type of money on anything (well, invert wise anyways). The pics will be more then enough for the time being.


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## Quixtar (Jul 28, 2010)

Draiman said:


> I think the difference between those two and S. hardwickei is that American dealers first have to get past the hurdle of actually getting the species into the country. There seem to be one or two around (in the hands of those money-obsessed dealers of course), but certainly not enough for breeding. I'm quite sure L. violaceopes (not too sure about the P. metallica situation) was much, much easier to bring into the US, mainly because of regular importation of WC adults from Malaysia. That isn't happening with hardwickei, mainly because India is closed to export (which leads me to wonder about how P. metallica ever got into the hobby; and one single conclusion - smuggling).
> 
> EDIT: Come to think of it, I'm a bit puzzled. If P. metallica could be brought in, why not S. hardwickei? Both are from India and are subject to the same export ban, and both are actually found in the same areas - the forested Eastern and Western Ghats of tropical south India - so collectors could theoretically collect both at the same time. How did P. metallica first enter the US hobby?


I can think of a couple reasons:

- There are many more tarantula enthusiasts than centipede enthusiasts and thus much less demand for centipedes

- The idea of bringing in a new bright blue Pokie when there was already high demand for Pokies in general was a much more intriguing idea than a black and orange centipede with a limited fanbase

- They thrive in different localities; the S. hardwickei area may not have been visited

- S. hardwickei wasn't as commonly known to hobbyists as P. metallica was at the time

- Hobbyists haven't quite nailed down how to sex and properly breed centipedes; of course there are some success stories but ultimately it's a trial and error thing with breeding centipedes at the moment, much more so than with tarantulas, or with scorpions too for that matter

Therefore, less S. hardwickei come into the states than do P. metallica, and those that do, don't propagate and end up expiring.


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## peterbourbon (Jul 28, 2010)

Draiman said:


> If P. metallica could be brought in, why not S. hardwickei?


I can tell you how and why.
Same with Venezuela and Costa Rica: Some people are periodically smuggling animals from those countries, but never ever something like a S. gigantea though it's very common in Venezuela. Theraphosid market is tempting - and people from the invert scene who stick to smuggling usually only focus on Theraphosidae and don't have much interest in other invertebrates - logistically it means "I don't have space in my luggae for a stupid centipede". Cause space is $cash money$.

The funniest thing is M. mesomelas: Do you really think so many people manage to breed this difficult theraphosid sucessfully? Must be, cause every year there is a time when suddenly someone sells captive bred spiderlings. But the truth is different: Every year people go to Costa Rica and bring some eggsacs in their luggage. Just mind the profit: One small eggsac, easily to bring over the border with plenty spiderlings, each one sold for approx. 25-30 euros in 2nd-3rd instar on European market.

Same happened to P. metallica, at least on the European side.
I am not quite sure if the first worldwide smuggled metallica came from Europe again.
I guess a lot of those smuggled specimen have been traded to U.S. and that's why they appear on the american market. Not all, of course.

Finally I think that the whole ethical discussion about smuggling is worthless - unless no hobbyist can resist in buying those species.
There are two sides of the story, but one thing you should never forget: You would enjoy invert-hobby only 50% if no one would have ever smuggled something. Main problem is the greed, constantly smuggling and not breeding in captivity.

Cheers
Turgut


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## peterbourbon (Jul 28, 2010)

Quixtar said:


> but ultimately it's a trial and error thing with breeding centipedes at the moment


No, it is not. Not more than in tarantulas.
Same thing - if you have a couple and nothing happens for whatever reason, then you have the same situation in the end.

It's simply the masses keeping tarantulas, compared to the "limited fanbase" of pedes, as you state correctly.

Cheers
Turgut


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## Quixtar (Jul 28, 2010)

peterbourbon said:


> No, it is not. Not more than in tarantulas.
> Same thing - if you have a couple and nothing happens for whatever reason, then you have the same situation in the end.
> 
> It's simply the masses keeping tarantulas, compared to the "limited fanbase" of pedes, as you state correctly.
> ...


This is provided there is some good method in sexing centipedes and you already know that you have a female and a male. Unless you or anyone has found an effective way of getting them to expose their sexual organs without harm or without the trouble of using a CO2 setup, sexing hasn't been perfected yet, not like it has for tarantulas and scorpions, which display high degrees of sexual dimorphism.

To word it differently, mating a female and male centipede isn't anymore difficult than mating a female and male tarantula or scorpion, but sexing is, and it's the first step of breeding.


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## peterbourbon (Jul 28, 2010)

Hi,

- Klingel has used this method in past, published already a paper and bred S. cingulata in several generations. So - this is nothing new.
- My hardwickei had a succesful clutch of 61 healthy juveniles after using this method and then mating
- My viridis is actually on eggs, sexed by the same method and therefore a focussed mating wihtout experiments.
- My mutilans had a succesful clutch, after being sexed by the same method, mating see above.
- And there are several mated centipedes that simply wait for their right season to have clutches, being sexed and mated with the same method, showing no unusual behaviour, eating, running, acting like if they have never been gassed.

And gassing is even an ordinary method for venomous spiders to enable taxonomical inspections on living specimen.
I have never heard of a harming tendency, to be honest.

Hence - everything is working well.
And unless I see a mass mortality one day, this method works fine for me.

You can't expose the sexual organs of a centipede whenever you want to.

Cheers
Turgut


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## Bill S (Aug 6, 2010)

peterbourbon said:


> - Klingel has used this method in past, published already a paper and bred S. cingulata in several generations. So - this is nothing new.


Which method?  Gassing?  If that paper is available in PDF form, I'd love to read it.  The only reproduction I've had with centipedes so far has been accidental, and I'd like to try breeding a couple kinds.


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## peterbourbon (Aug 7, 2010)

Hi,

paper is unfortunately in german language, but if you like to have it nevertheless, PM me.

Cheers
Turgut


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## Bill S (Aug 7, 2010)

I can struggle through German, and the practice would be good for me.  I'll PM you.

Bill


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## endoflove (Aug 7, 2010)

btw waht is the going rate>?


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## cjm1991 (Aug 8, 2010)

Wow what a beautiful pede, Ive always wanted one of those.. could never find one here in the Us for a good price. Ive been putting to much time and effort into my car lately to buy myself anything nice.. Very pretty though. Congrats on having one of if not the best looking creatures on the planet.:clap:

Chris


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## mrridinhigh (Aug 12, 2010)

Man... I have been trying to find that black and orange pede for a while now. I cant find ANYONE who has one F.S. At this point I wouldnt care how much they cost !:worship:


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## Comatose (Aug 12, 2010)

Someone has p'lings up for sale at a cool grand a piece... I'll note that they're a brand new user with no other posts, so picking up in person is probably best.


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## RobynTRR (Aug 15, 2012)

Such a gorgeous species!


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## MrCrackerpants (Sep 16, 2012)

Kens got one.

Scolopendra hardwickei approximately 6 inch only 1 AVAILABLE $499


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## MaskFac3 (Sep 17, 2012)

MrCrackerpants said:


> Kens got one.
> 
> Scolopendra hardwickei approximately 6 inch only 1 AVAILABLE $499


Here in the uk I've seen them tons cheaper than that 6 inch for £60 from Martin gods im sure


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## Galapoheros (Sep 17, 2012)

If they were established here I think I'd sell adults for around $80 to $90.  I've had a hard time and bad luck getting my hands on a mating pair here in the US.  Jason is still trying as far as I know.


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