# The Beast



## Draiman (May 7, 2010)

7.5 inches of pure, unadulterated awesomeness. And it isn't even fully grown!


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## thebugfreak (May 7, 2010)

whats the latin name for that pede?


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## robd (May 7, 2010)

Great pic! I'd also like to know this ^^^^^


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## Draiman (May 7, 2010)

_Scolopendra alternans_, from the Dominican Republic


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## Rick McJimsey (May 7, 2010)

Nice, Gavin, one of my favorite species!
Where's the obligatory ruler shot? This is Arachnoboards, you know.


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## thebugfreak (May 7, 2010)

sweet. i thought about getting the alternans, but i got instead the s. subspinipes tigerleg and the "barbados". 

god i wish i can post pics. but i dont know how.


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## peterbourbon (May 7, 2010)

thebugfreak said:


> sweet. i thought about getting the alternans, but i got instead the s. subspinipes tigerleg and the "barbados".


The tigerlegs live on Hainan Island.
Keep it in mild island climate. 

Cheers
Turgut


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## Draiman (May 8, 2010)

Rick McJimsey said:


> Nice, Gavin, one of my favorite species!
> Where's the obligatory ruler shot? This is Arachnoboards, you know.









Not quite 7.5", but she's still my largest invert pet, and 7 inches tip to tip isn't all that small anyway. :}


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## Galapoheros (May 8, 2010)

Cool, Szappan had one of these that was HUGE and sold as a gigantea, and as big as a gigantea he had, if I remember correctly.  I've got two of these but they are only about 3 or 4 inches long.  They act a lot like subspinipes to me.


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## Draiman (May 8, 2010)

Galapoheros said:


> Cool, Szappan had one of these that was HUGE and sold as a gigantea, and as big as a gigantea he had, if I remember correctly.  I've got two of these but they are only about 3 or 4 inches long.  They act a lot like subspinipes to me.


Yeah I remember that one, I hope mine gets as large as that! This one acts nothing like any subspinipes I have or have had though, not nervous at all; very calm and deliberate with its actions actually.

Another shot:


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## peterbourbon (May 8, 2010)

Nice alternans. 

Nothing gets as big as gigantea.
Maybe S. galapagoensis in some cases, but they are more the "robust and fat" growers than expanding in length (at least very competitive compared to gigantea).

No illusion on S. alternans. 

Regards
Turgut


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## MaartenSFS (May 8, 2010)

peterbourbon said:


> The tigerlegs live on Hainan Island.
> Keep it in mild island climate.
> 
> Cheers
> Turgut


Are you sure that the "tiger legs" originate from Hainan island? If so, I will definitely look for some next time I'm back in China.


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## Draiman (May 8, 2010)

peterbourbon said:


> Nice alternans.
> 
> Nothing gets as big as gigantea.
> Maybe S. galapagoensis in some cases, but they are more the "robust and fat" growers than expanding in length (at least very competitive compared to gigantea).
> ...


Then this centipede is probably the exception rather than the norm (?):

Szappan's 24-25cm S. alternans


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## peterbourbon (May 8, 2010)

Yeah, but gigantea can reach 30cm BL.
Nevertheless alternans can grow quite big. Usually 22-23cm. 
Looks quite more impressive than it sounds.

Regards
Turgut


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## thebugfreak (May 9, 2010)

what exactly is a "mild island climate"? around 75-85 F? 

i just want to double check on how i should keep the pede because she isnt herself lately. she is a voracious eater. and i mean voracious. she would eat anything that moved. but  she hasent been eating much and is refusing food lately.


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## szappan (May 9, 2010)

Hey everyone!

First of all, nice sc. alternans Gavin!  And great pics as usual!
You're going to have lots of fun with it.  Not sure if you should try to handle that one though... 

Since a comparison was brought up, here's a pic of both my sc. alternans (left) and sc. galapagoensis (right) in the same terrarium together.  It was part of a failed 'safe sex' experiment I did last summer - details here.

As you can see, even though both are 25cm in length, the galapagoensis is noticeably thicker.


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## Draiman (May 9, 2010)

szappan said:


> Hey everyone!
> 
> First of all, nice sc. alternans Gavin!  And great pics as usual!
> You're going to have lots of fun with it.  Not sure if you should try to handle that one though...
> ...


I can't really see much of a difference in girth or thickness between the two (honestly), but they are both absolutely magnificent! I hope mine gets that large. 

P.S. - What's that substrate you're using in that terrarium? It doesn't look like it would support or facilitate any sort of burrowing behaviour.


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## szappan (May 9, 2010)

Draiman said:


> I can't really see much of a difference in girth or thickness between the two (honestly), but they are both absolutely magnificent! I hope mine gets that large.
> 
> P.S. - What's that substrate you're using in that terrarium? It doesn't look like it would support or facilitate any sort of burrowing behaviour.


Yeah now that you mention it from this photo the difference in girth isn't that noticeable – but trust me, there is  

No, that's not the usual substrate I use.  That's a more coarse cut version of the mulch that I usually use.  In the interest of the experiment had it in there for a while thinking that the male would find the "harder" surface more conducive for web spinning.  That's usually my base layer.  I've now put a layer of the finer cut mulch overtop of it and mixed it up a little.

But I'm not usually in the super deep substrate school of thought.  Yes, I know that in the wild they likely make deep burrows, but this way I can better clean their terrariums of uneaten bits of prey or see if anything is wrong with the 'pede itself.  What I do have though is a few hides that are big or deep enough to be completely dark so that the 'pede feels it's totally protected.  I also do my utmost not to disturb their hides.


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## SixShot666 (May 11, 2010)

Nice centipede you have there!!! :clap:


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## Drachenjager (May 12, 2010)

Draiman said:


> Not quite 7.5", but she's still my largest invert pet, and 7 inches tip to tip isn't all that small anyway. :}



Galapogoheros had an S heros castaniceps that could have eaten that thing ...just saying lol 
still nice pede lol


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## sharpfang (May 20, 2010)

*Interesting Caging*

Beautiful Pedes :}


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## Draiman (May 28, 2010)




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## micheldied (Jun 25, 2010)

Good looking!


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## Draiman (Jul 19, 2010)




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## TiogaWhiteTiger (Jul 19, 2010)

Great photo Draim! ;P A beautiful it looks!


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## Protectyaaaneck (Jul 19, 2010)

SIIIIIIICKKKK picture Gavin.


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## ragnew (Jul 24, 2010)

Very cool Gavin! Keep us posted! On a different note, I also had a female S. alternans "haiti" lay some eggs. She kept up with them for about two weeks or so, then decided to eat them. Then about a week later, she up and died on me. BAH! One the parts of the hobby that I just don't get at times.

Good luck with these guys man!


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## Draiman (Jul 25, 2010)

ragnew said:


> On a different note, I also had a female S. alternans "haiti" lay some eggs. She kept up with them for about two weeks or so, then decided to eat them. Then about a week later, she up and died on me. BAH! One the parts of the hobby that I just don't get at times.
> 
> Good luck with these guys man!


Oh man, I hope that doesn't happen with mine. She's nearing the 2-week mark already now, and so far so good. If nothing goes wrong I'm guessing the eggs will hatch around the middle of this coming week. Will definitely post pictures and updates!


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