Advice on sexing (popping)?

[DubiaW]

In the past I have kept reptiles including venomous, T's and scorpions. When I bought my first S. subspinipes I instantly fell in love with centipedes. It is becoming a passion. Right off the bat I decided that I wanted to breed centipedes as a hobby. I decided that I would start off with S. subspinipes because they are cheep, impressive and prevalent in most stores. Today I bought 3 more and I am ready to "pop" them to see what sex they are. My plan is to cool them down and either restrain them in a gloved hand or tube them (like a rattlesnake) and then check their sex (pop). If anyone has advice on this please share it. If you have a better way let me know.

I was at Ken the bug guys store today in Tucson and I asked the tech if he was willing to help me with this and he piped up with excitement. He had never seen it done, he asked "You know how to do that?" "I've got a pretty good grasp on what I am supposed to do," I told him, "Can you restrain it while I pop it?" He backed off at that point. This is the same response I have gotten from another pede enthusiast I know in Phoenix. Since he got bitten by a S. subspinipes he hasn't touched one since. Something tells me I am going to get bitten. Oh well. You only live once. There has to be a safe way to do this without being a centipede cowboy. I figured it out for rattlesnakes by tubing them: milking, sexing, measuring and medicating were all safely preformed with the snake in a Plexiglas tube. I'm ready to try this on pedes.

 

[Staehilomyces]

Some people knock them out either by drowning or by CO2. You can pop them while they are knocked out, and they usually begin to recover within minutes.

 

[RTTB]

Good luck. I would think a gloved restraining hand and ungloved 'popping' hand would work but I like your idea of tubing.

 

[kermitdsk]

Hi, I never hear about a method to cool them down... The centipede must be totaly relaxed for sexing if it has just a little body tension sexing doesn't work. I can't imagine that cooling down works and I think cooling down is not good for the centipede. I always use CO2 that works pretty well.
Later I can post some pics from my equipment.

 

[Creepy Crawling Guy]

so i did a little google search and this is the first link that pop out ?? is this advisable??

i also want to know the sex one of my specimen

i think the cooling down he is talking about is putting it in a cold environment forcing it to hibernate or move sluggishly work with other inverts but havent try with a centipede

 

[DubiaW]

This is why I have chosen S. subspinipes to work with. I can't afford to lose a more expensive pede if I do it wrong and kill it.

 

[DubiaW]

Hi, I never hear about a method to cool them down... The centipede must be totaly relaxed for sexing if it has just a little body tension sexing doesn't work. I can't imagine that cooling down works and I think cooling down is not good for the centipede. I always use CO2 that works pretty well.
Later I can post some pics from my equipment.

Do you like this method better than drowning them?

 

[DubiaW]

so i did a little google search and this is the first link that pop out ?? is this advisable??

i also want to know the sex one of my specimen

i think the cooling down he is talking about is putting it in a cold environment forcing it to hibernate or move sluggishly work with other inverts but havent try with a centipede

I found another video of a guy sexing an S. gigantea. He didn't mention the water that he took his pede out of. If he is comfortable using that method on that species then I am comfortable using it too. I am interested in the CO2 method too. Of course that is going to require a little more of an investment than an empty jar with a hole in it.

 

[kermitdsk]

Move sluggish doesn't work! The Centipede must loose the whole body tension! I really can't imagine cool down does work I think you'll kill the centipede. If the centipede moves just a little bit you can't pop out...

Drowning and CO2 method is the same mothod because you stop the centipede from breathing. But in my opinion CO2 is more pleasant for the centipede.
The method with CO2 is pretty easy! You'll need just to practice to handle a knocked out centipede without hurting it .

 

[Leila]

This old post is pretty informative. Check it out


http://arachnoboards.com/threads/sexing-scolopendra-dehaani.254073/

 

[Creepy Crawling Guy]

I found another video of a guy sexing an S. gigantea. He didn't mention the water that he took his pede out of. If he is comfortable using that method on that species then I am comfortable using it too. I am interested in the CO2 method too. Of course that is going to require a little more of an investment than an empty jar with a hole in it.

bout the CO2 method why not try putting the specimen in a jar with holes then put the jar in a container or a tub with tight lid then put vinegar and baking soda in the container then mix and seal the container ... but i dont know how much too put in when it comes to inverts i only use CO2 method for killing mice and rats this is the least messy way i can think of

 

[kermitdsk]

That is my equipment. A box, CO2 bottle from a Soda Stream, and a pen for poping out.

 

[DubiaW]

That looks like a really affordable set up. I forgot about the CO2 canisters used in home soda bottling. Great job!

 

[DubiaW]

bout the CO2 method why not try putting the specimen in a jar with holes then put the jar in a container or a tub with tight lid then put vinegar and baking soda in the container then mix and seal the container ... but i dont know how much too put in when it comes to inverts i only use CO2 method for killing mice and rats this is the least messy way i can think of

This is a great idea! That is a pretty easy calculation. I'd have to pull out my chemistry books and figure out the molarity needed to fill the volume of the container. I'm not sure that the calculation is necessary though. If the container is sealed it will rupture so you would need to have enough chemical to continue the reaction for the time needed in a vented container to sedate the pede. Also I wouldn't just place a jar inside the container because it wouldn't be certain when the oxygen was displaced enough to start the timer for sedation (unless the jar was very ventilated). Possibly a reaction jar with a tube that leads to a sedation jar would give the most accurate exposure time. I don't want to grab a hold of a half sedated pede or kill it either. This is a really cheep solution! I'm going to try it on some local S. polymorpha to get an idea how to perfect the method. Does anyone one know if there variation in the time needed to sedate a small pede versus a large one?

 

[DubiaW]

I'm going to try using dry ice as a CO2 source.