Alipes babies

[Wade]

I posted awhile back about my Alipes sp. ("feather tail")that was had eggs...well, they hatched. For awhile, the babies clung to her underside, but sometime over cristmas they dispursed. I seperated out 14, but there could be a few more I was unable to find. Mom may have eaten some, but she's pretty small...only about 3" including the caudal legs (the "tail"), so that may be a normal litter. The babies are about 3/4".

Anybody raise these from babies? What's the survivor rate like? Finnally, I've seen the size listed on some price lists as getting up to 6". Anyone have one that big???

Thanks,

Wade

 

[Henry Kane]

I have one that's pretty close to that. I can try to get a pic up here a little later today.

Good luck with the babies! Man, they must be tiny.


Atrax

 

[MrDeranged]

Originally posted by Wade

Anybody raise these from babies? What's the survivor rate like? Finnally, I've seen the size listed on some price lists as getting up to 6". Anyone have one that big???

Thanks,

Wade

Hey Wade,

When Glades first had some captive hatched, I bought one. I got it through one molt that I know of (there are pics in the pedes gallery) but it succumbed to unknown causes about a month after that. I've had a bit more experience with plings since then and I give you the following advice:

• Don't keep it wet. Try to do 50/50 with wet side and dry side so it can pick its own environment.
  
• Don't overfeed. I think they can eat themselves to death as many of my pling deaths have occured shortly after feeding. I'm currently feeding my pling 1 to 3 1/4 " crickets a week and they're doing fine.
  
• Make sure it has enough ventilation. I think that ventilation is alot more important than we may think with pedes. As with slings, high humidity and low ventilation = bad conditions (although they're great for mold)

Since I've been keeping my plings (S H C's) this way, I've only had one death and multiple molts and alot of growth in them.

Hope that helps some.

Scott

 

[MrDeranged]

Just want to add, I've seen specimens of about 5 or 6 inches before so yours may be a young adult accounting for the small brood size.

Scott

 

[Wade]

I am already thinking that these guys are more moisture sensitive than Scolopendra. I'm right with you, Scott, on the suggestion that too much moisture for Scolopendra causes problems, but I suspect that these guys may actually need very moist conditions, at least as babies.

I put the babies on a mix of vemiculite, peat, and coconut coir. It was slightly moist, but no where near wet. I used two different types of small dei containers I had around. One type (ten cups) already had a number of holes punched in the lid, but I had to punch holes in the other (four cups). Two days later, all but two of the pedes in the pre-punched cups were dead! The looked dessicated, even though the substrate was not dry. All those in the second type of cup (that had fewer and smaller holes), still seemed to be doing well. Probably not enough evidence to make a definite conclusion, but it suggests that these may be quite moisture sensitive.

I suppose I've learned something from this, but 8 dead pedes is a sad price to have to pay!

Wade

 

[fatbloke]

having had a clutch of 38 babies at the start of november i have only lost 2 so far i am keeping mine in small deli pots. the lids have no holes punched in them and about half are keep on a mixture of peat/vermiculite and the others are kept just on peat and they are all kept with about 90% humidity in the pots as for feeding goes they are fed about every 6 days with about 2 crickets about 1/8" long

 

[Wade]

Fatbloke-

You're doing alot better than me! The no holes approach may be the way to go, I'm losing them left and right. At this rate, there will be few, if any survivors. I should have just took the mom out and left the babies in situ, they were certainly doing better! I can't believe humidity alone is the issue, as it's quite moist in there, but something bad is going on.

Wade

 

[fatbloke]

WADE

not sure if its humidity alone keeping them alive like you said,it may well depend on the temparture as well at present the temperature that mine are kept at is around 78f. but could it have some thing to do with the substrate as well because i have lost several plings when i have used that bed-a-beast (coconut husk) whether its something to do with that stuff or not but it seems like every time i use it for plings they dies the last for plings i lost where all vietnam red heads about 3"long

mother the plings (alipes sp) came from was just was just over 5"

fatbloke

 

[Wade]

Fatbloke-

The coir might have something to do with it, you're right...but I'm pretty sure that some of it was mixed in with the mothers as well, and they seemed to be doing fine in there...I'm not sure though, thats the problem with mixing your own substrates. Sometimes, I can't remember which recipe I used when! I should start writing that on their info cards. Next time I have baby pedes, I may just go with straight vermiculite, as Carl Sandefer recomends.

Wade

 

[Mister Internet]

Wade,

I've been thinking about going the straight verm route as well... easy to maintain humidity without causing the droplets that seem to kill them... it's VERY easy to lose plings to excess humidity...

 

[Wade]

Originally posted by Mister Internet
Wade,

I've been thinking about going the straight verm route as well... easy to maintain humidity without causing the droplets that seem to kill them... it's VERY easy to lose plings to excess humidity...

Yeah. Getting the balance between too wet and too dry is the tricky part. With adults, you can just give them a gradient, but babies are different.

I've also considered going the opposite route...100% natural leaf litter. I use this with millipedes and beetle larvae (who eat it), but why not with centipedes? There's always the risk of parasite introduction, but I'm running out of ideas. I think next time I end up with a bunch of plings I might have to do some experimenting.

Wade