Everyones worst nightmare

Botar

Arachnoprince
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I find them fascinating as well. I think once I feel well established as a T keeper I will venture into the Scorps and Pedes. Just don't know much about them at this point and I like to be a bit more educated before taking the plunge.

Botar
 

skinheaddave

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Botar,

Good to have you back. I was starting to wonder where you'd disapeared to.

When you DO want to venture into scorps, give me a shout. I ... ummm .... like scorpions.

Cheers,
Dave
 

Botar

Arachnoprince
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I was out of town for a couple of days. I was happy to see Johns hadn't posted anything about my wild whipping willy while I was gone. It has taken me so much time to get caught up on reading all of the posts, I haven't responded to many.

I've kept a local species of Scorp that I caught in Southwest Missouri. That was years ago though and it wasn't very large. From what I understand from reading on the site here, although the pedes can be very aggressive, they cannot climb the sides of their enclosures. Is that correct for all of them? I would think that would make caring for and housing them much easier. I'll get with you on the particulars for housing later. Give me some time to get my "arachnid room" set up.

Botar

PS - I'll be gone for a bit in the first week of October as well. Going on an backpacking trip in the mountains of New Mexico. As long as I make it back out, I'll be back.
 

Henry Kane

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Spider Savior,
If you decide to catch one, some of the earth from the garden it came from would be a perfect substrate. It should do fine with small crix. Or better still, any tiny insects also from the garden should work. Basically, it's surroundings provide what it needs so in turn provide it with what it needs from it's surroundings. Let us know how it goes.:)

Botar, how are ya? Good trip? I hope so. Glad your back. When you're ready to consider keeping a centipede, let me know. I'll give you as much info as I can.

See y'all!
Atrax
 

Botar

Arachnoprince
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Atrax,

Awesome. Between you and SHD, I've got it made on my expansion plans. I'll be picking your brains in the future. Thanks.

Botar
 

Code Monkey

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There is definitely cross over appeal between large predaceous arthropods that live for years and so can be called "pets" :)

I started keeping Ts back in 1981. When I was in college I experimented with scorpions. Granted, it was Pandinus, but they never did anything for me. I thought it was incredible to see exactly what scorpion anatomy looked like close up and how they fed in all its slimy, mush detail, but after a while, eh, they just weren't my cup of tea.

Then when I got into this whole online T thing, I started seeing all the pede pics, hmm... I asked about, chatted with Scott, etc. Finally went and caught a stone centiped just to "get a feel" and then let it go in the plants after a few weeks. Well, I've got one (was 2 :( ) and am planning on getting some more. They're not Ts, but they're more interesting than scorpions in my book.
 

MrDeranged

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Originally posted by Botar
I was out of town for a couple of days. I was happy to see Johns hadn't posted anything about my wild whipping willy while I was gone. It has taken me so much time to get caught up on reading all of the posts, I haven't responded to many.

From what I understand from reading on the site here, although the pedes can be very aggressive, they cannot climb the sides of their enclosures. Is that correct for all of them? I would think that would make caring for and housing them much easier.

Botar

PS - I'll be gone for a bit in the first week of October as well. Going on an backpacking trip in the mountains of New Mexico. As long as I make it back out, I'll be back.
Glad to see you back Botar. Hope catching up wasn't too tedious for you :)

Pedes not being able to climb the sides of their enclosures is kind of misleading. They cannot climb glass. That is not to say that they, like a snake, cannot push themselves up the sides of a glass enclosure from the substrate or anything else in the tank. If you're keeping one in an aquarium, they may also at times climb up the silicon in the corners. My blacktailed is notorious for doing this. Don't want you to get a false sense of security or anything. In general, as long as the enclosure is higher than the pede is long, while adding in anything in the tank that it can push itself off of, substrate or decorations, you should be fine. A pede tank should always have a secure top as they are notorious escape artists.

While you're in NM, you may want to look for some wild pedes to catch. I believe you should be able to find S. heros and S. polymorpha in that area, but don't quote me on that. :)

Scott
 

Mister Internet

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A lot of herp stores are selling this new kind of glass cage that looks like a glass aquarium, but it has no silicone sealer in the corners. It's like the corners are straight butt joints and glued, but there is NO glue or silicone on the inside of the seam... the glass butted up perfectly smooth, and there was no WAY anything could crawl up those tank walls. I can't for the life of me remember the brand name though...
 

The_Phantom

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Maybe I will try owning a regular sized SMALL centipede ! Just to learn from it...It'll be a miracle if I dont STILL consider the thing hideous after I care for it. Speaking of care,....what other kinds of LOCAL bugs has y'all cared for ?? Ive been mother to various kinds of spiders and even slugs. Slugs are cool. Very. Ok! Bye....:8o
 

The_Phantom

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I got my pede. MAN its one ugly mug. But maybe itll teach me something about hims his kind,..........wait....where is it ?? Its loose !! EEEK ! There it is !!! SSSQQUUISHH !!
Ok, so its not lose, its burried itself in the subtrate. Is this normal ?? How is it breathing ??? MAn its ugleeeeee
 

skinheaddave

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Saviour,

Burrowing is natural for them. I don't know about all centipedes, but the one I keep likes things nice and humid and has started spending much more time on the surface since I raised the relative humidity. I would restrict ventelation to the tank and provide a wide water dish and misting. This is when some 'pede expert comes on and corrects me.

Cue 'pede expert ....... now.

Cheers,
Dave
 

Botar

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Originally posted by mrderanged
Glad to see you back Botar. Hope catching up wasn't too tedious for you :)

Pedes not being able to climb the sides of their enclosures is kind of misleading. They cannot climb glass. That is not to say that they, like a snake, cannot push themselves up the sides of a glass enclosure from the substrate or anything else in the tank. If you're keeping one in an aquarium, they may also at times climb up the silicon in the corners. My blacktailed is notorious for doing this. Don't want you to get a false sense of security or anything. In general, as long as the enclosure is higher than the pede is long, while adding in anything in the tank that it can push itself off of, substrate or decorations, you should be fine. A pede tank should always have a secure top as they are notorious escape artists.

While you're in NM, you may want to look for some wild pedes to catch. I believe you should be able to find S. heros and S. polymorpha in that area, but don't quote me on that. :)

Scott
Man, you miss a day or two and the posts pile up on you. Makes for some very interesting down time though.

With the escape factor, what type of enclosure do you keep them in? I like to use the Kritter Keepers for my T's, but if a pede could reach the top, I would imagine it would make it through the vents. Will they move substrate to gain height?

As for my New Mexico trip, I think it'll be a bit cold in the mountains for collecting. We're hoping for 60's during the day and expecting 40's at night. If you think I might be able to find something during the warmth of the day, I'll be happy to pack in some deli containers... not a lot of weight there.

Botar
 

MrDeranged

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Originally posted by skinheaddave
Saviour,

Cue 'pede expert ....... now.

Cheers,
Dave
Not that I'm an expert, but with what I'm assuming is a stone centipede, there's really no need for a water dish. They're really too small for one anyway. Just keep the substrate moist, not wet. As for your other advice, it sounds good to me. :)

Scott
 

MrDeranged

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Originally posted by Botar
As for my New Mexico trip, I think it'll be a bit cold in the mountains for collecting. We're hoping for 60's during the day and expecting 40's at night. If you think I might be able to find something during the warmth of the day, I'll be happy to pack in some deli containers... not a lot of weight there.

Botar
In that case, you might not find too much as they may have burrowed a bit lower to wait out the winter. I would still bring a few deli cups with you. You never know what might turn up under a few rocks or logs.... :)

Scott
 

Wade

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I don't know what everone else thinks, but the spider in the picture looks like A. seemani to me. If it is, it's definitely not a mature male, as males of that species become very dark, as with most Aphonopelma. Perhaps it died of other causes.

Wade
 

skinheaddave

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Wade,

You have to cut down on this whole "responding to the original post" thing. I hadn't a clue what you were talking about at first. ;)

Botar,

Yeah, I'd take the cups. They may end up sinking to the bottom of your pack through disuse, but you'll kick yourslef if you don't take them and you find a lovely little critter. As for the enclosure, I have mine in a tupperware with drilled holes too small for it to crawl through.

Scott,

Sounds reasonable. I like the big guys myself. ;)

Cheers,
Dave
 

The_Phantom

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I gotta feed the ugly mug now ! WHAT ?? Will an ant do ?? Ill go look...as for what kind of Pede it is, it looks just like the big one eating the poor little T. So if that helps ?? I had to look under a lot of rocks before I found him ! her ? it ? It needs a name. What should I name it ??
Its kinda funny last night, I was playing hide and go seek with him. I found him three times. One time just his little anntena were sticking up ! How cut-----UM I HAVE TO GO NOW :8o
 

Henry Kane

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Yup! Scott's right. Small crix. I'd avoid feeding it ants.
I'm proud of ya Savior!:D For going beyond your initial judgement for a better, clearer understanding.
Oh yeah, it's normal for it to spend some time buried. It won't hurt it if you give it a day or two just to kinda settle in.

Atrax
 

skinheaddave

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I'll third that motion. Ants are, generaly speaking, nasty critters. I'd stick with crickets or some of the more benign creatures you'll find in your garden. Glad to see you're learning to appreciate the "ugly mug" ... or at least not hate it quite as much.

Cheers,
Dave
 
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