Help!?

[Tarantula Lover]

Hi, I am not new to the boards, but to centipedes, what is a good beginner centipede? I have kept stone centipedes before, but now am really interested in a pede!

Thanks,

James

 

[invertepet]

I think everyone agrees that in the sense of keeping invertebrates, no centipede is good for a 'beginner'. You should have some experience already with tarantulas, scorpions and other invertebrates, preferrably fast, aggressive ones.


bill

 

[Tarantula Lover]

hey

i have 4 t's!!! want a centipede so which one? (look at my sig) more coming soon!!

 

[Henry Kane]

Hey James,
A commonly recommended beginner pede is Scolopendra polymorpha. I would agree that they are not a bad starter pede. Pretty inexpensive, easily available, they get decent size (6" give or take) and their venom isn't considered anywhere near as severe as S. subspinipes. Keep in mind though that if you have an allergy to the venom, it could be dangerous regardless.
Personally, I'd recommend a Feather Tail centipede. I have 4 myself and they are all 4 without a doubt the least spastic of all my pedes. They actually tend to be more shy than anything else. They also get about 5"-6" and best of all, when disturbed, they make a cool hissing noise with their terminal legs. I'm pretty sure you could find one of those for fairly cheap as well.

Atrax

 

[invertepet]

Re: hey

TL, I didn't mean you exactly, just commenting on 'beginner' centipede being kind of an oxymoron, or contradiction in terms, if you will.

In other words, the two words don't go together. I agree with Atrax, either polymorpha or Alipes sp. (feathertail).

bill

Originally posted by Tarantula Lover
i have 4 t's!!! want a centipede so which one? (look at my sig) more coming soon!!

 

[atavuss]

Re: Re: hey

Originally posted by invertepet
TL, I didn't mean you exactly, just commenting on 'beginner' centipede being kind of an oxymoron, or contradiction in terms, if you will.

In other words, the two words don't go together. I agree with Atrax, either polymorpha or Alipes sp. (feathertail).

bill

James, another thing to keep in mind is that many centipedes will spend the majority of their time in their burrows, I have a 5.5" polymorpha that I had not seen for about 4 weeks, I started dumping out the substrate to find a very agitated pede.
pedes are escape artists also! I have mine in a large kritter keeper and the kritter keeper is in a 66 quart sterilite bin. this way if the pede magages to escape the KK than it will be contained in the 66 quart bin.
pedes are more humidity sensitive also. I would recommend:
"The Giant Centipedes of the Genus Scolopendra" by Carl Sandefer of course this only covers the Scolopendra sp. but it is a pretty good book.
Ed