How to tell the gender and how to breed scolopendra heros arizonensis?

[mellow]

I have a full grown scolopendra heros arizonensis, and I really like this species a lot and want to keep keeping this species, I think I remember someone saying that you can't tell the gender with pictures and you have to knock them out with water or something, if that's how it is then is there someone or someplace in Arizona that can tell me what gender my centipede is? Or would I have better luck trying to learn how to do it myself somehow? And how should I breed scolopendra heros arizonensis? And what do I need to do so?

 

[Bill S]

I'm not comfortable with the idea of knocking them out to sex them, so I determine sex by putting them together is a large container and watching. I've never seen strong aggression with Scolopendra heros - if they do not show courtship behaviors they usually just run away from each other. Sometimes some minor grappling in which nobody gets hurt. Sometimes they'll initiate courtship, and from that you'll quickly know which is male and which is female. Often the courtship will not be carried out to full mating, especially if one of the pair is not yet ready, but at least you'll know what you have. This is not a very efficient system, but it does work, and if you live in Arizona you can probably find a few S. heros to experiment with.

To answer the second part of your question (how to breed them) - it's not complicated, but patience will play a big part. I have a cage I use specifically as a breeding cage. It's large (20 gallon? and has a divider in the middle. I put the male on one side, female on the other, and leave the divider in place for a little while to let the centipedes get comfortable with their new "home". Each side has a shallow layer of medium and a flat rock propped up at one end so that centipedes can easily pass under them (this is where the final phase of mating takes place). I also place a water container on each side. When they appear ready I pull the divider and sit back to watch. If they are going to breed the first phase will be for the male to start signalling the female by waving his terminals in her face. If she's compatible she'll start tapping his terminals with her antennae. This might go on for an hour or more, but if all goes well he will start leading her and she will follow. Final phase will be when he goes under the edge of the rock, builds his webbing, deposits a spermatophore, and leads her to it. If she takes it up, the mating is done. But you may still have a long wait to see if anything comes of it. I had one female that laid eggs a full year later, but more likely she'll produce much sooner than that. Make sure she is set up in a cage with deep substrate and if she digs in, leave her alone.

Even with verified pairs, breeding can be frustrating. I've got two adult males and two adult females, and have been trying to breed them the past couple weeks. First pair was put together, and the male was interested, but intimidated the female. No luck. Second pair - female was interested, but intimidated the male. No luck. Third pairing was the interested male and the interested female. Courtship went on for more than an hour, both seemed eager. The male led the female under the rock, deposited his spermatophore, and the female lost interest and wandered off. I'll give them a few days rest and try again.

 

[mellow]

Can you send pictures of the rocks you used? And will you be selling any of the babies when the time comes?

 

[Bill S]

If I get some babies out of this, I'll keep a few and trade or give away the others.

 

[Hercules Hernandez]

I’ve noticed some slight differences between male and female S. heros. While more sampling is required and I need to sex more to determine if the characters I’m seeing are in fact sex-based dimorphic features. As for your sexing, it’s best to pop the animal and examine the spinning organs. It is the most 100% sure way to do it.