Larger begginer species.

[basement pets]

I have a scolopendra viridis and I really like it! are there any larger species that are good for beginners?

 

[RTTB]

Scolopendra polymorpha

 

[NYAN]

Scolopendra polymorpha from Arizona, Texas and New Mexico are large and beginner species. They get to around 4-5 inches body length.

Scolopendra heros is another decent species, but they are more expensive. They can get 6-7 inches body length on average.

 

[Staehilomyces]

Ethmostigmus trigonopodus is apparently a reasonably large and beginner suitable species, albeit significantly harder to source than S. polymorpha.
Seeing as you're in the US, S. polymorpha or S. heros will probably be your best bets - you may even be able to catch some yourself.

 

[basement pets]

are Rhysida longipes a okay begginer species?

 

[NYAN]

are Rhysida longipes a okay begginer species?

It is small and hides a lot, but I suppose so.

 

[Staehilomyces]

Rhysida spp. are certainly safe for beginners but they aren't too interesting, and probably won't do much to prepare you for the more advanced species.

 

[RTTB]

Scolopendra longipes is one to consider as well.

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

are Rhysida longipes a okay begginer species?

That was my first centipede. They’re absolutely beautiful, but you won’t see them all that often. Mine is the definition of a pet hole. It only ever comes out at like 2:00 in the morning, haha. They only get around 4” too, so they’re on the small side. I recommend S. polymorpha or S. longipes if your interested in something a bit larger, though polys are easier to find for sale than S. longipes. If you want to go up a notch from those, S. heros is active and large (8” max), but their venom is much more potent. I’ll be getting 2 S. heros specimens in January as my next step up, but that’s just me.

- Here’s some pics of my R. longipes...

 

[basement pets]

Thank you everyone!

 

[dragonfire1577]

I would have to say besides cost the south american giants like gigantea and galapagoensis would be perfectly suitable beginner pedes. They don't need extreme moisture but it isn't as much of a balancing act as it is with heros to keep them happy since they don't seem overly mycosis prone and they are pretty calm. Having milder venom than heros is also a plus.

 

[Scoly]

I would have to say besides cost the south american giants like gigantea and galapagoensis would be perfectly suitable beginner pedes. They don't need extreme moisture but it isn't as much of a balancing act as it is with heros to keep them happy since they don't seem overly mycosis prone and they are pretty calm. Having milder venom than heros is also a plus.

That's not quite true for two reasons:

1) While galapagoensis (the brown form we're used to from Peru) seem to take humidity fine, other SA giants from Peru ( almost all SA exports are from Peru these days) such as the white leg we call "gigantea" as well as the species we call "viridcornis" (and probably "robusta" which seems to be much the same) are all quite prone to mycosis. I keep seeing people post photos of these species on Facebook in overly humid setups wondering why they are getting mycosis. In fact one of the worst cases of mycosis that I've seen was in a white leg "gigantea". The kept it completely dry, and it did a full recovery in 2 moults, really remarkable stuff. I also lost my own viridicornis to mycosis because I didn't think it was wise to keep it dry, but now wish I had.

2) While galapagoensis (again, the brown form we're used to from Peru) feature frequently in handling videos and is touted as "docile", that is not my experience, or that of other people I know who keep them. We think it may be an age/size thing, where they really mellow with age. Mine is around 22cm and as high strung as dehaani! By comparison I have a Hispaniola red giant -- which we now know is alternans -- of roughly the same size (a tad longer but less chunky) which is mellow as anything and I'll hopefully be handling soon.

But in general I agree with you that cost aside, Peruvian giants (white leg/ "viridicornis" / "robusta") make good starter pedes on account of their docile disposition, so long as you dry them up at the first sign of mycosis. And galapagoensis is also a good starter on account of its hardiness, although it is a full-on burrower and will come lunging out at great speed (and occasionally over the edge) not unlike dehaani.

 

[dragonfire1577]

@Scoly Yeah you can't keep them soggy but mine haven't shown any mycosis with varying moisture levels provided there is a gradient while my heros have gotten mycosis in a practically dry setup. My juvenile white leg is also actually pretty chill, so It may come down to the individual pede.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Scolopendra gigantea.

 

[Bob Lee]

Scolopendra dehaani - Cheap, big, beautiful, will rip your skull off for decoration in its enclosure.

 

[BobBarley]

Scolopendra polymorpha would most likely be your best bet. They have mild venom, and can be pretty large.

Key word: “can”

Not all polymorpha locales are large. If you’re solely looking for large pedes, avoid all California locales of polymorpha (they are generally small with 4” BL being the largest I’ve seen). Most Arizona locales are large (can reach 4-5” BL or more) except for desert locales such as Phoenix polies. Some of the largest polymorpha locales are New Mexico locales and west Texas locales (said to reach above 7” but I’ve never seen any hard evidence of any above 6” BL)


Feel free to dispute me on any of this, especially the size of polies. I’d love to see concrete evidence of 6”+ polies.

 

[Staehilomyces]

Scolopendra dehaani - Cheap, big, beautiful, will rip your skull off for decoration in its enclosure.

S. dehaani are doable beginner pedes, but their temperament, venom potency and requirements for high levels of moisture may make them a bit too much of a handful for some.

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

Well, my 2 S. heros specimens arrived about a week ago, and since we’re talking about pedes that are large and semi-suitable for beginners, I figured I’d post some pics here...

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

S. dehaani are doable beginner pedes, but their temperament, venom potency and requirements for high levels of moisture may make them a bit too much of a handful for some.

The only way I could view a S. dehaani as a good beginner pede is the price. Outside of polys, many other pedes listed here are either hard to come across (S. longipes, E. trigonopodus), or very expensive (S. heros, S. gigantea “White Legs”, S. galapagoensis). If a keeper happens to accidentally kill his/her pede due to incorrect husbandry, it would be a lot worse if that pede was $150 as opposed to $30.

 

[Scoly]

The only way I could view a S. dehaani as a good beginner pede is the price. Outside of polys, many other pedes listed here are either hard to come across (S. longipes, E. trigonopodus), or very expensive (S. heros, S. gigantea “White Legs”, S. galapagoensis). If a keeper happens to accidentally kill his/her pede due to incorrect husbandry, it would be a lot worse if that pede was $150 as opposed to $30.

Another two reasons that S.dehaani are good beginner pedes:

1. They are pretty sturdy, as long as you start with a healthy enough specimen. They will survive high humidity as well as total dry outs.
2. They grow very fast.

I still feel the 3 main cons outweigh those:

1. Their super volatile temperament
2. Their ridiculously painful bite (not had one, but love reading the reports!)
3. Their burrowing nature

Talking of humidity and stuff, I don't see the need to keep them all that humid seeing as they burrow, and have in fact had mycosis problems, though that was more due to poor ventilation (but maybe temperature plays a role in that too). I kept a WC adult in a kritter keeper for 2 and a bit years (which is considered good going by some) and that dried out pretty often.

They do sometimes die inexplicably, as happens with almost every species, but seem to survive better than most.