Questions about my Scolopendra polymorpha pedelings

[Ripa]

Hey all! I'm new to these forums, but I've been following them for the past two years and decided to join recently. Unfortunately, I start off with some annoying inquiries, but I really hope to get responses for at least some of them, so here I go!

So I got two blue 2-2.5 inch Scolopendra polymorpha pedelings last Thursday. One ate 4-5 small-to-pinhead Turkestan roaches (I say it like this because some were a bit larger and may have been 2 or 3 instars into development) and the other hasn't eaten a single thing since I got it. I keep these two in separate small deli cups with lots of humidity- sphagnum moss atop some sterilized potting soil and dead leaves. I tried crushing/ killing some of the roaches to get the other one to eat but it just won't. It seems like it's burrowed itself down in the deepest part of the deli cup, but it's been doing that for the past 3 or 4 days, and I would think that's a bit long if it were attempting to molt. The first day it did this, I excavated the area to see what it was doing and it burst out of nowhere and tried to make a run for freedom, so it's obviously not lethargic. Ever since I just let it stay hidden and it hasn't showed itself much since. What might be the problem here?

Also, a few more questions:
- How often do these guys molt?
- How often should pedes of this size for this particular species eat, because it seems like the one who ate the 4-5 small-to-pinheads isn't too interested in food ATM, but considering its size, I'd expect it to eat a bit more than once a week.
- How long does this particular species take to get to maturity? (I ask this because I always get nervous with arthropods in these phases, since they could pretty much drop dead at any moment)

Thanks in advance!

UPDATE: Alright, so the one that didn't eat at all yet just molted, I believe, because now its surfaced again and looks a little plumper and slightly bigger, but still won't take to the pinhead roaches. Saw it casually cleaning its antennae before hiding in the sphagnum moss again, so I guess it's still active.

BTW, the temperature in the room is 70 degrees, but their enclosure temperatures are 12 degrees warmer since I'm using a 5-watt heat pad to keep it warm and humid.

 

[Ripa]

Alright, so I gave them deli-cut turkey to see if they eat it. Does anyone else have any recommendations of success with these types of pedelings?

 

[zonbonzovi]

S. polymorpha is highly variable from location to location, especially those West of Arizona.

Determining maturity is a head scratcher. They can get large and maintain very similar colors across multiple states (AZ, NM, TX). Or, especially in Southern California populations, can stay small to medium at maturity and show a number of variations in size/color.

I've had several for a few years that will barely eat for months but then go on abbreviated feeding rampages. Molting? Who friggin' knows?! I've had some that molt like clockwork during a particular season, every year, and some that are completely aberrant.

If they are building chambers and using hides, as well as eating enough to see "meat" between sternites and tergites they are fine.

They seem to do well in a variety of conditions, too. I've kept them dry as I would for heros with just access to water AND moist like I would for alternans or small, moisture loving NW species. Warm, cold, wet, dry, zero gravity. They adapt well to any condition in between. Enigmatic creatures, the are.

 

[Ripa]

S. polymorpha is highly variable from location to location, especially those West of Arizona.

Determining maturity is a head scratcher. They can get large and maintain very similar colors across multiple states (AZ, NM, TX). Or, especially in Southern California populations, can stay small to medium at maturity and show a number of variations in size/color.

I've had several for a few years that will barely eat for months but then go on abbreviated feeding rampages. Molting? Who friggin' knows?! I've had some that molt like clockwork during a particular season, every year, and some that are completely aberrant.

If they are building chambers and using hides, as well as eating enough to see "meat" between sternites and tergites they are fine.

They seem to do well in a variety of conditions, too. I've kept them dry as I would for heros with just access to water AND moist like I would for alternans or small, moisture loving NW species. Warm, cold, wet, dry, zero gravity. They adapt well to any condition in between. Enigmatic creatures, the are.

Thanks a bunch- this was very informative! I couldn't locate much info on these guys across the web, but I figured they'd be a nice starter pede to play around with before I go searching for an alternans at the expo within the next month (I've actually wanted one for the past 6 years, so I think I'm over-prepared at this point as far as my research goes). I would say these little guys do have a perceivable amount of flesh between the sternites (not too much, but still a reasonable amount), but I can't say they're too old, either. Being blue morphs, they are still very much an almost electric blue (apparently as they age, the blue supposedly drowns out?), and the dealer I got them from mentioned that they are from the same stock as the "normal" orange morphs which would grow up to around 5 inches. I currently keep these guys in a more humid environment, just due to the concern of such small pedes drying out so quickly.
I've heard some crazy stories of pedes surviving off things like catfood and the like, hence why I tried deli-cut turkey.

 

[zonbonzovi]

The blue-barred variety have grown to about 4-5" body length in my care. I have a couple that are almost bar-less and they haven't grown beyond 3". All my polymorpha have scavenged dead prey, from roaches to pinkies. Never tried cat food but they will eat oddball stuff like melon, banana, cooked sausage and chicken, but not as regularly. Never tried deli turkey. You'll have to report back on that I drop roach nymphs in every 1-2 weeks and just keep an eye on the pleurites(the "meat"). The largest will take adult dubia males if hungry but I stick with nymphs not much larger than a few segments until they hit the 3" mark.

alternans are cool but the female I have is rarely out.

Here are some examples for reference:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?173849-zonbonzovi-s-myriapod-photos/page4

 

[Ripa]

The blue-barred variety have grown to about 4-5" body length in my care. I have a couple that are almost bar-less and they haven't grown beyond 3". All my polymorpha have scavenged dead prey, from roaches to pinkies. Never tried cat food but they will eat oddball stuff like melon, banana, cooked sausage and chicken, but not as regularly. Never tried deli turkey. You'll have to report back on that I drop roach nymphs in every 1-2 weeks and just keep an eye on the pleurites(the "meat"). The largest will take adult dubia males if hungry but I stick with nymphs not much larger than a few segments until they hit the 3" mark.

alternans are cool but the female I have is rarely out.

Here are some examples for reference:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?173849-zonbonzovi-s-myriapod-photos/page4

I envy your collection lol. Originally I was looking at the centipedes, but your polydesmids and other flat millipedes caught my eye. I wish I had luck finding those things around here. I actually have a mounted S. alternans I've been keeping for years, so that became my "goal pede" in a sense, after seeing them at an expo a long while back. Honestly though, some other Scolopendra pedes catch my eye, as well, namely the red headed heros subspecies (castaneiceps?) and subspinipes dehaani (although I heard its venom is pretty powerful compared to others?). Do you happen to have any experience keeping Ethmostigmus? Because they seem to have some nice showy colors and are reasonably priced.

 

[zonbonzovi]

Thanks. A lot of them are long gone. I bought a lot of WC single species when I started out and had poor luck with getting eggs out the groups I bought later. S. heros "castaneiceps" has a widespread but I almost never see them being sold or collected. S. dehaani is nothing to play with but a secure enclosure and good sense negates venom I have kept a number of Ethmostigmus...they are relatively calm & photogenic. The recent imports have been younger than in the past so at least you'll get to watch them grow.

 

[Ripa]

Thanks. A lot of them are long gone. I bought a lot of WC single species when I started out and had poor luck with getting eggs out the groups I bought later. S. heros "castaneiceps" has a widespread but I almost never see them being sold or collected. S. dehaani is nothing to play with but a secure enclosure and good sense negates venom I have kept a number of Ethmostigmus...they are relatively calm & photogenic. The recent imports have been younger than in the past so at least you'll get to watch them grow.

Yea, with everything considered, and my mom already being on edge about me having centipedes in her presence to begin with (as well as keeping arthropod pets in a dorm that doensn't even allow pets to begin with), I might just goes with alternans and Ethmostigmus for now haha. I know heros isn't too bad, but from what I've seen, they are fairly pricey. Unless there's places that have heros for cheaper?

 

[zonbonzovi]

Ha, save your money and take a vacation to collect your own

 

[Ripa]

Well an update with the deli turkey- apparently it's so processed that even the feeder roaches dare not touch it. Maybe it depends on the brand too? I got this stuff from my dining hall, so who knows if it's a good brand. But good brand or not, we all know that it's highly process haha. I left it there long enough for the "meat" itself to become a slime before removing it. If the red runners won't eat it, maybe I'll reconsider what I have on my sandwich next time lol