Scolopendra hardwickei

bliss

Arachnoprince
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I'm quite sure there was a heavy dose of sarcasm in Pennywise's post. {D
no doubt, I just thought it would go better with a little bit of bold. lol

I have looked at this species, determined it is FRIGGIN' awesome, seen how rare it is and what kind of prices people want for it... and just turn the other way and walk. lol
 

Draiman

Arachnoking
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I have looked at this species, determined it is FRIGGIN' awesome, seen how rare it is and what kind of prices people want for it... and just turn the other way and walk. lol
I would wager that you wouldn't do that if you were not in the US of A. Frankly speaking, prices in the American market, across the board, are easily double that of those in Europe; and in some cases, triple or quadruple.
 

Greg Pelka

Arachnobaron
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For 1500$ you can go to India and try to smuggle few specimens in your underpants ;)
 

Draiman

Arachnoking
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For 1500$ you can go to India and try to smuggle few specimens in your underpants ;)
No need to even try - law enforcement there is so corrupt that you can get away with giving the police/customs officers a little bit of your spare change.
 

Draiman

Arachnoking
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This has to be the funniest thing I have ever seen here on Arachnoboards:

i just got a baby hardwicki from luke,excellent person to deal with,this little bugger is awesome,and looking/doing great,if your a serious pede collector like me you know ya gotta have this sp.! thanks again:D
Oh dear. That's $1500....
 

Envyizm

Arachnoknight
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Someone actually bought one for 1500 bucks? wow... Draiman, I take it since your getting a few more specimens that you'll be attempting to breed them? Those hardwickei are some lookers. Kinda makes me want to get into pedes.
 

Draiman

Arachnoking
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Draiman, I take it since your getting a few more specimens that you'll be attempting to breed them? Those hardwickei are some lookers. Kinda makes me want to get into pedes.
Too bad I'm not in the US. :eek:
 

peterbourbon

Arachnolord
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The more I think of it all, the more I come to the one and only conclusion.
You just have to think more about this deal, then you'll know. :)

Cheers
Turgut
 

Pennywise

Arachnolord
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Until the price comes down a lot, I can enjoy looking at this Pede in
the photos on this thread.{D
 

peterbourbon

Arachnolord
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True words - and since there are soooooooooo many hardwickei around in the hobby (in my opinion too many) I am quite sure there will be a few people selling pedelings in future for a reasonable price.

Cheers
Turgut
 

Pennywise

Arachnolord
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It didn't take that long for the "Gooty Sapphire" or the "Singapore Blue"
to drop in price. The GS is still pricey but if its a must have and the
cost isn't out of range collectors will buy it. I don't do Pokies so it
didn't tempt me. Patience ahhh!:cool:
 

Draiman

Arachnoking
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It didn't take that long for the "Gooty Sapphire" or the "Singapore Blue"
to drop in price. The GS is still pricey but if its a must have and the
cost isn't out of range collectors will buy it. I don't do Pokies so it
didn't tempt me. Patience ahhh!:cool:
I think the difference between those two and S. hardwickei is that American dealers first have to get past the hurdle of actually getting the species into the country. There seem to be one or two around (in the hands of those money-obsessed dealers of course), but certainly not enough for breeding. I'm quite sure L. violaceopes (not too sure about the P. metallica situation) was much, much easier to bring into the US, mainly because of regular importation of WC adults from Malaysia. That isn't happening with hardwickei, mainly because India is closed to export (which leads me to wonder about how P. metallica ever got into the hobby; and one single conclusion - smuggling).

EDIT: Come to think of it, I'm a bit puzzled. If P. metallica could be brought in, why not S. hardwickei? Both are from India and are subject to the same export ban, and both are actually found in the same areas - the forested Eastern and Western Ghats of tropical south India - so collectors could theoretically collect both at the same time. How did P. metallica first enter the US hobby?
 
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ragnew

Arachnobaron
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Feb 20, 2007
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Until the price comes down a lot, I can enjoy looking at this Pede in
the photos on this thread.{D
I'd have to agree with this statement 100%! As much as I'd love to have an S. hardwickei in the collection, I could never justify spending that type of money on anything (well, invert wise anyways). The pics will be more then enough for the time being.
 

Quixtar

Arachnobaron
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Sep 22, 2007
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I think the difference between those two and S. hardwickei is that American dealers first have to get past the hurdle of actually getting the species into the country. There seem to be one or two around (in the hands of those money-obsessed dealers of course), but certainly not enough for breeding. I'm quite sure L. violaceopes (not too sure about the P. metallica situation) was much, much easier to bring into the US, mainly because of regular importation of WC adults from Malaysia. That isn't happening with hardwickei, mainly because India is closed to export (which leads me to wonder about how P. metallica ever got into the hobby; and one single conclusion - smuggling).

EDIT: Come to think of it, I'm a bit puzzled. If P. metallica could be brought in, why not S. hardwickei? Both are from India and are subject to the same export ban, and both are actually found in the same areas - the forested Eastern and Western Ghats of tropical south India - so collectors could theoretically collect both at the same time. How did P. metallica first enter the US hobby?
I can think of a couple reasons:

- There are many more tarantula enthusiasts than centipede enthusiasts and thus much less demand for centipedes

- The idea of bringing in a new bright blue Pokie when there was already high demand for Pokies in general was a much more intriguing idea than a black and orange centipede with a limited fanbase

- They thrive in different localities; the S. hardwickei area may not have been visited

- S. hardwickei wasn't as commonly known to hobbyists as P. metallica was at the time

- Hobbyists haven't quite nailed down how to sex and properly breed centipedes; of course there are some success stories but ultimately it's a trial and error thing with breeding centipedes at the moment, much more so than with tarantulas, or with scorpions too for that matter

Therefore, less S. hardwickei come into the states than do P. metallica, and those that do, don't propagate and end up expiring.
 

peterbourbon

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If P. metallica could be brought in, why not S. hardwickei?
I can tell you how and why.
Same with Venezuela and Costa Rica: Some people are periodically smuggling animals from those countries, but never ever something like a S. gigantea though it's very common in Venezuela. Theraphosid market is tempting - and people from the invert scene who stick to smuggling usually only focus on Theraphosidae and don't have much interest in other invertebrates - logistically it means "I don't have space in my luggae for a stupid centipede". Cause space is $cash money$.

The funniest thing is M. mesomelas: Do you really think so many people manage to breed this difficult theraphosid sucessfully? Must be, cause every year there is a time when suddenly someone sells captive bred spiderlings. But the truth is different: Every year people go to Costa Rica and bring some eggsacs in their luggage. Just mind the profit: One small eggsac, easily to bring over the border with plenty spiderlings, each one sold for approx. 25-30 euros in 2nd-3rd instar on European market.

Same happened to P. metallica, at least on the European side.
I am not quite sure if the first worldwide smuggled metallica came from Europe again.
I guess a lot of those smuggled specimen have been traded to U.S. and that's why they appear on the american market. Not all, of course.

Finally I think that the whole ethical discussion about smuggling is worthless - unless no hobbyist can resist in buying those species.
There are two sides of the story, but one thing you should never forget: You would enjoy invert-hobby only 50% if no one would have ever smuggled something. Main problem is the greed, constantly smuggling and not breeding in captivity.

Cheers
Turgut
 

peterbourbon

Arachnolord
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but ultimately it's a trial and error thing with breeding centipedes at the moment
No, it is not. Not more than in tarantulas.
Same thing - if you have a couple and nothing happens for whatever reason, then you have the same situation in the end.

It's simply the masses keeping tarantulas, compared to the "limited fanbase" of pedes, as you state correctly.

Cheers
Turgut
 
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