Scolopendra heros castaniceps

GQ.

Arachnodemon
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Aug 12, 2002
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This is my first serious foray into the centipede world. I have been wanting an S. heros castaniceps since Arachnocon 2006. I was skunked in 2006 for S. heros and this year was no exception. I finally broke down and bought the below specimen from crotaline at Jansen Exotics. I showed my purchase to Philth a short time later and he made a beeline for their table to pick one up for himself. They are that cool!

I have been trying to take a good photograph of the new acquistion with zero success. She has a deep burrow down to the bottom of her enclosure. She makes brief above ground appearances, but makes a mad dash back to her burrow at the slightest disturbance. Below is a photo shortly after she was unpacked. This is the ONLY photo I have of her. (Maybe a her, maybe a him)



I am now smitten with S. h. castaniceps and all S. heros varieties. I hope to have good breeding groups established in the next few years. Stand by for more photos as I add to my new obsession. :)
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
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:clap: yes awesome! my female is pushing 8" she's in molt now. they are excellent pedes.
 

Philth

N.Y.H.C.
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I showed my purchase to Philth a short time later and he made a beeline for their table to pick one up for himself. They are that cool!
No kidding, I fell in love with that thing. Thanks for turning me on to it Gil. I have yet to get a good pic of it as well.

Later, Tom
 

GQ.

Arachnodemon
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Thanks everyone. Here are a couple more shots. She was hanging out on top for a bit yesterday.


The most I typically see is her rear. She backs up out of a second burrow entrance when I drop a prey item in the other entrance.
 

Stylopidae

Arachnoking
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For sexing, I'm starting to think it has something to do with the proportions of the 'pede and activity.

I have 3 mature SHCs...two that are roughly 6 inches long and one that's pushing 8.

Of the two smaller ones, I have one that's thinner and constantly eating and constantly looking for food. The thicker one is just content to sit there.

Of course, this will only go so far because my S. heros cf arizonensias that I *think* is a male hardly ever moves.

Then again, that thing is pretty well fed.

There's a definite difference in proportions between my massive 8" SHC and my 7.5" SHcfA, though. So I think my giant SHC is female while my SHcfA is male.

Gil...have you tried photographing while feeding?

I keep my pedes in smaller containers and have found that they're quite content to sit on the surface when they're in a smaller habitat. The enclosure becomes their burrow.
 

GQ.

Arachnodemon
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Joined
Aug 12, 2002
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767
Gil...have you tried photographing while feeding?
I haven't been able to take a photo of her while feeding. She usually stays in her burrow to eat. I dropped a prey item in her enclosure while she was out and she bolted into the burrow. She quickly came back out, grabbed the food, then pulled it back into the burrow. I keep my camera handy during feeding. I'll post a photograph if I ever take a decent feeding shot.
 
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