Subspinipes molting pics

MrDeranged

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Finally got around to fixing them. Enjoy...

Aw Crap, here we go:



I think I can:



I'm taking a breather:



Only 2/3rds to go:



Excuse me, can I have some privacy here:



Almost done:



Holy Crap, I'm tired:



If I eat myself is it considered cannibalism?:



I think a nice white water will go well with myself:



Scott
 

Henry Kane

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I'm Speechless! Those molting pics have got to be the best I've seen! Dang it! Now I must keep vigillance with the digicam and camp among the pedes until my chance to shoot 'em molting comes. :p

Atrax
 

invertepet

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Excellent molting pics, Scott! Wow. And to think, you could even hold it safely -- for a few minutes, anyway. ;)

bill
 

petitegreeneyes

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Wow! And look how it changes colors with each picture!


Hey Bill,
Are you saying that they could be held right after a molt and it wouldn't hurt them. I was told that they are quite fragile after a molt, and sometimes it takes them longer to recover than T's do.
 

MrDeranged

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Originally posted by invertepet
Excellent molting pics, Scott! Wow. And to think, you could even hold it safely -- for a few minutes, anyway. ;)

bill
To be honest with you, as supposedly "defenseless" as they're supposed to be while molting, I wouldn't try it. Even aside from the fact that they could get seriously damaged. The fangs on that monster were starting to blacken up even before it was all the way out of it's exuvia. They DON'T stay defenseless for long..... ;)

Scott
 

Theraphosa

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Hey Scott... does your pedes ever molt underground? cuz my heros pling been hiding under the soil... and haven't eaten any crickets for a week.. so.. is it possible for a pede to molt underground?
 

MrDeranged

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Originally posted by Theraposa
Hey Scott... does your pedes ever molt underground? cuz my heros pling been hiding under the soil... and haven't eaten any crickets for a week.. so.. is it possible for a pede to molt underground?
Most of them seem to molt underground. I was just lucky this time. Pedes will generally molt where they feel secure, and most of them feel most secure in their burrows if they have one.

Scott
 

Alex S.

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Awesome Photos

Those photos are just incredible. Definetely one of the best arthropod molting sequences I have ever seen. Great job, Scott.

Alex S.
 

atavuss

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great pics, Scott! are you keeping them on the dry side and with shallow substrate with good results?
Ed
 

MrDeranged

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Pretty much. I keep all of my larger pedes like that. Shallow substrate with a hide and I overflow the water dish 2 times a week when I do maintenance. Other than that, the substrate is dry. As you can see, they molt with no problems :) The subspinipes is out all the time anyway which is why it does not have a hide. My other larger pedes all have a piece of corkbark to hide under and they either hide under it or their water dish.

Scott
 

ArachnoJoost

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Beautiful pics!
I was wondering: When pedes molt they eat the exuvium afterwards, but the fangs are still weak (although Scott said they hardened quickly). Even if hardened a little, the fangs would still not be completely hard. How does it manage to eat his exuvium?
greetz,
Joost
 

MrDeranged

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From what I can see when the pedes eat, they really don't use their fangs to eat per se, but just to hold the food in place while they munch. I'm not sure what they use is called, but there are other appendages that they stuff their faces with. The only thing the "Fangs" are for is to envenomate prey and hold it in place.

Scott
 

Alonso99

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Yeah as Scott said the pedes have some sort of mouth and appendages that it eats with the fangs only hold prey and inject venom.
 

LaRiz

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Amazing pics Scott!
Hey, does anybody know centipede anatomy? I'd like to know what is what on a centipede. To me, it seems there are only a couple of different parts. The head, a sort-of thorax, and maybe abdomonal segments (2/3 of the centipede). This would coincide with most inverts.
Also, regarding the "fangs", I've always been taught that they are not true fangs, but highly modified legs. If you take a look at one eat, looking at the fangs, they suddenly look more like legs.
john
 

Wade

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Dr. Shelly calls the fangs "forcipules" in his book, A Synopsis of the North American Centipedes of the Order Scolopendramorpha. I'm pretty sure they're modified legs, but the book doesn't go into much detail about anatomy unless it's relevent to the taxonomy.

Annother tidbit: The last pait of legs (often called the "tail" in the hobby) are known as "caudal legs".

Wade
 

Alonso99

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yeah they are modified legs, when you look at the legs they also look a lot to the so called fangs.
 
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