What do you all love about centipedes?

Staehilomyces

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I daresay for all you centipede keepers, their amazing predatory behaviour is one significant reason. However, for me, there is more to it than that. They were the very inverts that inspired my love of arthropods, and strengthened my passion for nature overall. My respect for them materialized from the S. gigantea that featured on David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth, and my love for them came through the S. morsitans that brightened my days for over six years. They were also the stars of some memorable and humorous moments in my life, with the most recent being the incident with that...teacher.
Of course, there are other less personal reasons as well. I love the elegant way they move, in a manner so different from any other invert, in addition to their formidable appearance and behaviour that reflects it. Their often attractive colours and patterns add icing onto the cake. Finally, I can't help but find their faces to be exceptionally cute, almost rivalling those of the salticids.

So, what are your reasons? What aspects of centipede appearance/behaviour won you over, and do you have any memorable stories to share?
 

basin79

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Their appearance. What's not to love about a human get waxy looking Scolopendra prowling her enclosure. Stopping now and again to give her feelers a clean.

When in full hunting mode they're true beasts. There's absolutely no mistaking they're taking no prisoners.

Then you see their relaxed side. Meticulously grooming themselves. One leg and segment after another. I find it extremely relaxing watching my pedes groom.
 

LawnShrimp

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I love centipedes because they are a combination of everything, a mythical chimaera that has existed for 420 million years and still exists today.

Centipedes are often seen as vicious. Without a doubt they are. Centipedes are brutal predators that attack with a speed and ferocity few invertebrates or similarly sized vertebrates can. Their appetite is unmatched, always ready to feed on prey or cannibalize conspecifics. They have over 60 venom proteins that are each fine tuned to kill certain types of prey and target certain reigions of the prey's body. Few other creatures can cause pain on the magnitude of a Scolopedromorph bite. Likewise, few creatures can instill such fear in humans.

However, centipedes are graceful as they are forceful, shy as they are bold. They are delicate and agile, able to silently and quickly disappear under a hiding place when frightened. Centipedes are meticulous groomers and clean themselves constantly. Females are some of the best arthropod mothers, clinging to their eggs and cleaning them constantly until they hatch. As young, centipedes will even share prey.

Some species are communal with their own kind, but it has been shown by several extraordinary keepers that centipedes can be tamed by humans to the point of being stroked and hand-fed. What most see as a dangerous and ugly creature, we see as an exquisite, savage, pinnacle of evolution, near perfection with six and a half dozen legs.
 

Staehilomyces

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Absolutely agree with your post, LawnShrimp. They are such a perfect, almost paradoxical combination of beauty and the beast. It admittedly shocked me when I first found out that this apex predator of the invert food chain also represented one of the best parents in the arthropod world.

...it has been shown by several extraordinary keepers that centipedes can be tamed by humans to the point of being stroked and hand-fed.
Was I possibly in your mind when you posted that?:angelic:
I find the fact that these creatures can be tamed to that extent to be just another stark contrast to the aggressive creature we are all initially faced with. And I am certainly going to start up a centipede centered YouTube channel once I get my large-ish female Ethmostigmus rubripes tame to the same extent as my old Scolopendra morsitans was. In fact, it was his death that was what made me so determined to do so. When my morsitans was made docile, I started taking videos of him, mostly with my phone, though later ones were taken with a proper camera. However, something stopped me from speaking, sharing my opinion, and actively showing how misunderstood these creatures are. Soon after I made the decision to face my fear of publicity, he died. After that, I made sure I would pass on the torch to my E. rubripes, so that his legacy continues. However, she is being rather uncooperative, remaining burrowed night and day due to the cold weather. Hopefully, once it warms up again, I'll have the chance to handle her, tame her, and I will be able to use her as an ambassador to show the beauty behind the beast.
 

Venom1080

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Size and color. The fact that they're basically a snake combined with a spider helps alot too.
 

spotropaicsav

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Then you see their relaxed side. Meticulously grooming themselves. One leg and segment after another. I find it extremely relaxing watching my pedes groom.
I have never kept centipedes, but this sounds very lovely to watch. I like observing my Ts grooming, but it seems centipedes are more meticulous in this area
 

basin79

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I have never kept centipedes, but this sounds very lovely to watch. I like observing my Ts grooming, but it seems centipedes are more meticulous in this area
They're only more meticulous as they can be due to how they are. Flexible. Watching a T groom is absolutely phenomenonal. Seeing how delicate they are with their fangs whilst cleaning their feet.
 

spotropaicsav

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They're only more meticulous as they can be due to how they are. Flexible. Watching a T groom is absolutely phenomenonal. Seeing how delicate they are with their fangs whilst cleaning their feet.
Ah ok, eventually I will have to check out a centipede grooming video
 

Staehilomyces

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It's quite satisfying to watch them groom. I used to love it when my morsitans did it on my hands. I was also treated with the pleasure of watching my female E. rubripes meticulously grooming her eggs, before she devoured them upon being disturbed by the racket caused by the pede in the box right next to it (will now move all other enclosures away from a suspect gravid pede from now on).
 

Scoly

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Size and color. The fact that they're basically a snake combined with a spider helps alot too.
I had never thought of this, but yeah, imagine if centipedes didn't exist and you asked someone with photoshop to create a mix between a snake and a spider it would probably come out looking like a centipede!

Maybe I'll start calling them spider snakes instead of pedes now as the latter keeps raising eyebrows.
 

Venom1080

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I had never thought of this, but yeah, imagine if centipedes didn't exist and you asked someone with photoshop to create a mix between a snake and a spider it would probably come out looking like a centipede!

Maybe I'll start calling them spider snakes instead of pedes now as the latter keeps raising eyebrows.
Haha yep, a combination of two of my favorite animals.
 

Chris LXXIX

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The fact that their intelligence is extremely underestimated. I don't think that people (kinda animal scientist included) knows how much intelligence are. I'm not talking about users here, but "people" in general out there.

T's (and I love T's, don't get me wrong) are cavemans, if compared. Centipedes calculate everything.
 

DubiaW

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They terrify ignorant people that are afraid of spiders or snakes. I endearingly refer to mine as pet spider snakes.
 

Staehilomyces

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There is also something amusing about keeping such a feared and hated animal. I will admit to getting rather cocky about my haters in certain Facebook groups where I used to post pics and vids of my centipedes, typically being handled. I generally replied to most of my haters with nothing more than a long list of links to webpages on spelling and grammar for first graders.
 

Pepsi

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I would have NEVER thought I would grow to like these, let alone think they are cute (mainly millipedes), it was way past midnight and I was on the late night field trip and I stumbled upon Millipede videos and I instantly fell in love with them, I wanted them so much and a few months later, I own 5 millipedes, but I don't plan on stopping there. I'll be getting another Millipede and a few Hissing Cockroaches too. And as for Centipedes, I sadly can't own them... as they require live food which my mum doesen't like at all. I would also love alot of tarantulas and a Royal Python.... I really do love all animals ... (except the Lamprey, wtf is that thing???)
 

Salvador

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I love inverts in general, but for me centipedes are one of the most interesting I've come across. They're very sleek and impressive looking, with the addition of being fairly exciting to keep, such as when they decide to race up tongs. The challenge of them is good in some ways too, they're very under-represented in the hobby.
 

patrick nimbs

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I daresay for all you centipede keepers, their amazing predatory behaviour is one significant reason. However, for me, there is more to it than that. They were the very inverts that inspired my love of arthropods, and strengthened my passion for nature overall. My respect for them materialized from the S. gigantea that featured on David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth, and my love for them came through the S. morsitans that brightened my days for over six years. They were also the stars of some memorable and humorous moments in my life, with the most recent being the incident with that...teacher.
Of course, there are other less personal reasons as well. I love the elegant way they move, in a manner so different from any other invert, in addition to their formidable appearance and behaviour that reflects it. Their often attractive colours and patterns add icing onto the cake. Finally, I can't help but find their faces to be exceptionally cute, almost rivalling those of the salticids.

So, what are your reasons? What aspects of centipede appearance/behaviour won you over, and do you have any memorable stories to share?
I like centipedes because they look cool, the way they hunt and their attitude and coloration and above all, they are dangerous and venomous and I just find them fascinating and intriguing as well. I enjoy keeping venomous and dangerous animals to my bare bones! Centipedes, I just can’t resist the beautiful little creatures!!
 

Outpost31Survivor

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They are so prehistoric likewise spiders and scorpions too. They are mother nature's success stories. Their ancient ancestors could probably take us down if not pose a very serious hazard. :eek:
 
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