What does "socializing" a centipede mean?

[Bob Lee]

Put a phone in the pede's hide, and call it. Volia, you just socialized with a pede.

 

[SonsofArachne]

Put a phone in the pede's hide, and call it. Volia, you just socialized with a pede.

That's silly, everyone knows pedes don't speak, and texting is very difficult for them (no thumbs).

 

[Staehilomyces]

Hit the nail on the head. As far as I can tell the term 'socializing' came from The Pure Life channel, which everyone (even myself) then used in the context of taming centipedes, but it is the incorrect word.

"Taming" is the correct word, regardless of how frowned it is in the hobby. It doesn't necessarily imply intelligence, there are beauty products which claim they will "tame" wild hair. Not that I agree with the view that these animals lack intelligence, or that wild hair needs tamed.

The only time that the term "socializing" would be applicable to centipedes is when introducing one into in a communal set up. In fact, closely watching centipedes in a communal set up will tell you a lot about their intelligence. They will attack prey, but not one another, they will also share prey, chewing down at the same time. They will also congregate together, and seem to have preferences for which other centipede they congregate with. They don't have any proper social interactions, it's more in the realm of highly aware tolerance and co-habitation, but there is a minimum amount of brain power required to do this.

Yeah, while they're certainly no primates, they definitely seem more aware than your average invert.

 

[AZCeptipede]

That's silly, everyone knows pedes don't speak, and texting is very difficult for them (no thumbs).

I don't know, I feel like the leg:keyboard ratio would work out in their favor