why isnt my S alternans eating?

[Scoly]

I did not know any of that.

I did not know that to start with either! A lot of people kill their pedes by overheating, over humidifying or letting them dry out (usually in combination with high temps) But it does depend on the species, so you need to find out exactly how other experienced keeper keep theirs. The generic advice that "all centipedes need high humidity because of their morphology" doesn't completely hold true (and yes, I've told people that before too) and we also take temperature needs to be the same as tarantulas from those regions, but it doesn't always work that way.

Ventilation? Really? It was like that all around the top with about 20 holes in the lid.

Ah yes, looking at it again that doesn't seem as bad, though it's hard to tell how well it's working. The thing with air holes is that if they are spaced far apart they provide very little ventilation, if you have lots close together it starts acting more like a mesh, which provides much more ventilation at that spot. So you're probably better have a cluster here and there (I use a fork heated over a gas flame to poke 4 holes at a time, just doesn't look as neat). Ventilation on the lid also seem to let moisture escape far more readily, which can be a good or a bad thing, and I'm not sure if that also means there's more air flow.

 

[Venom1080]

I did not know that to start with either! A lot of people kill their pedes by overheating, over humidifying or letting them dry out (usually in combination with high temps) But it does depend on the species, so you need to find out exactly how other experienced keeper keep theirs. The generic advice that "all centipedes need high humidity because of their morphology" doesn't completely hold true (and yes, I've told people that before too) and we also take temperature needs to be the same as tarantulas from those regions, but it doesn't always work that way.



Ah yes, looking at it again that doesn't seem as bad, though it's hard to tell how well it's working. The thing with air holes is that if they are spaced far apart they provide very little ventilation, if you have lots close together it starts acting more like a mesh, which provides much more ventilation at that spot. So you're probably better have a cluster here and there (I use a fork heated over a gas flame to poke 4 holes at a time, just doesn't look as neat). Ventilation on the lid also seem to let moisture escape far more readily, which can be a good or a bad thing, and I'm not sure if that also means there's more air flow.

Thanks.

Have you kept S. dehaani? That's the next one I'm looking at.

 

[Scoly]

Thanks.

Have you kept S. dehaani? That's the next one I'm looking at.

I'm not entirely sure, despite my signature!! I kept a large subspinipes a long time ago, before dehaani was identified as a separate species. I since established it was a dehaani (hence the signature) but very recently came to question whether it was actually a subspinipes.

They (large subspinipes/dehaanis collectively) are the staple centipede, despite having one of the nastiest bites around, as well as being extremely aggressive. The last person I heard of who got tagged was a well built adult male (the human, not the pede) had to go to hospital and pleaded to have hs arm chopped off!! I usually recommend against dehaani, just for that reason. A large, angry centipede is a very difficult thing to deal with. Even the various baboon spiders I had at the time couldn't prepare me for that.

From what I gather they are pretty hardy. Mine certainly survived a lot of the indignities a young inexperienced keeper will subject his first centipede to. Get a CB if you can, make sure the enclosure has high walls, and locks TIGHT, and be prepared for some hairy moments!

Having said all that, alternans is also highly venomous and a bite from even small ones is apparently pretty bad (so a bit from a full grown one is likely to be rather serious) but they are not as highly strung as subspinipes/dehaani.

 

[Venom1080]

I'm not entirely sure, despite my signature!! I kept a large subspinipes a long time ago, before dehaani was identified as a separate species. I since established it was a dehaani (hence the signature) but very recently came to question whether it was actually a subspinipes.

They (large subspinipes/dehaanis collectively) are the staple centipede, despite having one of the nastiest bites around, as well as being extremely aggressive. The last person I heard of who got tagged was a well built adult male (the human, not the pede) had to go to hospital and pleaded to have hs arm chopped off!! I usually recommend against dehaani, just for that reason. A large, angry centipede is a very difficult thing to deal with. Even the various baboon spiders I had at the time couldn't prepare me for that.

From what I gather they are pretty hardy. Mine certainly survived a lot of the indignities a young inexperienced keeper will subject his first centipede to. Get a CB if you can, make sure the enclosure has high walls, and locks TIGHT, and be prepared for some hairy moments!

Having said all that, alternans is also highly venomous and a bite from even small ones is apparently pretty bad (so a bit from a full grown one is likely to be rather serious) but they are not as highly strung as subspinipes/dehaani.

Unfortunately, that's all that's available to me at a already large size. Other pedes here are very expensive in comparison.

http://www.tarantulacanada.ca/price.php

This is basically the only place to buy pedes up here.

Rehousing that alternans was definitely a different experience. Not as fast as tarantulas, but super agile, and hard to get in any catch cup since they cant climb smooth surfaces.

 

[Scoly]

Unfortunately, that's all that's available to me at a already large size. Other pedes here are very expensive in comparison.

http://www.tarantulacanada.ca/price.php

This is basically the only place to buy pedes up here.

Rehousing that alternans was definitely a different experience. Not as fast as tarantulas, but super agile, and hard to get in any catch cup since they cant climb smooth surfaces.

Unfortunately it's pretty much the same story everywhere: dehaani=cheap, other giants=pricey. The prices for dehaanis are reasonable (I like the orange leg on there) but a lot of the others aren't, then again if it's the only place that sells them, you can't really negotiate.

As for rehousing, yes, that's a tricky business! Ideally you want to do it in a bath tub, or very large plastic storage box if you have one available. If not, then do it in a room without any clear escapes or cracks in floorboards, and have something like a rectangular (not round) plastic tub or a shoe box, and strong plastic sleeve at hand, in case it does a runner!

 

[Venom1080]

Unfortunately it's pretty much the same story everywhere: dehaani=cheap, other giants=pricey. The prices for dehaanis are reasonable (I like the orange leg on there) but a lot of the others aren't, then again if it's the only place that sells them, you can't really negotiate.

As for rehousing, yes, that's a tricky business! Ideally you want to do it in a bath tub, or very large plastic storage box if you have one available. If not, then do it in a room without any clear escapes or cracks in floorboards, and have something like a rectangular (not round) plastic tub or a shoe box, and strong plastic sleeve at hand, in case it does a runner!

They sell out of pedes within hours at expos. So hopefully some knowledgeable people get their hands on them and maybe breed one day.

So besides being cautious about their venom, is their care anything special?