dead arthropods as food for centipedes

tigerbeetle

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 2, 2003
Messages
2
Hello to all, I always wanted a centipede and finally got three of them (Scolopender gigantea?, approx. 6 centimeters long), about ten days ago. I kept some spiders and beetles, but I am an absolute newbe in hosting centipedes. The first meal I gave them, were some wolf spiders (approx.1,5cm length)which I caught in the backyard. Not sure, if my new little guests can cope with these guys, I put the meal into the freezer and served it after a while. So my questions are, is it harmfull for them to feed only on dead arthropods for let's say a month or two (wintertime) and second, how big has a centipede to be to avoid being the prey for a medium sized (1-2cm) wolfspider.
Sorry for my english
regards
thomas
 

Mister Internet

Big Meanie Doo Doo Head :)
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 5, 2002
Messages
1,408
Hi tigerbeetle,

First of all, Welcome to the Dark Side! :) I think there is basically zero chance of a wolf spider EVER harming a centipede, unless the wolf spider was a full-grown Hogna carolinensis and the centipede was just a baby. Size-wise, if your centipedes are 6cm long, I would avoid prey items over 1" (approx. 2.5 cm).

Also, I do not believe that there are long-term harnful effects to feeding pre-killed prey to centipedes... at least not that I've personally witnessed. I have had pedes that would only eat dead stuff for a few months in a row, for some reason or another. :) However, I STRONGLY recommend AGAINST ever feeding your non-native arthropods local prey items. They could be exposed to pesticides, bacteria, and parasites that they have never encountered before and to which they may not be immune. Buying crickets or roaches, or breeding either yourself, is always the better option.

Good luck with the centipedes, and make sure you return here with all your questions... welcome!
 

Cooper

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 22, 2003
Messages
962
Hi, I have a feather tai, centipede that only accepts dead crix, and there has been no negative side effects as of yet! Good luck:)
 

tigerbeetle

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 2, 2003
Messages
2
i'll do so

thank you for the quick and informative reply, i'll no longer feed them with wild cought arthropods.
best regards
thomas
 
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