"Florida Brown Thing"

So, a while back I had two centipedes - a blue leg and something brown that someone caught in the Florida keys and brought to me because "I have bugs" ... nevermind the fact that it was fine in the keys and didn't need someone to take care of it and CERTAINLY didn't want to be caught :sarcasm:.) I wanted to let it go outside, but my BF is terrified of centipedes and threw an absolute hissy fit/panic attack and was adamant about me NOT letting it go ANYWHERE NEAR the house. I think it's the only creature on the planet he's afraid of (and the man keeps cobras and other venomous snakes... go figure) so, left with no other option, I kept the poor thing. Months passed and I would feed my pet hole and sometimes a cricket would disappear. My blue leg reached old age and died and I stopped seeing crickets disappear from the "Florida brown thing"s cage a few months later. I left it a month and then put in a cricket, which never disappeared until it died of starvation or old age. I figured my Florida brown thing had died and when we moved I threw the container into my misc animal stuff. Fast forward 8 MONTHS and what do I find on accident while digging through some KKs and other empty containers but my Florida brown thing, roaming around. Shocked, amazed, flabbergasted (insert other big words here) I immediately misted the enclosure and put in a mealworm. Florida brown thing immediately disappeared. Tonight I checked on him again and there he was, two inches bigger than when I last saw him. I threw in a cricket and sat back to watch the show. Centipedes really are amazing...

Looks like the Keys version of Scolopendra alternans, to me.

It's amazing how resourceful they can be; don't assume anything is dead. I had a tarantula loose in my place for two years. found her alive and well one random day.

A second on Scolopendra alternans.

imop you need a new BF..(applications here)

wow! what a story! Thanks for sharing!

Just an addendum, guys, I am also of the "never assume anything has died camp" AND of the "never disturb anything once it has buried itself" camp. Because of the second reason, I never dug through the sub to see if it had really died. But because of the first reason, I did check periodically to see if it had emerged. When I said I threw it in with my supplies that wasn't to say it was completely forgotten. I am in and out of that supply closet more than once daily and I did constantly check that enclosure. Just wanted to mention that so no one thins I'm a bad mom.