Dog Food

Azoun

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 4, 2004
Messages
32
You might think I'm losing my mind, but last night I witnessed something in my S. alternans cage that I never thought possible.

It was eating a morsel of dogfood. Ignored the roach.

Yes, dogfood...
Brand name is "Old Roy," a dry food from most grocery stores anywhere. I got mine from Wal-Mart, in a 40-something lb. bag.

Now I have to clarify some things first.
What was a morsel of dogfood doing there in the first place? Well, lately I noticed my pede has been lethargic, and hasn't eaten regularly. When I introduced a nice fat roach, the pede left it alone. So I put a chunk of dogfood into the cage to feed the roach, in case it would be there for a few days, until the pede showed some intrest.

And what did I find?
The pede preferred the dogfood over the roach.
Perhaps I have a unique pede, with less palette for "squrim" in it's meal, or perhaps dogfood was more appealing than a roach...

Has anyone ever seen a thing like this before?

I watched the event closely and could hardly believe my eyes; the pede appeared content to tear into the morsel with all the finesse they normally display while tearing into normal prey.

This could be quite handy, in the winter months, when crickets and other feeders become scarce. But I have plenty of dogfood!
(German Shepards require a little more than Scolopendra, no matter what anyone says).

Next time this happens, I'll try to get a picture.
 

Steven

pede-a-holic
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
4,022
intresting,...
thanx for the tip :D



will try that next weekend :)
 

Brian F.

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
Messages
308
Interesting... I've heard of people giving dry cat or dog food to their roaches to keep them from wing biting, but this is the first I've heard of a 'pede eating it.
 

Wade

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
2,929
If you'd said canned fog food I wouldn't have been surprised as people have fed centipedes all sorts of scaps of meat, but this is interesting. Can you tell if contact with the substrate had softened the dog food?


Wade
 

Mister Internet

Big Meanie Doo Doo Head :)
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 5, 2002
Messages
1,408
Doesn't terribly surprise me... some of those dog foods are very rich in meat by-products and therefore must "smell" quite like food to a pede. I wouldn't bank on them being smart enough to figure they're chewing on something hard as opposed to soft. Don't know how good it is for them though... there are a lot of preservatives and a disproportionate amount of protien in some of those foods, so I'd limit it to "every once in awhile", but that's just me... fun story though. :)
 

danread

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
1,717
That's definitely interesting, although as MI says, dog food is very high in protein, so it would be best used as an occasional snack, not as a staple diet. Large centipedes are clearly scavengers in the wild, as most large predators end up doing. I was really suprised in a thread a while ago to see that they will eat fruit. Maybe one of the reasons for female scolopendrids eating their eggs so regularly is that they are not recieving the right food, and have to eat the eggs to make up the deficit in some nurtient or substance. Steven, what do you fed your pedes on mainly? (i'm asking Steven as he has had a lot of pede breeding succss recently). I try to give my pedes a variety of food, but it is hard, especially as my roaches are breeding as fast as i can feed them off, i'm reluctant to spend any money on feeders.

Cheers,
 

Chironex

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2004
Messages
97
my milli's have munched on moist "dry cat food", :) I bought a bag of cat food high in calcium and they dont seem to mind the white bone shapped bits.
 

Azoun

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 4, 2004
Messages
32
Well, this was the "dry" dogfood style, just a nugget of meat-colored stuff with the texture of compressed sawdust.

I also forgot to mention that my pede definately injected it full of toxin. While watching the feast, I observed the morsel deteriorate and take on a wet, shiny look, more like spongy ground beef and less like cement. Practically falling apart in the pedes' mandibles.

Why it would pump venom into a non-struggling chunk of by-product is beyond me, but it certainly made it's job easier. I assume it must have "tasted" like meat, "smelled" like meat, but when it tried to chew, it needed the extra help of its toxins to help break such a tough structure down. But still...prey exoskeleton would be at least as tough as dogfood.
Any thoughts?


Also, thanks everyone for the feedback. I hadn't tought of the protein content, and it stands to reason that these shouldn't become staple dietary replacements. I'll use them as occasional treats, supplements every few months or so. :worship:
 

Ghost13

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 14, 2004
Messages
42
I gave all mine a piece of dog food and they all loved it! They too Broke it down with their venom and devoured it. Thanks for the tip! :D
 

Mister Internet

Big Meanie Doo Doo Head :)
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 5, 2002
Messages
1,408
I wouldn't consider it a "tip" ... it's not something you should really do long term.
 

Wade

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
2,929
I would think the insects and pinkies we routinely feed centipides would have a pretty high protein content when compared to dog food, or am I missing something? If anything, "Old Roy" (which is Wal Mart's store brand, i.e. generic) dog food probably has a very high grain content.

I'd be more concerned about the long term effects of the preservatives and dyes used in the dog food than the protien content.

Wade
 

Mister Internet

Big Meanie Doo Doo Head :)
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 5, 2002
Messages
1,408
Wade said:
I'd be more concerned about the long term effects of the preservatives and dyes used in the dog food than the protien content.
Yeah, I would think it'd be pretty hard to "protein-poison" a carnivore... was more thinking of the effects of the chemical side of it...
 

HorridumAngeli

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Messages
25
I have not tried this as of yet for I have several breeding colonies of roaches, an an unlimmited supply of rodents to feed my pedes. How ever I do have two French Mastiffs(Dogue De Bordeauax)and I feed them Innova Dog food which is all natual and is made withn Human grade ingriedients. I am sure this type of food would be o.k. to feed pedes. ;) But what fun would that be ? :confused:
Take care all, :cool:
HorrridumAngeli www.Helodermahorridum.com
 

Ghost13

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 14, 2004
Messages
42
The dog food I used is all natural with no chemical preservatives. I am very consciences of what I feed my animals including my birds. Ethoxiquin,BHA,BHT are used as preservatives in most pet foods. Thanks for the feedback. i should have stated this in the begining. Thanks! :D
 
Last edited:

Ultimate Instar

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2002
Messages
457
Dogs are not pure carnivores and I believe that carnivores will sometimes eat the stomach contents of their prey. Commercial dog food is a mixture of animal protein and vegetable matter. Since I keep ferrets which require very protein-rich diets, I've read that kitten food is highest in protein, followed by adult cat food, then dog food. Since pedes apparently will scavenge and eat a variety of different foods, dog food may be a better bet than a high animal-protein diet. Of course, if we could get Purina to come out with Pede Chow, all our problems would be solved. ;)

Karen N.
 

Azoun

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 4, 2004
Messages
32
LOL
Yes; I can almost imagine the commercial for "Pede-chow" already...

:}
 
Top