New Prospecting Owner with Questions

SaintScythus

Arachnopeon
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Mar 26, 2007
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Hey guys, this will be my first post on this forum so I want to make it a good one. I'm looking into buying Centipedes as a change of pace from Scorpions. I know some but little and I'm a bug fanatic. So here are some pretty basic questions.

What is the best centipede to start with, and how big of a tank does it need? I can get a 10 gallon.

What needs to be in the tank with the 'pede, like light, water, cover etc...

Looking at pictures I came up with some types of centipedes I liked:

Sc. Viridicornis, Sc. Neon Blue Legged, Vietnamese. I'm looking for a centipede that's cool to watch, although handling is nice but not needed. I know that I will not me able to hold the Vietnamese, but any suggestions are highly appreciated. Thanks in advance
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
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Many people recommend Ethnostigmus trigonopodus for a first pede. They seem mellow compared to some other species but they can still get an attitude every once in a while. This is one that people who choose to pick up pedes seem to be the least afraid of picking up. Are you in the US? There are some really nice big pedes in the south, southwestern US like Scolopendra heros and Scolopendra polymorpha. I've spent more time on the locals than with exotic stuff. A lot of info on this site. You can do a "search" on the site and get whole lot of info. The search function is just below "my mood" in the upper right-hand corner in the login box. I think a lot of people in your situation post with the words "starter pede". Those might be good words to start a search with.
 

SaintScythus

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I'm in the US, Missouri to be more specific. I've tried the search but I'll try again with those words.
 

edesign

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I'm in the US, Missouri to be more specific. I've tried the search but I'll try again with those words.
be sure to use Boolean operators such as "and" and "or" (otherwise you'll get odd results sometimes)...if you're not familiar with those...using "and" will require the search to return only return results that contain BOTH words...using "or" will return results with EITHER word :)

I'll second the E. trigonopodus...mine had a body length of about 7" when it died prematurely (impacted digestive tract, there is a seperate post about this unfortunate incident) and about 3/4" in diameter. Not a creature I would hold but they seem to have a weak venom unlike most Scolopendras.

I'm sure you have S. polymorpha up there...S. heros is from the dryer regions like Arizona.
 
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Galapoheros

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I didn't know that about the search function here. No wonder I was getting weird results sometimes:? . That was a 7" trig that got sick? That was a lot bigger than the one I had. That sux.
 

Stylopidae

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I've always been a fan of S. heros as a starter pede because it was the pede I started with. Their venom is apparrently a bit more hot than S. polymorpha, so that's the pede I'll reccomend. You don't need a 10 gallon tank. Most people keep theirs in 1 gallon screw top jars. I keep mine in gladware.
 

mindlessvw

Arachnobaron
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My Scolopendra morsitans makes me think i could hold him...he seems pretty passive and i would say a good size for a beginner...not too terribly fast...but i could just have a special one{D Also i keep mine in 1-5 gallon aquariums in a shelving system...that seems to be ample room...the smaller stay in deli cups. I always say check out the bite reports here before you decide on something...i didn't do that before getting my first pede and then i realized what people were saying a vietnamese could do to yyou...quite shocking!
 

cacoseraph

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My Scolopendra morsitans makes me think i could hold him...he seems pretty passive and i would say a good size for a beginner...not too terribly fast...but i could just have a special one{D Also i keep mine in 1-5 gallon aquariums in a shelving system...that seems to be ample room...the smaller stay in deli cups. I always say check out the bite reports here before you decide on something...i didn't do that before getting my first pede and then i realized what people were saying a vietnamese could do to yyou...quite shocking!
egyptian emerald morsitans i would say are pretty sweet to hold. i've been bit 50+ times and nothing really ever seemed to happen. i have been bit by multiple males and females.

tanzanian tiger morsitans on the other hand had me in the HOT bath for 4 hours cuz my arm hurt so bad i couldn't sleep. my arm hurt for a cool 24 hours or so. i was bit by a male, once. kind of leery of holding it anymore after that =P

the problem is that i expect centipedes are like most other venomous animals in that different localities of the same species are going to have possibly wildly varying venom potencies... and each person is going to have a somewhat different reaction to the venom.
 

mindlessvw

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i just can't bring myself to hold one...i started with hot snakes then went to the bugs and i think that no touching quality won't go away...
 

SaintScythus

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Alright guys I'm buying from ajexotics, because I got a e-mail back less than an hour from recieving and have heard good reviews, from them I can choose:

Haitian Giant Centipede- $30
Chinese Giant Centipede- $40
Vietnamese Orange Leg- $20
Egyptian Centipede- $20

I like the Haitian the Chinese and the Egyptian pretty much the same only favoring the Hatian because of its colors. Which one would you recommend out of those. I didn't pick the Vietnamese, because I've heard their bites are extremely painful. I plan on putting one of these guys in a 10 gallon aquarium.
 
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cacoseraph

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the haitian probably has a bite similar to the vietnamese

the chinese is the same species as the vietnamese, but looks different

the egyptian emerald is going to be a lot smaller at full grown size than any of the others
 

SaintScythus

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Can you guys recommend any stores for centipedes, I'm probably going for the Haitian but i still am looking at the s. hero.
 

mindlessvw

Arachnobaron
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i get alot of my stuff from Krazy8...if you go with the smaller you may want to considder something like a 2 1/2 gallon small aquarium...or something similiar in size...those little guys just disappear
 

SaintScythus

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Mindless, what do you mean those little guys disappear? I also heard for a centipede to be truly happy the enclosure needs to be double its length and as long as it's length in width. This may be wrong, just something I heard.

How medically significant is the venom of the Vietnamese and the Haitian?
 

edesign

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enough that you don't want to get bit...Scolopendra's almost as a rule have quite potent venom. There ARE exceptions as noted in this thread already, but they are just that...exceptions to the rule. If it's in the Scolopendra genus you can pretty much count on the bite being extremely painful. The bigger the pede, the more venom is injected, the more painful the bite.
 

SaintScythus

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Thanks for the info on the venom. So I'm going to probably buy the Vietnamese, unless someone can tell me where to buy Sc. Gigantea, or Sc. Viridicornis. Thanks for all the help.
 

mindlessvw

Arachnobaron
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when they are teeny tiny i try to keep them in smaller enclosures to ensure feeding...like my neon...he is about two inches...that doesn't have to be in a 10 gallon and its easier to endure he is feeding if he is in something smaller
 

SaintScythus

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Mar 26, 2007
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Thanks guys for all the help, I bought my Peat Moss, and put it in my tank today. Now i'm waiting my my Vietnamese Orange Legged! I'll post pics ASAP.
 

SaintScythus

Arachnopeon
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Mar 26, 2007
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Alright guys just a few more questions. I got my Vietnamese in the mail yesterday by the way. Its a great 'pede and is very cool to watch.

How do I keep my humidity up?

When should my centipede molt, it's about 6" long.
 
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