right pede for a newbie

Archangel · Jul 15, 2006

I'm interested in some pedes and being new to this part I would like any help or information you all could provide. These are what I'm looking at.

Ethmostigmus trigonopodus - Blue ring
Scolopendra heros arizonensis - Sonoran giant centipede
Scolopendra subspinipes "Malaysian cherry" - Malaysian cherry red
Dendrostreptus macracanthus - Pink leg arboreal millipede

Thanks in advance for any help.
Allen

BigToach · Jul 16, 2006

it may be difficult to find these two
Scolopendra heros arizonensis - Sonoran giant centipede
Scolopendra subspinipes "Malaysian cherry" - Malaysian cherry red

a Scolopendra polymorpha would be a good beginner pede

Scorp guy · Jul 16, 2006

Agreed. S. subspinipes is too hard to handle for a newbie. Go for S. polymorpha, they are terrific beginners

Scolopendra55 · Jul 16, 2006

Another for polymorpha

swatc1h · Jul 16, 2006

BigToach said:
it may be difficult to find these two
Scolopendra heros arizonensis - Sonoran giant centipede
Scolopendra subspinipes "Malaysian cherry" - Malaysian cherry red

a Scolopendra polymorpha would be a good beginner pede

If ya want plings try http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=72150 and Todd offer 4"-6" Cherry's if yr interested.

crashergs · Jul 16, 2006

archangel...

id say get whatever you feel like you want. but be careful and you know as well as everyone on here pedes have venom and each one can be very dangerous if your allergic but one wouldnt know your allergic reaction till you get one.

with very minimal reading from these threads on howto care for them in captivity, im a definate newbie and purchased a dehaani, there not hard to care for as long as you meet their requirements.

you must have your terrarium ready so when your pede arrives you put it in there, and use those super long tweezers you can probably get at a reptile shop so your hand doesnt come anywhere near your pedes.

Polymorphas are easy, they require an arid enviroment with a dish of water... they are reluctant to bit and they will lift up their back legs most of the time to scare you (predator) away. they are not giant species and i believe they get up to 5 inches in length?

whatever you get, consider everyone in the household if it escapes it can cause serious injury to infants and young childs if it happens to bite someone if they are sleeping, consider a very well constructed jar, if your concerned about aesthetics such as myself, i use the exo-terra 12x12 terrariums they are inpenetrable, i see my dehaani and gigantea trying their absolute best to squeeze through the glass doors, and bite the mesh, but they soon stop as they know they are not getting out anyway shape or form, its a very well constructed heavy duty terrarium. i have 3 now. cheers and good luck.

Geography Guy · Jul 17, 2006

crashergs said:
archangel...

id say get whatever you feel like you want. but be careful and you know as well as everyone on here pedes have venom and each one can be very dangerous if your allergic but one wouldnt know your allergic reaction till you get one.

with very minimal reading from these threads on howto care for them in captivity, im a definate newbie and purchased a dehaani, there not hard to care for as long as you meet their requirements.

you must have your terrarium ready so when your pede arrives you put it in there, and use those super long tweezers you can probably get at a reptile shop so your hand doesnt come anywhere near your pedes.

Polymorphas are easy, they require an arid enviroment with a dish of water... they are reluctant to bit and they will lift up their back legs most of the time to scare you (predator) away. they are not giant species and i believe they get up to 5 inches in length?

whatever you get, consider everyone in the household if it escapes it can cause serious injury to infants and young childs if it happens to bite someone if they are sleeping, consider a very well constructed jar, if your concerned about aesthetics such as myself, i use the exo-terra 12x12 terrariums they are inpenetrable, i see my dehaani and gigantea trying their absolute best to squeeze through the glass doors, and bite the mesh, but they soon stop as they know they are not getting out anyway shape or form, its a very well constructed heavy duty terrarium. i have 3 now. cheers and good luck.

Ya I agree. My first pede was a S.subspinipes (not sure if that's a beginner or advanced pede). I think as long as you know how to take care of it you'll do fine. Yes thoughs exo terra terrariums are good for pedes

Cheers,

Stylopidae · Jul 17, 2006

Well if you're interested in millipedes, I'd say start with the millies and S. Polymorpha.

In this forum, it seems like everyone overlooks millipedes (as evidenced by the fact that there was a millipede in your original post and not one person mentioned it...not the first time, though

)

Millipedes do make great pets because they will tolerate handling, but centipedes are more interesting because they're predatory.

That being said, the only bad beginner pede is really S. subspinpes. The S. Subspinpes is pretty much the hottest centipede out there. One bite will leave you in pain for hours.

Other than that...any centipede is fine for beginners as long as you research care specs.

I'd reccomend S. heros or S. polymorpha because they do come from a desert environment and will be much more forgiving about humidity mishaps.

Before getting anything, just research care and you'll be fine.

Scorp guy · Jul 17, 2006

EC's right, i had many millies before getting a centipede, but if you start with any myriopod, go for a AGB, easy to care for, and you can hold them. I dont reccomend getting a subspinipes as a first, for many reasons. A few? it's bite will likely put you in the hospital (see bite reports), It's SUPOSED to have to most potent venom of any pede, it's large, fast, and mean, and you have to be extremely careful while working in the cage. if you get any centipede, get a Polymorpha as a first.

bistrobob85 · Jul 17, 2006

I agree with Evil Cheshire, either sc.heros would be a good one... I have to say that i disagree with Geography Guy thought on this...

Yes thoughs exo terra terrariums are good for pedes

I've had my 4'' sc.heros castaneiceps escape from its exoterra terrarium three times without even lifting the top, just throught the air holes... The jar is probably the best idea...

phil.

crashergs · Jul 17, 2006

the only air holes is a vent in the front that underlines the two glass doors, you might have accidently kept the wiring holes behind the styrofoam background slid open, those hole are a decent width for a 4 inch pede to escape, other than that, i really cant see how it would of escaped, unless the distance between the glass door (when closed) and the side panels of the terrarium are seperated enough for a pede to escape, (which I have no doubt a pedeling will escape).

this first pics is supposibly where your pede escaped from, which I doubt, those holes are extremely small, those slits are enough to let some springtails through

this is the only plausible way your pede could have escaped with this enclosure, these holes can be closed or open (which sometimes overlooked, and once overlooked by me because i forgot they were there) can easily let a 4 inch pede through. HOWEVER, look below

you can slide those holes shut, this is where exo-terra really took into consideration your escape artists, they built a very durable slider to cover the electrical cabling holes

here are the holes in the front, which allow ventilation to your terrarium, in case you need humidity and you cover the top mesh screen, you still have enough ventilation through the tiny slits inside the terrarium, but these hole are enlarged only from the outside of the terrarium, not inside

heres the distance between the glass doors and the side glass walls, i say the distance between that is probably about 4mm?

the top mesh screen is very durable, made of weaved thick wire mesh that at every overlap of the wires is bent over one another to lock in place, this prevents those biting bugs from widening the holes, at each 4 corners of the lid, theres interlocking joints,

interlocking mechanism on lid that is impossible for any pede or small animal to lift up

Canth · Jul 17, 2006

I started with a good beginner and a bad beginner. Got an S. polymorpha one day and an S. subspinipes de haani mau chau the very next day. The subspinipes is so cool though...i threw a cricket in and it erupted from the ground to attack it.

bistrobob85 · Jul 17, 2006

Thanks crashergs, i'm impressed by the quality of your answer... I was actually talking about ExoTerra Faunariums though. Anyways, i bet your post will be constructive to other members... Sorry for the confusion, hehe.

phil.

crashergs · Jul 18, 2006

o lol...

yeah anything else provided by exo-terra wont probably work with pedes

Archangel · Jul 18, 2006

Well I'm a bit concerned about the choice of what I choose and don't choose. The Red cherry looks cool but very painfull. I like Ethmostigmus trigonopodus - Blue ring from what I've seen. I like the S. mirabilis. I'm into blue and red. The S. galapagoensis is cool. Neon Blue Leg is great.

My understanding is that millies can smell pretty bad and their babies eat their waste????? African Giants are quite cool but how do you keep the age clean? The same for Neon Blue Leg, S. galapagoensis, S. mirabilis, Ethmostigmus trigonopodus, and does nyone have a pic of Dendrostreptus macracanthus - Pink leg arboreal millipede? I've whittled it down but I need to know the millies aren't so critical for escape but the centis are big time. Given just these species (or if I can see polymorphs) which is best?

And I am VERY appreciative of the time you all have taken to help me walk through what could be a mine field.:worship:

Allen

Archangel · Jul 18, 2006

Okay, this is way cool. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=64936&page=4 the 3rd pic on swatc1h 04-26-2006, 11:13 AM And the 3rd pic here for Steven http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=64936&page=5 . All the cool ones hurt!:wall:

allen

crashergs · Jul 18, 2006

pick what you want... dont think about which one will be more painful, if your getting bit or you know at one point in time your going to get bit, then ask yourself why? because it shouldnt happen and you got a pretty healthy noggin on top of your shoulder, most of it is common sense that will help protect you and your pets. you dont wanna get bit by any time from any pede, unless your one of those guys that like to find out side effects frmo their venom.

get what you want, read about it on here and other forums across the internet and enjoy... people on here will give you their personal perspective, either in groups or single people, you will get confused, and also spark up controversies

so once you get your desired specie, then come on the boards and ask questions.

About millis, well theres beautiful species of millis, but since it seems like you are more interested in centis, i wouldnt get a milli, you will get bored of them as they are veggy eaters and very slow, however handleable. I promised myself that I will get a centi first and then a milli. a milli is something you really need to appreciate in a different way than centis. i like centis because they are carnivorous and for us men and some women, its awesome to see a puny lil cricket have its life ended in a pair of mandibles eaten alive. now i dont know if i make sense to you or not.. let me know, cheers mate

Archangel · Jul 21, 2006

crashergs said:
pick what you want... dont think about which one will be more painful, if your getting bit or you know at one point in time your going to get bit, then ask yourself why? because it shouldnt happen and you got a pretty healthy noggin on top of your shoulder, most of it is common sense that will help protect you and your pets. you dont wanna get bit by any time from any pede, unless your one of those guys that like to find out side effects frmo their venom.

get what you want, read about it on here and other forums across the internet and enjoy... people on here will give you their personal perspective, either in groups or single people, you will get confused, and also spark up controversies so once you get your desired specie, then come on the boards and ask questions.

About millis, well theres beautiful species of millis, but since it seems like you are more interested in centis, i wouldnt get a milli, you will get bored of them as they are veggy eaters and very slow, however handleable. I promised myself that I will get a centi first and then a milli. a milli is something you really need to appreciate in a different way than centis. i like centis because they are carnivorous and for us men and some women, its awesome to see a puny lil cricket have its life ended in a pair of mandibles eaten alive. now i dont know if i make sense to you or not.. let me know, cheers mate

Thanks, that is helpful. I got my T's because I was interested in them and didn't really worry about their venum. I just make sure that when my nieces and nephews kinds kame to visit they don't get to touch under any circumstances.

Allen

Elytra and Antenna · Jul 22, 2006

Archangel said:
My understanding is that millies can smell pretty bad and their babies eat their waste?????

Millipedes do not smell but they have a defensive secretion with a stinging odor if you make them scared. In many species the egg capsules look similar enough to a frass pellet.

Does anyone have a pic of Dendrostreptus macracanthus - Pink leg arboreal millipede? Swift had a pic but I can't find it and mine aren't readily available. It's a very shiny animal, like patent leather, that gets as long as a normal AGB but is much more narrow and has elongate, light-pink legs. It is arboreal and will get out if there isn't a decent lid.

If you're getting adults, I'd suggest the blue ring over the polymorpha and avoid subspinipes based on the chance of having your pet alive in twelve months.

Elytra and Antenna · Jul 22, 2006

Oh yeagh, of course there are pics of the Dendrostreptus in the millipede book: http://www.elytraandantenna.com
What about an albino Narceus as a pet? They're very cool looking and one of the hardiest millipedes (pic is center on book cover -above).

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