Life and death in the critter room

[ssssnakeluvr]

While out in my critter room feeding and cleaning cages I was taking some pics of my racer. I happened to notice something on the floor beside one of my racks. I took a close look and found this....an assassin bug eating a centipede.....sucks...I like centipedes!!!

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/assassin_1.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/assassin_2.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/assassin_4.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/assassin_3.jpg

[jeanette]

ewwww nasty looking bug, although i dont really like centipedes either :)

[Stefan-A]

Very cool. :)

[reptileparadise]

Really cool! Kept one of those as a pet for a while...

[Lori P]

Er-- is that assasin bug supposed to look like that? What the heck is all over him? Crazy looking critter!!

[Stefan-A]

Camouflage. :D

[adamanteus]

I want a six foot tall Assassin Bug... I could keep him busy for a while!;)

[Zephyr]

Camouflage. :D
Yeep, the nymphs cover themselves with whatever particles they find... Pretty nifty.

[Stefan-A]

I want a six foot tall Assassin Bug...
Like the ones in Starship Troopers? :D

[adamanteus]

Like the ones in Starship Troopers? :D

I haven't seen that film... but now I'm intrigued!:D

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

i LOVE assassin bugs... but for the longest time.. nobody thought i was serious when i talked to them about how cool they are. I would say assassin bug, and thy would look at me and start laughing. Well, one day, me and eddie are in his room and I looked up and i saw something moving on the light... got up expecting a spider and instead it was one of these!! They have surprisingly good eyesight, everytime i would reach for him he would duck behind the glass again! I ran out of eddies room all excited yelling at his family GUYS THERES AN ASSASIN BUG IN EDDIES ROOM I TOLD YOU THEY WERE REAL COME LOOK AT HIM HE CAN SEE YOU!!!! And yet they still all looked at me like i was... well nuts!! Even eddie was like shannon, you are on drugs... you make him sound like a ninja bug or something...

[Loren]

I like centipedes. I have 2 that I have had for at least a year, maybe 2 (I dont know if I recorded catching them). They are about 5 inches long. I keep them in separate critter carriers, on bark, give them a cricket maybe every 5-7 days, and mist the side of the cages every couple days- they like to drink the droplets off the side.
I tried to keep 2 of them together once- ended up with one really fat centipede.
I guess I'll have to try posting a pic of them sometime too. Dont think I have any yet.

[Snaky]

Cool pictures!

[anji1971]

Never even occurred to me to 'keep' a centipede...............hmmmm, new ideas spring from this forum every day!:cool:
I find zillions every time I dig around the garden. I'm sure it would go over SO well with the hubby, too!:rolleyes:

Those Assassin bugs look pretty cool too. I don't think I've ever seen one though.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I prefer the centipedes over the assassin bug..... they cover themselves with dirt for camouflage...

[Loren]

quote-"Never even occurred to me to 'keep' a centipede...............hmmmm, new ideas spring from this forum every day!:cool: "


I think they are cool- just be aware that you are best not to use your hands- they can hurt you.

[anji1971]

[quote=Loren;56101
I think they are cool- just be aware that you are best not to use your hands- they can hurt you.[/quote]

Don't worry, I don't think I'd want to actually touch one. They look cool, but scary at the same time!!

[ssssnakeluvr]

while out herping today I caught myself a 3" centipede...brought him home...will post pics...little assassin bug wouldn't stand a chance with this one!!!! also got a little scorpion. Only found a gopher snake that had just had lunch...will post pics tomorrow.

[Lori P]

I am curious about centipedes now myself. How can they hurt you? What do you feed them?? I'm not going to get one, just looking to learn now!

And Don, can't wait to see pics!!!

[bulrush]

You have a "Masked assassin bug". The exo of the adults is sticky so any dust sticks to them. I've seen a few by my house. They don't get real big. 1/8 inch is the largest I've seen.

Go to www.bugguide.net for more info and search for "Masked assassin bug".

[ssssnakeluvr]

only an 1/8"??? this one is about 3/4" long...

[Snake lover 3-25]

ick!!!!!!!!! i would def kill it............:eek::eek::(:(:(

[ssssnakeluvr]

here's the lone angry gopher snake I found yesterday...just had lunch also....

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/gopher_1.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/gopher_2.jpg

[ssssnakeluvr]

centipede I found.... took severaldifferent shots with different backgrounds...makes a difference!!!

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/centipede_1.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/centipede_2.jpg

and here's the scorpion....

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/scorpion_2.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/scorpion_1.jpg

[ssssnakeluvr]

also took some photos of feeding time....white striped bird eater tarantula....

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/tarantula_1.jpg

lunch...I mean a large grasshoppper.... :D

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/lunch1.jpg

and the end result...lunch!!

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//504/chow_time.jpg

[Snake lover 3-25]

wow you find those outside?????!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: well..... i guess you find them in alot of places.......... thank god their not where i live!!!!!!!:D:eek:

but i love the pics of the snake!!!!!:D:D

[Loren]

I am curious about centipedes now myself. How can they hurt you? What do you feed them?? I'm not going to get one, just looking to learn now!

And Don, can't wait to see pics!!!

What appears to be the short front pair of legs on a centipede are actually stingers- so they can deliver a sting that is similar to a scorpion. I dont know their biology really well, so my wording might not be quite right- but in a nutshell- yes they can hurt you. Not considered deadly at all, but I have heard its pretty painful.
I feed them crickets- 1 each, every several days. They hunt them down, pounce on them and wrap the front of their body over the cricket while they envenomate it, then they eat it with their mandibles.
I also mist the side of the cage for them to drink the droplets off.
They are cool. :) I need to take pics of mine sometime too.

[Loren]

wow you find those outside?????!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: well..... i guess you find them in alot of places.......... thank god their not where i live!!!!!!!:D:eek:

but i love the pics of the snake!!!!!:D:D



But they are soooo cute! :D


I like all of them Don- very nice.

[Stefan-A]

Something tells me that the scorpion you have there has relatively potent venom.

[ssssnakeluvr]

the first pair of legs are fangs for them to inject their venom with. most species are harmless, however, my recently deceased Vietnamese centipde (around 10" long) can deliver a nasty bite and there has been one recorded death from their bite. centipedes are pretty much everywhere in the U.S. most are small. I found one species in Idaho that was 2" long and about 2 mm wide...long skinny guys!!! there are orange ones (like the doa one in the assassin bug photos) that are common all over...easy to find in gardens.

[ssssnakeluvr]

not overly.... yes, it has thin claws, but I don't think they are that dangerous....not real sure on the exact species...several here in Utah.

[Lori P]

Oooh, what a beautiful tarantula!! And thanks for the info on the centipedes, never knew that. Very interesting!!

[Zephyr]

Oooh, what a beautiful tarantula!! And thanks for the info on the centipedes, never knew that. Very interesting!!Centipedes - head and modified segments = beardie food. :D