Thanks, man! Yeah, I love my mantids, but my centipede collection is my true pride and joy. I've still got most of the animals in the photos, though my big female banded heros arizonensis passed away recently of old age, which broke my heart, bc she was the biggest (legit 9" body length, not counting antennae or terminals) and IMO most beautiful of all my pedes
Until about a year ago, I also thought handling them was for crazy people, but I built up the courage to do it after watching a bunch of instructional vids on the topic by a fellow pede enthusiast on Arachnoboards (user "Mastigoproctus" aka the pede whisperer). Tbh I think they're generally just a misunderstood class of animal, and that people stereotype all pedes as "aggressive" based on experiences with the commonly available Scolopendra dehaani, which are genuinely one of the more high strung, defensive species of pede that probably shouldn't be handled by anyone. However, there are lots species of centipede that are pretty mellow for the most part and will only bite you if handled super roughly. At this point, I've probably handled about 30 different specimens of a wide range of species, including both WC and CB specimens of all ages, and I've never been envenomated once, even though I feed most of my pedes by hand (often letting them literally eat in my hands). If you ever feel like taking the plunge and handling a centipede, feel free to PM and I'll be happy to give you some tips!
