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Spice 4 · Advanced
How the Spice System works
WC: Wild caught
Collected from the wild and settled in at Big Z's before it ships. Many species, adults especially, are rarely bred in captivity.
Big Z's notes
About this Fella
Florida Blueleg Centipede for sale from Big Z's (Scolopendra viridis). Comes with a Spice rating and a care guide, and ships packed for the weather.
Small for a Scolopendra, and absolutely not to be underestimated
Scolopendra viridis, the Florida Blueleg Centipede, is a native of the southeastern United States, running a slate-to-olive body over legs washed in a cool blue. This one arrived at two to three inches, small by Scolopendra standards, and that is precisely what makes keepers careless with it.
It is a centipede, which means fast, strong, and armed with a venomous forcipule bite reported as sharply painful even from an animal this small. It is also a committed escape artist. Centipedes find gaps you did not know your enclosure had, and a secure latched lid is not a suggestion. Keep it on deep substrate it can tunnel through with a moist gradient and bark cover, feed live prey with long tongs, and never open the enclosure without knowing where the animal is first. Spice 4, advanced lane, and no handling under any circumstances. Read the care guide before it arrives.
Full care is in the care guide. It covers enclosure size, temperature, humidity, feeding, molting signs and handling limits for this species. Read the Advanced guide, or the shorter Simple guide →
- Lane
- Spice 4 · Advanced
- Source
- WC: wild caught.
- Handling
- None. Forceps and a catch cup for all maintenance.
- Keeping
- Display animal. Kept in its enclosure, not handled.
- Before it ships
- Big Z confirms every Spice 4 order with the keeper before ship day.
Florida Blueleg Centipede (Scolopendra viridis)
Centipede
Keeper feedbackYour experience can help another keeper.
$29.992-3" (Subadult, Unsexed) WC selected
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Spice 4 · Advanced
How the Spice System works
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At a glance
The quick read on this fella
- Venom
- Mild venom
- Sharp pain and swelling
- Type
- Fossorial
- Burrower · US native
- Climate
- 72-82°F · 50-65%
- Damp-to-dry gradient, water dish, vent low
- Feeding
- One appropriately sized prey item every 5-10 days
- Housing
- Solo only
- Water
- Shallow dish
- Kept full
From our Florida Blueleg Centipede care guide. Read the full guide
Live animals ship Mon to Wed
FedEx Standard Overnight $44.99 or Priority Overnight $49.99, both with the Live Arrival Guarantee; free overnight on orders $499.99 and up. FedEx 2Day is not offered for Spice 4 and 5 fellas. Pickup in the Phoenix area or at an expo is free (arrange with Big Z first). Weather holds are free and we message you first.
Live arrival support
Every order is packed for that week’s weather. Not sure if Florida Blueleg Centipede is your spice level? Message us and we’ll talk it through.
Big Z's here to help
Not sure if Florida Blueleg Centipede is your spice level? Message us and we’ll talk it through.
Spice 4 support
Message Big Z if you want help with the enclosure and lid, or want your setup checked before you order.
Care guide Shipping and Live Arrival Guarantee
About this Fella Big Z's notes
Florida Blueleg Centipede for sale from Big Z's (Scolopendra viridis). Comes with a Spice rating and a care guide, and ships packed for the weather.
Small for a Scolopendra, and absolutely not to be underestimated
Scolopendra viridis, the Florida Blueleg Centipede, is a native of the southeastern United States, running a slate-to-olive body over legs washed in a cool blue. This one arrived at two to three inches, small by Scolopendra standards, and that is precisely what makes keepers careless with it.
It is a centipede, which means fast, strong, and armed with a venomous forcipule bite reported as sharply painful even from an animal this small. It is also a committed escape artist. Centipedes find gaps you did not know your enclosure had, and a secure latched lid is not a suggestion. Keep it on deep substrate it can tunnel through with a moist gradient and bark cover, feed live prey with long tongs, and never open the enclosure without knowing where the animal is first. Spice 4, advanced lane, and no handling under any circumstances. Read the care guide before it arrives.
Full care is in the care guide. It covers enclosure size, temperature, humidity, feeding, molting signs and handling limits for this species. Read the Advanced guide, or the shorter Simple guide →
- Lane
- Spice 4 · Advanced
- Source
- WC: wild caught.
- Handling
- None. Forceps and a catch cup for all maintenance.
- Keeping
- Display animal. Kept in its enclosure, not handled.
- Before it ships
- Big Z confirms every Spice 4 order with the keeper before ship day.
What ships with this order Care + shipping
- A free care guide for this species
- A heat or cold pack when the forecast calls for it
- Tracking and an arrival window before it ships
- Message Big Z about your animal for as long as you keep it
Care guideSpice 4 · Advanced
Matched care guide
View in Care Guides library
Florida Blueleg Centipede
Scolopendra viridis · Spice 4: Advanced. Burrow Buddy: works well filled deep and packed firm, provided the lid locks positively. Custom terrestrial sized to your animal: prioritize substrate depth and lid security over display.
Scolopendra viridis
Florida Blueleg Centipede
Big Z's Quick Verdict: A small native Scolopendra with blue-washed legs, kept spicy despite its size: fast, strong, a genuinely painful bite, and skilled at finding gaps. Deep diggable substrate, a locking lid, and tongs only.
Group: CentipedesDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Semi-arid terrestrial, deep diggable burrowHandling: No handling, tongs and lidded cup only
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Care Snapshot
| Temp | 72-82°F, tolerates a night drop |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 50-65%: damp-to-dry gradient, water dish, vent low |
| Setup | Semi-arid terrestrial, deep diggable burrow |
| Substrate | 3-5 in packed diggable coco/topsoil, bark cover |
| Feeding | One appropriately sized prey item every 5-10 days |
| Handling | No handling, tongs and lidded cup only |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Recommended Big Z's Setup
- Burrow Buddy: works well filled deep and packed firm, provided the lid locks positively.
- Custom terrestrial sized to your animal: prioritize substrate depth and lid security over display.
Critical Notes
- Escape is the top risk. It flattens through gaps that look too small. Lock the lid and check the seal every time.
- The bite is genuinely painful, with local swelling. Mild venom, but no reason to test it.
- No handling, ever, at any size. Transfers only, with long tongs and a lidded catch cup.
- Fast, and climbs better than it looks like it should. Don't trust a smooth-walled enclosure alone.
- Keep the enclosure out of reach of kids and pets, no matter how secure the lid is.
Care Basics
- Hold 72-82°F. No supplemental heat needed in a normally heated room.
- Pack 3-5 in of firm, diggable substrate. It lives underground.
- Run a moisture gradient, damp at one end, dry at the other. Let it choose.
- Add bark or flat cork cover, plus a shallow, full water dish.
- Use a locking lid. Not a resting lid, not a taped lid.
- Feed with long tongs every 5-10 days, and pull uneaten prey within 24 hours.
- Locate the animal before opening the enclosure, every time.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Feed with long tongs, offered at the burrow entrance or dropped and withdrawn at once. A fast, indiscriminate feeding response.
- Sealing in and refusing food is normal premolt behavior. Pull all live prey then, a molting centipede can't defend itself.
Current Big Z's catalog: Yes
Scolopendra viridis
Florida Blueleg Centipede: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A small native Scolopendra with blue-washed legs, kept spicy despite its size: fast, strong, a genuinely painful bite, and skilled at finding gaps. Deep diggable substrate, a locking lid, and tongs only.
Group: CentipedesDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Semi-arid terrestrial, deep diggable burrowHandling: No handling, tongs and lidded cup only
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 72-82°F, tolerates a night drop |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 50-65%: damp-to-dry gradient, water dish, vent low |
| Setup Type | Semi-arid terrestrial, deep diggable burrow |
| Substrate | 3-5 in packed diggable coco/topsoil, bark cover |
| Feeding | One appropriately sized prey item every 5-10 days |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling, tongs and lidded cup only |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- Pedeling: small secure enclosure, packed substrate, moisture gradient, prey scaled down, lid seal checked often.
- Adult: terrestrial setup, 3-5 in packed substrate, bark cover, water dish, positively locking lid.
Warnings First
- Escape is the top risk. It flattens through gaps that look too small. Lock the lid and check the seal every time.
- The bite is genuinely painful, with local swelling. Mild venom, but no reason to test it.
- No handling, ever, at any size. Transfers only, with long tongs and a lidded catch cup.
- Fast, and climbs better than it looks like it should. Don't trust a smooth-walled enclosure alone.
- Keep the enclosure out of reach of kids and pets, no matter how secure the lid is.
Simple Care
- Hold 72-82°F. No supplemental heat needed in a normally heated room.
- Pack 3-5 in of firm, diggable substrate. It lives underground.
- Run a moisture gradient, damp at one end, dry at the other. Let it choose.
- Add bark or flat cork cover, plus a shallow, full water dish.
- Use a locking lid. Not a resting lid, not a taped lid.
- Feed with long tongs every 5-10 days, and pull uneaten prey within 24 hours.
- Locate the animal before opening the enclosure, every time.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Lid security is the single most important design decision here. It outranks every aesthetic choice.
- Pack substrate firm, not loose, so tunnels hold their shape. Loose substrate keeps it surface-active and raises escape risk.
- The moisture gradient replaces a humidity target. The animal self-selects better than a gauge reading can guide you.
- Too wet causes mold and mites. Too dry causes a failed molt. The gradient lets it find the middle.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Feed with long tongs, offered at the burrow entrance or dropped and withdrawn at once. A fast, indiscriminate feeding response.
- Sealing in and refusing food is normal premolt behavior. Pull all live prey then, a molting centipede can't defend itself.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Southeastern United States, principally Florida and the Gulf coastal plain, extending into parts of the Caribbean and Central America.
- Habitat translation: Southeastern US leaf litter and sandy soil become a terrestrial setup: 3-5 in of packed diggable substrate, a damp-to-dry gradient, bark cover, a shallow water dish, and a locking lid.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Color is variable across the range. The blue leg wash that gives the trade name isn't present on every individual.
- Small size does not mean reduced risk. The Spice 4 rating reflects escape potential and bite severity, not body length.
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