Getting a Vietnamese Giant Centipede, any advice?

[Greasylake]

It's been a while since I kept centipedes, but with my S. dehaani, I found that the more foliage and ground cover I provided, the more visible she generally was. Those that I kept in relatively barren tubs mostly stayed buried.

Stay away from screen or mesh for ventilation. I've seen several of mine attempt to gnaw through it. Numerous, small air holes in a solid tub with a gasket/locking lid is the way to go.

As everyone else in this thread has immediately suggested: don't underestimate their speed, and don't get tagged.

I underestimated the speed of my dehaani once while feeding her and 30 seconds after opening the container I was chasing her up my curtains with a catch cup. I had her back in the enclosure in about 2 minutes but those were the most terrifying two minutes of my short life.

 

[NYAN]

I underestimated the speed of my dehaani once while feeding her and 30 seconds after opening the container I was chasing her up my curtains with a catch cup. I had her back in the enclosure in about 2 minutes but those were the most terrifying two minutes of my short life.

When I first got mine, it jumped out of the enclosure since it was too shallow. It ended up climbing up and almost into my bed while I only had a lid to corral it. Fun times.

 

[Greasylake]

When I first got mine, it jumped out of the enclosure since it was too shallow. It ended up climbing up and almost into my bed while I only had a lid to corral it. Fun times.

The enclosure I had was too shallow as well, I solved that problem the next day.

 

[NYAN]

Yup me too

 

[the league of shadows]

Dont get bit

 

[Willuminati]

They hunt. They scavenge. They eat fruit. I prekill rodents and slice them down the middle and offer it to several of my pedes during a feeding night, I never leave a rodent in the enclosure ( why would anyone do that?? lol). Humidity is kept constant but fairly low. If you set them up properly you probably wont see it much btw. GREAT animals. Bites do hurt.

 

[tdark1]

The real issue, on this case, IMO (again, not considering the moral-ethic part of that) is that would result into a huge mess, after, for clean the whole stuff, bwaaah seriously, I've watched some pics... not something I would love to remove/deal with.

Especially, considering also the humidity level parameter needed inside the enclosure, on the 'higher' side since we are talking about Asian inverts.

He hit it right on the head there, it would be a hot mess... Just stick with bigger roaches and your pede will be fine. Also, don't get bit as others have said!! I know 2 people that have been bit, one had to goto the hospital and one sat at home hyperventilating for around 12-14 hours (both of whom, have been tagged by other species and stated this is by far the worst). Good luck, have fun with it!

Cheers,

Rob

 

[Willuminati]

He hit it right on the head there, it would be a hot mess... Just stick with bigger roaches and your pede will be fine.

Rob

So hypothetically speaking, if it was you feeding a pede a prekilled rodent, you'd just leave the carcass in the enclosure overnight? that sounds silly for any situation where prekilled food is used. And then you're telling a fellow keeper to stick to only one food source for their pede when it is a fact that they are inverts that thrive off of a considerably varied diet compared to most other inverts. ALSO, the fact that NO pede will FULLY devour an entire rodent is something you should understand. They munch on them (their favorite parts) for MAYBE an hour at MOST then walk away and hide again....JussSayin

 

[Rhysandfish]

I’ve had zero issues feeding pinks to my 7” dehaani. It can eat the entire mouse within about 30 mins and no issues.

 

[Willuminati]

I’ve had zero issues feeding pinks to my 7” dehaani. It can eat the entire mouse within about 30 mins and no issues.

That's Rad, all of mine considered, they only eat the internal organs, body fat, brain, eyes, but always leave tails and all the legs and pretty much all the skin and fur. Its a trip to see them with their heads all up inside a rats rib cage

 

[tdark1]

So hypothetically speaking, if it was you feeding a pede a prekilled rodent, you'd just leave the carcass in the enclosure overnight? that sounds silly for any situation where prekilled food is used. And then you're telling a fellow keeper to stick to only one food source for their pede when it is a fact that they are inverts that thrive off of a considerably varied diet compared to most other inverts. ALSO, the fact that NO pede will FULLY devour an entire rodent is something you should understand. They munch on them (their favorite parts) for MAYBE an hour at MOST then walk away and hide again....JussSayin
View attachment 271525

Will,

Hypothetically speaking, I wouldn't leave a food item in overnight, even pre-killed... One food source?? You should really re-read my post again. Most reptile stores around me have 2-3 types of roaches (I breed Lats) that makes 3-4 types of roaches to feed, not a single source. Also I prefer not to feed pinks/mice due to the mess it makes in my cages, you seem to have a pretty clean eater though. Finally, most inverts don't get the varied diets in captivity as they do in the wild, its not limited to centipedes.

Best Regards,

Rob

P.S. - I worked in the reptile trade for several years during school and I've seen pinkie mice completely devoured pretty often.... Don't know where you are getting your information regarding "NO pede will FULLY devour an entire rodent". However, I assume its because you are feeding off rats vs. pinkie mice....

 

[cold blood]

MOD NOTE

keep your personal feelings personal...bickering will not be tolerated, contunued arguments will result in infractions. Thank you.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

He hit it right on the head there, it would be a hot mess... Just stick with bigger roaches and your pede will be fine. Also, don't get bit as others have said!! I know 2 people that have been bit, one had to goto the hospital and one sat at home hyperventilating for around 12-14 hours (both of whom, have been tagged by other species and stated this is by far the worst). Good luck, have fun with it!

Cheers,

Rob

Yeah, this is the reason, Rob. While I have nothing against those that do that offering live mouses to their 'pedes (as I've said, it's a pure ethic/moral personal issue) I would not love to hear and witness the mouse screams, but, more, all of that blood & mess to clean, after.

Frozen mouse/s are ok, but IMO buying those is not an option for me since that would be a bit of a 'waste' (I don't have snakes etc) plus roaches and crickets are always ok. Let's not forget, also, that huge 'pedes can eat fruit or raw meat as well

 

[Willuminati]

I humanely euthanize the rodents (if its what I am feeding at the moment as I get leftovers from feeding my reptiles at times, my pedes don't eat JUST rats) and PREPARE them. Isopods and springtails clean up the "MESS" if any mess is left. My daughter hates the rats screaming so my reptiles get them pre-killed as well.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I humanely euthanize the rodents (if its what I am feeding at the moment as I get leftovers from feeding my reptiles at times, my pedes don't eat JUST rats) and PREPARE them. Isopods and springtails clean up the "MESS" if any mess is left. My daughter hates the rats screaming so my reptiles get them pre-killed as well.

No but no one is 'judging' you, my man. I mean, not me. But, in the case of a live mouse (frozen/pre-killed are IMO more 'clean') the mess is present... I mean, only that blood on the substrate, ehp

I'm not a fan of isopods and such at all (really) so on such a case I would be the one doing the dirty work

 

[crlovel]

I keep my S. subspinipes in a 10 gallon Zilla terrarium, the type with the sliding lid that a pede can't (please, please, please let "can't" be true) get through. I've never seen mine on the screen, or get that high. To retain humidity, I keep a ten gallon aquarium glass lid on top of the screen. The glass lid can be adjusted to the side or back, to allow for more or less ventilation. Periodically, I pour a bottle of water into the substrate. The terrarium has several inches of peat moss and cocofibre substrate, and several hides. The pede is out often, but spends most of its time in one of the hides. It eats crickets readily and voraciously. Best advice has been said already - don't get bitten. And if you do, be sure to tell us about it, so we can smile self-righteously, praise ourselves for having not been bitten, and tell you what you did wrong.

Photo taken this morning, as it enjoyed a cricket.

My S. polymorpha is kept in a plastic locking container with drilled holes. Same substrate, same leaves, and the soil is moistened every two weeks or so, allowed to dry, and then moistened again. Also eats like a pig.

Another of my S. polymorpha, also taken this morning:

 

[Rhysandfish]

Since we’re talking about escapes and such, I’d like to emphasize that escapes aren’t as easy as it’s said and you have to have a really crappy enclosure, or you must’ve left it open. This photo is one of my 8” adult females thai dehaanis who tries to get out of its enclosure every night. It made me nerveous at first but now that I’m comfortable with the enclosures I use, I have no issues. If you’re willing to use a container enclosure, Walmart has the latching lid sterlite enclosures that I’ve mentioned in another thread. I believe it was Miss Moxies thread on her new pedes.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Since we’re talking about escapes and such, I’d like to emphasize that escapes aren’t as easy as it’s said and you have to have a really crappy enclosure, or you must’ve left it open.

Even if what you said is valid, never let your 'guard' down, don't underestimate their escape-ability, never

What (IMO) is over-hyped a bit is their (Asian 'pedes in particular) temperament... I wouldn't view those at such an 'extremely defensive' level a lot of people loved to view/describe those, but their intelligence, mixed with the ability to 'use' every weak point they can find (including those ones that lead to say 'no, that's impossible' etc) and whatnot, is incredible.

They are for me intelligent like those octopus able to open a glass bottle.

 

[Rhysandfish]

Even if what you said is valid, never let your 'guard' down, don't underestimate their escape-ability, never

What (IMO) is over-hyped a bit is their (Asian 'pedes in particular) temperament... I wouldn't view those at such an 'extremely defensive' behaviour a lot of people loved to view those, but their intelligence, ability to 'use' every weak point (including those ones that lead to say 'no, impossible' etc) and whatnot, is incredible.

They are for me, intelligent like those octopus able to open a glass bottle.

Oh most definitely. Don’t get complacent. I might be content with their enclosures, but I make sure to check that they’re locked on the daily. I have gotten ridiculously complacent with these pedes though! The massive gravid one that I posted in the picture is like a puppy. It will calmly take food from tongs, let me poke it and stuff, but I still manages to keep me on edge with sudden outbursts of energy or anger towards its water bowl.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

I personally keep mine in a large glass tank with a....you guessed it....mesh lid.

Please, oh please don't attack me for this. A ton of people say "he won't be happy in T H A T'', or "zOMG YU TAEK AWYFUHL KAER UHF UR ANIMO00OOoooZ!!11!!'' but (not trynna sound naive) he seems like he enjoys it, and I take care of my animals like they're children. Allow me to explain. I'm not saying "GLASS TANKS ARE BETTER!!!1111!!!!'', nor am I saying vice versa.

A ton of people say that "mesh lids make the enclosure dry out easier''. This IS true, but, I mist it incredibly frequently. So frequently my arm hurts. Like, I can't emphasis how frequently I mist it. And, surprisingly, my 'pede loves it. He climbs on the cork bark and towering plastic plant I put in it all the time and he has a spurt of activeness recently, but has never made any escape attempt.

I'm not underestimating his power though (Please let us discover Centipedes who would be able to morph their faces to mimic Hayden Christensen just to rattle off that SW ep.3 line in all its cheesiness...PLEASE). Jokes aside, I watch him frequently. Every day and every night I check and see if any mesh has been gnawed (it hasn't). A lot of people say that they'll skitter up the stuff in the corners, but my Centipede has tried....and failed...many times. The stuff holding it together is too thin, and he's too big.