Prepping bark for centipede enclosure

Staehilomyces

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Today, I took a trip to the bush and grabbed a few bits of bark for my pedes. They seem pretty clean, but I want to know how to prepare them properly for use as decorations in a centipede enclosure. I tried heating up bark before, but ended up setting them on fire most of the time. Are there any other ways?
 

LeFanDesBugs

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Well if your oven is able to get to low temperatures you can just dry them out, for a long time. Other than heating, you could use a long stay in the freezer. But honestly I never took great care of sterilizing my hides and never had any losses. Worst I've had is fungi developing in the enclosure, and in that case you just have to remove them. They're harmless
 

Dennis Nedry

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I use boiling water. Works pretty well so far, there's no chance of burning the wood and no harmful parasite is going to survive 100 degree water
 

LawnShrimp

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I microwave them and also subject them to prolonged isopod feeding. They eat all of the mold spores and outer layer of bark organisms can grow on. What edible material is left fuels only a few bacteria, mold, and pests, which springtails can take care of.

Most of your 'pedes like a dry home so I doubt mold will develop anyway. Just scrub it well in water and boil or microwave it and it should be fine.
 

Staehilomyces

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Got home today to find that the bark and leaves were starting to get mouldy. How can I deal with this, yet still keep moisture and humidity?

Edit: that being said, the enclosures I use now are much better at retaining moisture than the KKs I used to use. Maybe I should tone down the misting, or perhaps cease it altogether?
 
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Dennis Nedry

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Got home today to find that the bark and leaves were starting to get mouldy. How can I deal with this, yet still keep moisture and humidity?

Edit: that being said, the enclosures I use now are much better at retaining moisture than the KKs I used to use. Maybe I should tone down the misting, or perhaps cease it altogether?
I'd either use springtails or just remove the bark and put it mouldy side up on a sunny windowsill, the heat and light will kill the mould real quick. Or just make some more ventilation holes.

Also I've never actually had a problem with humidity in KKs. My King cricket lives in a KK and only gets watered once every now and then and the enclosure still stays very moist. I also never get mould growing on the bark even though it's in a dark spot with high humidity. Maybe eucalyptus bark just doesn't go mouldy easily, maybe give it a try
 

LawnShrimp

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The mold will last for a few weeks and then die off. Springtails help; though your 'pedes might like it dry, if there's mold growing, there are probably a species of springtail that can survive in the enclosure and eat the mold.
 

LawnShrimp

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Hmm...I don't know how to get springtails. Should I just tone down the misting?
Look around. Under pots, bags, doormats... There are probably several species of introduced or native springtails that will work. I found a dozen in a potted plant and trapped them; now I have a culture of several thousand Folsomia candida that I use in every 'pede enclosure.

Mist only when necessary and try to mist only the substrate and not the bark, or lift up the bark (do mind the centipede!) and mist the area under that before replacing the bark.

The mold is probably harmless and will disappear in a few weeks, so just waiting it out is probably the best course of action if you can't find springtails.
 

Staehilomyces

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Thanks. I already took out the decorations when I first saw the mold. When I re add them, I'll probably just mist a little less; these enclosures retain moisture quite well.
 

Dennis Nedry

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Get some yeast, get half a toilet paper roll, put the yeast on a leaf and cover it with the toilet paper roll. Leave this overnight in a sheltered area and you'll get springtails
 

Staehilomyces

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Are you sure the mold is harmless? Currently, I've taken all of the decor out of Gothmog's (that's the new pedes name) enclosure. Funny thing is, it doesn't even burrow when it's hides are removed, very unlike Azog.
 

Dennis Nedry

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Are you sure the mold is harmless? Currently, I've taken all of the decor out of Gothmog's (that's the new pedes name) enclosure. Funny thing is, it doesn't even burrow when it's hides are removed, very unlike Azog.
Well you'd think that an animal that hides under fallen and potentially rotting logs in the wild would encounter mould a fair bit. If you notice just a few white specks don't worry, if it starts growing fuzzy blue or black mould just change the hide. Or just swap to a hide that won't grow mould like half a terracotta pot
 

LawnShrimp

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Maybe I'll just use rocks for the time being.
Rocks are usually a bad idea. While centipedes are supple creatures that can be squeezed to near bursting, a heavy stone trapping one underneath it, or even worse, that happening during a molt, would be very destructive. Stick with the bark. The mold will die off soon.
 

Dennis Nedry

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If the new centipede doesn't burrow or hide nearly as much as the others then you could always ditch hides entirely and give it leaf litter
 

Staehilomyces

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Okay. The thing is, the mold is of the fibrous, fast-spreading kind. If it were just a couple of fuzzy spots, I'd leave it in there. Currently, the pede has no decor, but doesn't seem to mind.
 

Dennis Nedry

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Okay. The thing is, the mold is of the fibrous, fast-spreading kind. If it were just a couple of fuzzy spots, I'd leave it in there. Currently, the pede has no decor, but doesn't seem to mind.
Is it the stuff that clings to substrate and all comes out in one big sheet when you pull away at it with tweezers? That stuff is easy enough to remove. If not I'd suggest lowering humidity for a bit
 

Staehilomyces

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Yeah, it's that kind. When I removed the bark, it took a huge chunk of substrate with it. Perhaps I should just reduce the misting.
 
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