# Centipede molting -HELP-



## Desert scorps (Dec 15, 2015)

Last might I saw the centipede was trying to molt so I watched for a bit and went to bed. I woke up and the centipede hasn't even broke through the old skin and seems to be stuck inside. I read some other posts here on AB and decided to take a little peice of the old skin off so that the centipede could at least try to breath. I carefully put it in an ICU and left for school. Is there anything I can do? It is an 8 inch Scolopendra subspinipes. Thanks.


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## Desert scorps (Dec 15, 2015)

Dont worry about it anymore guys, he passed away...


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## Travis K (Dec 16, 2015)

Desert scorps said:


> Dont worry about it anymore guys, he passed away...


sorry mate :-(


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## Desert scorps (Dec 17, 2015)

Travis K said:


> sorry mate :-(


It's fine, I guess. Things just happen that I have no control over. I will be thinking about getting another centipede in the future but definitely not for a while.


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## Spinoy (May 15, 2016)

any idea why it passed away?


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## Desert scorps (May 15, 2016)

Spinoy said:


> any idea why it passed away?


Looking back on it I realized I did not keep it humid enough for it to molt. I would spray daily but it would dry out super fast (even with plastic wrap on the enclosure).


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## Spinoy (May 17, 2016)

noted


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## Staehilomyces (May 18, 2016)

That's odd. My Scolopendra morsitans molted successfully, and I (perhaps unwisely) barely spray it.


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## Galapoheros (May 18, 2016)

I’ve experienced several molts and have tried to pick apart things that go wrong.  One thing that I’ve seen happen is that they can get hung up when trying to molt off the spiracles along with molting out the tracheal tubes that branch off deep inside their body.  I don’t know why they get caught up there at times but my guess is that conditions my not be the best yet the centipede survives, may even look pretty healthy.  It looks to me that sometimes they may get an infection around a spiracle and/or in the tracheal tubes just like we get lung infections but at a time the need to molt and haven’t completely healed before a molt, possibly damaging the new exoskeleton underneath in the tracheal tubes so maybe the old exo is still sticking to the new there and they get hung up in the process of molting out the tracheal tubes.  I’m guessing and speculating big time of course, maybe a little far fetched but it seems to be something like that to me.  Molting off the tracheal tubes looks like a very delicate process to me.  I’ve seen a few pedes get caught up there a few times, even tried using tweezers to pull the rest out but ime, when they get stuck, they reeeally get stuck.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Staehilomyces (May 18, 2016)

That's a shame. I imagine I am merely lucky to have had them survive every molt.


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## Desert scorps (May 18, 2016)

The centipede didn't ever break through the old skin. It was trapped inside. That's what leads me to believe it was a humidity issue.


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