Asian 'Red Headed' housing

[Kaissos5]

Hey i'm thinking of buying an Asian 'Red Headed' centipede from invertepet, i'm not sure of the scientific name. I was wondering if anyone has an idea for housing. Whether i should just get an aquarium or a plastic box, or for substrate/heating i need some help.

Thanks
David

 

[danread]

Hi David,

Since the asian red head is a morph of S subspinipes, i assume that they require similar conditions. I keep my subspinipes in a glass aquarium, mainly because i prefer the appearance of glass rather than plastic. It also allows you to observe the centipede with the lid on, something that can't be done so easily with a plastic sweater box, and this is definitley desirable considering how quickly they can scale the side of a plastic container. For this reason it's definitley worth considering choosing a container with a decent height to help prevent escapes. The humidity needs to be kept high, at around 75-80 %, this can be done by spraying daily and keeping a large water bowl in the enclosure. For substrate i use a mix of peat and vermiculite (70/30) a couple of inches deep and i include a piece of cork bark for it to hide under. I keep the temperature at around 75-85 by sticking a heat pad to the outside of the tank on the back. I don't think the heat pad should be placed under the tank, as this heats up the substrate causing it to dry out too quickly, and it may harm the pede by overheating it. I think thats about it, ask if you have any more questions.

Cheers,

Dan.

 

[invertepet]

Hi David,

Didn't get this question via email - did you send it? I lost a couple of PM's here on Arachnopets the other day when I was cleaning it out (it was full).

Anyway, yes - the Red Headed Centipedes are probably Vietnamese or SE Asian like other S. subspinipes. Humidity and moisture retention is the name of the game, with an eye for mite infestations and possible dehydration. Centipedes also readily drink from shallow cups, so a jar top lid or some such thing should work well for that.

I use a triple layer substrate for pedes (which they sometimes mix themselves, lol): Vermiculite (large grain preferrably) at the bottom, peat on that and then a decent layer of orchid bark or other complex substrate like Jungle Mix or Repti Bark/Repti Mix. Something that gives the pede something to crawl on that's not damp. I also put a nice flat bit of bark (cork or whatever) in there for them to sit on top of and crawl under.

I mist every other day for tropical/rainforest jungle pedes like subspinipes and keep them fairly warm, around 80-85.

bill