House centipedes?

[intrepidus6]

I caught one of these little guys roaming about my house, can they be kept as pets?
If so can somone give me some caresheets or somthing?

I live in Southwest Virginia (near Tennesse) of that makes any difference.

 

[IguanaMama]

I caught one too. Actually my cat was trying to catch it, I noticed the action and swooped in. I kept it on damp peat and fed it small crickets. It did well for a long time. You need to spray it now and then. I "hear" lack of moisture is usually what kills these in captivity, and I have a feeling that is what happened to mine.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Yes.
Keep on damp substrate and feed fruit flies and small crickets.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

There wasn't a post in front of mine when I hit reply.

 

[Carlos.e]

They also can eat pre-killed insects.

 

[intrepidus6]

Thanks, I had him under a cup that night and I planned to get him out the next day and put him in a proper inclosure, but when I opened the cup he got away.

Oh well.. I see those in my house every few days, I'm sure I will have another chance to get one sometime.

 

[Taceas]

Creepy looking things! I've never seen one in person before.

Maybe I should be thankful, I guess that means my house doesn't have bugs coming in.

 

[pinkfoot]

Creepy looking things! I've never seen one in person before.

Maybe I should be thankful, I guess that means my house doesn't have bugs coming in.

You hope!!

Bruhaha!!

 

[236260]

I have had one since, eh, April, I think. I don't even keep the substrate that moist. He seems to recoil at too much water. I only dampen on side of the enclosure half the time and never soak the substrate to the bottom of its depth. Mine has molted twice.

 

[antman]

I caught one of these little guys roaming about my house, can they be kept as pets?
If so can somone give me some caresheets or somthing?

I live in Southwest Virginia (near Tennesse) of that makes any difference.

I have always had a phobia of house centipedes. If they startle me I scream like a girl. I am more scared of them then my subspines. I wonder if my pede would eat one.

 

[antman]

They also can eat pre-killed insects.

eww! I hate them.

 

[236260]

I caught a giant black cricket a week or so ago. I put it in with my little scutigera. The cricket was actually larger than Scooter. Yesterday, on top of the rock in Scooter's tank, I found Scooter eating the monster.

He goes ages without eating, but when he does...wow!

sidenote: Sccoter is the only pede in my collection that is allowed wild captured prey. I found him crossing a street. I figure he'll be OK with wild caughts.

 

[IguanaMama]

Go Scooter! I wish mine had lived. I blamed myself for his demise, but now that I think about it, I gave him rawther good care. I found him in my kitchen, I live in an apartment building that is visited by an exterminator twice a month, so he was probably poisoned.

 

[Sergey23]

I'm curious, how does one go about catching one without damaging it?

Also, how big should the enclosure be? Considering how fast these guys move I would assume it'd have to be of some considerable size in relation to the centipede.

 

[IguanaMama]

I just grabbed a cup and put it on top of him. He was moving fast though, so I had to be fast myself. Once he was under the cup, I slid a piece of cardboard underneath and then I was able to transfer him into his permanent home. Other people probably just catch them with their hands, but they creep me out too much.

 

[ranticalion]

I use a bowl and a sheet of paper to catch them. They're quick to drop their legs if they think they need to in order to escape from something and with a cup, you're more likely to slam the edge down on their legs as they zoom across the floor. Bowls allow more room for error. Also I think paper is less likely to catch one of their feet when it goes over the last bit of the opening on the cup/bowl than cardboard.

Whenever I catch them, I put them in a critter keeper I have that's about 4 x 8 inches. I dunno if that's really what size the cage should be, but other centipedes are pretty quick as well, so I don't think that would play much of a role in their enclosure size.

 

[IguanaMama]

Eh, that was the first and last time I ever saw one, I had to think fast, plus I was competing against a huge tomcat. The cup was there, handy.

I wish I would see another, any suggestions where to look?

 

[ranticalion]

I see them all over my basement, particulary in the laundry/storage room, which is sorta damp in places. I've also seen quite a few scurrying about the kitchen, but I don't think there's any place in my house I haven't seen one. Basically look any place that is dark and damp and/or is likely to attract smaller bugs.

Despite their abundance, they're kinda hard to find because as soon as you turn on the light, they're gonna run, and you usually don't have enough time to even catch a glimpse of one before they've all disappeared.

 

[236260]

Mine was actually in the street at night. I was surprised, as it was early spring and still pretty cold outside. It was outside a coffee shop, so there were cups in the trash.

I've seen many of them, usually indoors. When I find another, I'll give him to someone with less luck in spotting them.