NEW VIETNAMESE CENTIPEDE

[Alleister Nash]

Ok so I have owned emps and a golden knee and also a bearded dragon so I decided since I sold me emps and they are endagered 2 now I will try my luck with the big Vietnamese centipede. It is a juvy maybe 5-6 inches long and I've fed 3 times with small crickets in the week and a half I own it. I bought a plastic big rock that is hollow with a tree built on it and the pede went into the bottom hollow aide and has been in that spot for almost four days now I'm worried it should've have came out by now seeing as it's nocturnal and I have watched as I work odd hours and it has not emerged. I have checked daily and it's still alive underneath I just want to be sure it's not dying and I just got ripped off.

 

[Shampain88]

Hiya,
I have a Scolopendra Dehanni adult and she's very reclusive...
I'm fairly new to keeping pedes but I wouldn't worry...

 

[Alleister Nash]

Hiya,
I have a Scolopendra Dehanni adult and she's very reclusive...
I'm fairly new to keeping pedes but I wouldn't worry...

Nice yea I've read mixed reviews on them being out and about or hiding I deff do not care to disturb him if he's not dying idc to not see it like some people as that is torture to the aninal I just want to make sure that it's deff not stuck in the plastic rock bc if it got in it should be able to get out also it doesn't dart out when I open it as if it we're trapped and it moves well with good quick reflexes the times it was out it wasn't hunting the crickets but if they got near it he would snag them right up

 

[Staehilomyces]

Normal behaviour for a new pede. I have found that they eventually start spending more and more time out of hiding. All of my pedes burrowed a lot after I first got them, but after a couple of months or so they all sit in the open 24/7.

 

[Alleister Nash]

Normal behaviour for a new pede. I have found that they eventually start spending more and more time out of hiding. All of my pedes burrowed a lot after I first got them, but after a couple of months or so they all sit in the open 24/7.

Ok cool also what should I be looking for premolt so I know for future reference as mine will deff be getting a bit larger.

 

[DubiaW]

"Centipedes in Captivity: The Reproductive Biology and Husbandry of Chilopoda" by Orin McMonigle is probably the best book on centipede care and breeding.

If your pede stops eating and hides out it might just be full, it could be molting or could just be getting comfortable in it's new enclosure. Make sure to keep the substrate moist but not wet and give it a fresh source of water. Even a large pede can desiccate easily. Mist the back wall of the enclosure and if the pede goes over and starts sucking the droplets off of the wall then it is being kept too dry. I've seen this a lot when I shop around at pet stores, (my interest in the animal prompts the store keeper to mist them and the pede goes nuts trying to suck up as much moisture as possible).

 

[RTTB]

That book is the definitive source on centipedes. Great read.

 

[Alleister Nash]

"Centipedes in Captivity: The Reproductive Biology and Husbandry of Chilopoda" by Orin McMonigle is probably the best book on centipede care and breeding.

If your pede stops eating and hides out it might just be full, it could be molting or could just be getting comfortable in it's new enclosure. Make sure to keep the substrate moist but not wet and give it a fresh source of water. Even a large pede can desiccate easily. Mist the back wall of the enclosure and if the pede goes over and starts sucking the droplets off of the wall then it is being kept too dry. I've seen this a lot when I shop around at pet stores, (my interest in the animal prompts the store keeper to mist them and the pede goes nuts trying to suck up as much moisture as possible).

Ok ty I will look into that. I have a temp and humidity gauge in there and the substrate is wet I must daily and have the temp at about 85. Then 65 at night. He has been hiding in the same spot for over a week now he is still alive and well so I'll leave him be. One question I ask is should I wait to have him give out before I feed him or throw something in there now. It's been over a week since last feed

 

[DubiaW]

I would just pick up his hide and feed him with some extra long tweezers or forceps. Just put the prey in front of him and he should snatch it. He will do that to your finger too so watch out. They have a very painful venom.