S. heros won't burrow

[Pulk]

it's on 100% peat moss (which has been through all stages of moist -- dry), lots of ventilation, and has a corkbark hide and water dish.
it spends ROUGHLY a third of the time hiding under the corkbark )), a third lying down outside of the cork bark, and a third of the time trying to climb up the walls wall The latter is really, really, really annoying as it looks unpleasant for the pede (it can't be comfortable), and I'm worried it'll get to the wire mesh lid and crawl up there or chew on it.
It basically has never burrowed at all. (there were two incidents, but they only lasted for a few hours.)

How can I get it so I see my pede less?

 

[ftorres]

HEllo PUlk,
ALl you have to do is send him to my address,please.

 

[ftorres]

HEllo Pulk the previous was a joke.

I feel like the centi is happy with its enclosure.
If you see it moving too much and always trying to scape then you worry then.

if it is out is fine, he is just content with the enviromnment and the surrundings.
In my experience I don't see nothing wrong with that.
good luck regards
ftorres

 

[Pulk]

HEllo Pulk the previous was a joke.

I feel like the centi is happy with its enclosure.
If you see it moving too much and always trying to scape then you worry then.

if it is out is fine, he is just content with the enviromnment and the surrundings.
In my experience I don't see nothing wrong with that.
good luck regards
ftorres

it is always trying to escape.

Edit: I forgot to say, I think it's in premolt.

 

[Galapoheros]

If you decide not to send it to ftorres , you could get a one gal plastic cookie jug and put it in there temporarily just to see if it calms down, maybe it will help you figure "something" out. Maybe spray the inside of the jug so the sides are wet, close the lid, ...see how it does. I put a few outside by the house in the shade in tall Rubbermaid tubs with about 3 inches of coco fiber and a big flat rock. They mostly stay under the rocks, but one walks around more than the others and finally ends up under the rock during the day. I think they do well outside because I'm not there to try and fake the environment as much with temp, humidity, etc. and mess it up. But the ones I have inside seem to be doing well too. I have wire (like thick screen) tops on the ones outside and a brick on top. Just something you might could try temporarily if you think it might have to do with something about it being inside the house. The ones outside are on coco fiber that got soaked in the rain but it doesn't seem to bother them outside with an open top. Also, I drilled small holes in the bottom for drainage. I'm not as concerned about parasites and things like that as some think maybe I should be. Sometimes I throw leaves in, Pillbugs show up... Whatever you try, good luck with it.

 

[Stylopidae]

Try feeding more. It could be looking for food.

I have one that's constantly looking for food and sounds similar to yours.

 

[Pulk]

If you decide not to send it to ftorres , you could get a one gal plastic cookie jug and put it in there temporarily just to see if it calms down, maybe it will help you figure "something" out. Maybe spray the inside of the jug so the sides are wet, close the lid, ...see how it does.

i could do that... why might that help it calm down?

Try feeding more. It could be looking for food.

thanks, maybe that's it.

 

[cacoseraph]

i could do that... why might that help it calm down?

i know why *i* think it would calm down... it would feel like it was under a rock instead of out in the open. plus, centipedes are positively thigmotaxic. that is, the prefer to have something solid to rest against. a smaller 1G with reduced ventilation gives the centipedes a much more "closed in feeling" which should translate into less agigaton on the part of the pede

i dunno if that is what gala was thinking or not

 

[Stylopidae]

I wouldn't worry about it. I keep all my S. heros the same way; one gallon (or half gallon...depends on size) jars. All are comfortable and none move except for the one. I've been under the school of thought for some time now that a moving bug is an unhappy bug. All their substrate has the exact same moisture content and they're pretty much all fed the same amount. It's just this one that walks around and around like it has somewhere to be.

It's since calmed down, it just kind of sits there waiting for something to be dropped in. Every time I open the lid, it freaks out and then it keeps walking for like the half day before settling down.

By keeping all the centipedes of the same type (S. heros castaniceps) under the exact same conditions, it's kind of a science experiment of sorts (although with only three castaniceps and an arizonensias kept that way, it's not a very good one). I think it just boils down to the individual.

It could also have something to do with gender. I was thinking maybe that male centipedes look for mates the same way female tarantulas do, or that gravid female centipedes look for a place to lay eggs. The container I have them in has about 3-ish inches space at the top and about 6-ish inches of substrate (3-ish inches of space on top, 10-ish of space of substrate of the gallon jars) so I think they could easily use their enclosures as an egg laying chamber if they so desired so I'm leaning towards male.

Any of the centigods have thoughts on this hypothesis?

 

[beetleman]

yeah, my arizonensis,heros heros,canstan. never burrow they are always out.most of the time they don't move until food goes in there and they are very quick.

 

[Pulk]

tried reducing the ventilation by 50%.
tried all degrees of humidity - wetness of peat - packed-down-ness - and depth.
tried starting a burrow for it.
tried feeding it a lot.
tried putting it in a .87 gallon plastic food jar.

none of this has helped. it'll begin to burrow (gets a few segments in), then pulls out and runs around some more.

any more ideas?