S. Subspinipes molting help?

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Hi, all

so, I might be getting a Vietnamese Giant Centipede, S.Subspinipes, and I was wondering about molting. No pet i've had before has lived long enough to molt, and I was a little worried about it not surviving (not sure if that's necessary at all or not). I do have a large rock cave that is sheltered all the time, and is nice and dark. Should I feed it afterwards? Can I keep the shedded skin? Any help?

 

[LeFanDesBugs]

Centipedes must eat their molt after they are done. Never remove it !
Before the molt the pede will seemingly disappear for a few weeks. If you do happen to see it it'll look fat and strangely colored. It won't eat. That's perfectly normal.
The humidity must stay high during this period (humidity should always be high for pedes anyway)
Then, after the molt, the pede will be weak, sluggish and soft. Don't feed it until more than a week post-molt.
That's about it.

 

[chanda]

Hi, all

so, I might be getting a Vietnamese Giant Centipede, S.Subspinipes, and I was wondering about molting. No pet i've had before has lived long enough to molt, and I was a little worried about it not surviving (not sure if that's necessary at all or not). I do have a large rock cave that is sheltered all the time, and is nice and dark. Should I feed it afterwards? Can I keep the shedded skin? Any help?

Centipedes routinely eat their old exoskeleton after molting, so keeping the shed "skin" is not usually an option.

As far as molting is concerned, make sure your centipede has plenty of moist, deep substrate to burrow into. Moisture is critical to centipedes - particularly during a molt. They will usually molt underground (to minimize loss of body fluids). After molting, it's best to wait a few days to a week (depending on the size of your centipede) before offering live prey, to be certain that the new exoskeleton has completely hardened.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Centipedes routinely eat their old exoskeleton after molting, so keeping the shed "skin" is not usually an option.

As far as molting is concerned, make sure your centipede has plenty of moist, deep substrate to burrow into. Moisture is critical to centipedes - particularly during a molt. They will usually molt underground (to minimize loss of body fluids). After molting, it's best to wait a few days to a week (depending on the size of your centipede) before offering live prey, to be certain that the new exoskeleton has completely hardened.

thank you so much!

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Centipedes must eat their molt after they are done. Never remove it !
Before the molt the pede will seemingly disappear for a few weeks. If you do happen to see it it'll look fat and strangely colored. It won't eat. That's perfectly normal.
The humidity must stay high during this period (humidity should always be high for pedes anyway)
Then, after the molt, the pede will be weak, sluggish and soft. Don't feed it until more than a week post-molt.
That's about it.

thanks a ton! I really appreciate it!

 

[LawnShrimp]

What everyone else said is great information. Soft fruit like banana is a good treat after a molt; some keepers think it is a good vitamin supplement. Do make sure that there are no live inverts (feeders, isopods) in with the 'pede during or a week or so after it molts as these will often severely injure a molting centipede.

One possible issue could be the "rock cave" you have. If it is too low to the ground it may crush your centipede when it molts. Besides molting, if the roof of it is too high off the ground your centipede might not use it at all. You may want to consider replacing it with a flat piece of cork bark, which is less likely to injure a centipede during molt and also provides a more comfortable surface closer to the ground to hide under.