scolopender21
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2022
- Messages
- 40
Everything here is purely from what I have learned in my years of centipede keeping, In the coming weeks I will add some more info about other species I know about. Feel free to ask about a species and I will tell you what I know! I will start with the basics and then work my way into particular centipedes from there.
Substrate
There is a lot of misinformation about this, with centipedes that require humidity (many Asian pedes don't really like it too high but they will tolerate it) I will recommend peat moss. It is pretty good for tropical pedes and when mixed with some sand and fine clay, It will allow for lots of burrowing activity. With arid species like for example S. polymorpha and S. heros, a very sandy, gravel, and clay mixture works best. These centipedes are very prone to mycosis (fungal infection) and they will live for many years in these conditions with just a water dish. But pedes like S. sp white leg, I keep on the coco fiber bricks. I know many people say it is very hazardous for pedes, but hear me out. I add water to saturate the bricks and have them expand, and wash the fine particles out. Then I bake it in an oven at 375 deg F. I have used this with White legs for many years and it works great for me. What is really dangerous is the bagged stuff with fine particles, this will kill pedes FAST.
Humidity/ventilation
Humidity is usually irrelevant if there is good vent, but what really matters is how damp/wet the substrate is. The desert species will very quickly develop mycosis and other problems leading to death. But with tropical pedes you really need the vent if you will have moist sub, I drill holes all around the enclosure to have proper cross ventilation. Depending on your species, just use good judgement and you should be fine.
Housing and Temperature
Housing centipedes is often misunderstood, I used to use tall tanks with mesh lids but after a few injuries of them getting body parts stuck in the mesh, I went to using storage containers. You have to get the ones with the sealing lid to prevent escapes and drill vent holes on the top and along the length of the enclosure. Don't ever make any holes larger than half the centipedes head. As long as you use good judgement you will be fine, I always use very low storage containers to prevent climbing with heavy pedes, but to each their own. Temperature is also a big one, I keep my big SA giants warm as it speeds up digestion but with the exception of a few like the Malaysian jewel, if you are comfortable, they are comfortable.
Feeding
Centipedes are not like tarantulas that will do great on a single food item their entire life, but do best on a varied diet. It won't die if kept on a single healthy food item, but it won't allow for the best growth and health. Overfeeding will very quickly shorten a centipedes life span and lead to a very fat centipede. Unless your centipede is a young juvie or pedeling then you feed it twice a week with as much food as it wants. If you really want a giant centipede, you have to keep it really warm to allow for fast digestion and safe power-feeding. But your typical adult pede only really needs to eat once a week. Many people feed live mice to huge pedes, usually to a really big S. dehaani or a big SA pede. Even the largest centipedes do not need to be fed mice, it won't benefit the centipede any more than a large hisser or a gravid dubia. And if fed in exessive amounts will lead to a overweight pede in no time. It also just makes a animal suffer for no reason, If you really want to feed a rodent, please just use a frozen one. You can also offer fruits to add some variety to their diet, but they have lots of sugar so I don't offer them that more than once a month. My centipede's diets consist of dubia, red - runners, superworms, fruit, raw meats, and the occasional anole. The more different prey items the better.
Cleanness
Most centipedes are really good about eating everything they can, but a cleanup crew is always great if possible. I always simply search the enclosure for uneaten food bits. If you want to feed something that is likely messy, just transfer the pede into a different enclosure and just return it once it's done. Leaving uneaten food around will attract pests like flies and mites.
I will be adding more to this, argue all you want but this is what has worked for me. I hope to see this become a helpful resource. Thank you for reading!
Substrate
There is a lot of misinformation about this, with centipedes that require humidity (many Asian pedes don't really like it too high but they will tolerate it) I will recommend peat moss. It is pretty good for tropical pedes and when mixed with some sand and fine clay, It will allow for lots of burrowing activity. With arid species like for example S. polymorpha and S. heros, a very sandy, gravel, and clay mixture works best. These centipedes are very prone to mycosis (fungal infection) and they will live for many years in these conditions with just a water dish. But pedes like S. sp white leg, I keep on the coco fiber bricks. I know many people say it is very hazardous for pedes, but hear me out. I add water to saturate the bricks and have them expand, and wash the fine particles out. Then I bake it in an oven at 375 deg F. I have used this with White legs for many years and it works great for me. What is really dangerous is the bagged stuff with fine particles, this will kill pedes FAST.
Humidity/ventilation
Humidity is usually irrelevant if there is good vent, but what really matters is how damp/wet the substrate is. The desert species will very quickly develop mycosis and other problems leading to death. But with tropical pedes you really need the vent if you will have moist sub, I drill holes all around the enclosure to have proper cross ventilation. Depending on your species, just use good judgement and you should be fine.
Housing and Temperature
Housing centipedes is often misunderstood, I used to use tall tanks with mesh lids but after a few injuries of them getting body parts stuck in the mesh, I went to using storage containers. You have to get the ones with the sealing lid to prevent escapes and drill vent holes on the top and along the length of the enclosure. Don't ever make any holes larger than half the centipedes head. As long as you use good judgement you will be fine, I always use very low storage containers to prevent climbing with heavy pedes, but to each their own. Temperature is also a big one, I keep my big SA giants warm as it speeds up digestion but with the exception of a few like the Malaysian jewel, if you are comfortable, they are comfortable.
Feeding
Centipedes are not like tarantulas that will do great on a single food item their entire life, but do best on a varied diet. It won't die if kept on a single healthy food item, but it won't allow for the best growth and health. Overfeeding will very quickly shorten a centipedes life span and lead to a very fat centipede. Unless your centipede is a young juvie or pedeling then you feed it twice a week with as much food as it wants. If you really want a giant centipede, you have to keep it really warm to allow for fast digestion and safe power-feeding. But your typical adult pede only really needs to eat once a week. Many people feed live mice to huge pedes, usually to a really big S. dehaani or a big SA pede. Even the largest centipedes do not need to be fed mice, it won't benefit the centipede any more than a large hisser or a gravid dubia. And if fed in exessive amounts will lead to a overweight pede in no time. It also just makes a animal suffer for no reason, If you really want to feed a rodent, please just use a frozen one. You can also offer fruits to add some variety to their diet, but they have lots of sugar so I don't offer them that more than once a month. My centipede's diets consist of dubia, red - runners, superworms, fruit, raw meats, and the occasional anole. The more different prey items the better.
Cleanness
Most centipedes are really good about eating everything they can, but a cleanup crew is always great if possible. I always simply search the enclosure for uneaten food bits. If you want to feed something that is likely messy, just transfer the pede into a different enclosure and just return it once it's done. Leaving uneaten food around will attract pests like flies and mites.
I will be adding more to this, argue all you want but this is what has worked for me. I hope to see this become a helpful resource. Thank you for reading!
