Scolopendra dehaani Enclosure Setup re: Humidity/Moisture

[Insects Glorify God]

I will be getting my first Scolopendra dehaani this week. I am told it is 2 inches in size.

I just bought some ZooMed ReptiSoil to avoid the Coco Fiber impactation risk and and I have a nice (14" tall, 28gal) aquarium that I will be housing it in but I am wondering about how you have good ventilation and yet keep the humidity at 70%+. This seems like a contradiction. I was thinking that there will be a water dish that I would overflow once a week so that a corner is dampish with some moss in that water dish area as well but then leave the rest of the substrate dry to pull moisture away from that corner to create a gradient. Do I need to spritz the enclosure every day? If so, just a couple of squirts or do I spray till water runs down the side?

Anyway, would someone please speak to me like I'm 3 and explain what the typical week looks like for your setup in re: to moisture levels with a screen topped aquarium?

 

[Ratmosphere]

It's going to be hard to contain moisture with a screen top. You also run the risk of escape, as the centipede can crawl up the sides of the tank from the seal and potentially get under the lid.

 

[Insects Glorify God]

How do you have air flow without a screen top? Do I need to consider another setup?

What is the ideal enclosure?

 

[Ratmosphere]

A lot of keepers use airtight bins with drilled air holes in them. Doesn't look the best if you want to have a display enclosure, but it sure does keep in humidity and prevents escapes.

 

[Wolfram1]

you don't need to keep moisture above 70%

if you have good ventilation and a big piece of corkbark it can dig under the humidity will be much higher underneath it as long as you keep one side of the bin / 50% of the soil moist

thats microclimates, you do not want the entire enclosure to be humid, thats how you get mycosis and other problems

i like to give them a lot of leaf litter, they mostly crawl over it though, dont really like to dig through it like i imagined

still it gives them other options and means they dont have to touch the moist soil if they dont want to

they mostly rest on top of the leaf litter during the night and stay burrowed during the day

though that kind of setup is probably easier to make for adults, i havent raised a small one yet

 

[Insects Glorify God]

Ok. I saw some of those but I thought it might hold in too much humidity and lead to mycosis.

 

[Ratmosphere]

It may if there are not enough ventilation holes. You can put as many holes as you want, as long as they are significantly smaller than the pede.

 

[Insects Glorify God]

Thank you to all who have replied!

Ratmosphere, I set up a 20qt bin (roughly a 10gal. aquarium size) last night with 2-3 inches of ReptiSoil and a water dish. I shoved some test tubes in (that I will pull out later) on the sides to create burrows, too. One pointing towards the water dish and one pointing away so that there can be two different moisture level burrows. I will be adding moss by the water dish, leaves, and bark/hide soon. I have 9 holes in the top lid and roughly 20 holes around the side. They are high enough that a 2 inch pede won't be able to reach before it's too big to try and squeeze through. Please critique the set up.

In the images: The moisture on the side was from last night when I tried to spray the dirt dust down. It's been about 12 hours and there is still moisture in the corners. Is this too damp? How quickly should the ventilation dry off the sides?

Wolfram1, maybe my biggest concern is with the ReptiSoil ("a special blend of peat moss, soil, sand and carbon"). I am used to Coco Fiber for my Ts that readily absorbs water. ReptiSoil seems to be water resistant!? After I sprayed the sides to get the dirt dust down and tried to pack the dirt a little, the water stuck more to my hands than absorbing into the dirt. So, I am struggling with how to create a wet/dry gradient. I loved your microclimates explanation. That is what I want to create but since I have a hard time getting the ReptiSoil to absorb the water, I am at a loss. Should I just add more sand? What would be your recommendation?

I don't want to kill my first pede but I am afraid I might if I don't get a good understanding of how to care for it. Ts seem so much easier...

 

[Wolfram1]

any soil, even coco fibre gets hydrophobic once it is dry, you are going to have to rehydrate it very slowly

in your case i would probably get a skewer to poke the soil during the poor, to let it permeate down into the bottom a bit better

do it slowly and in steps so you dont overdo it

after the initial rehydration it should absorb the water normally

i don't use either products though so perhaps someone has more specific advice for these substrates



another problem you have is that there isn't enough ventilation at substrate level.

if you can i would add a row of 5-8 very small holes about a centimeter above the soil to increase airflow.
just one side of the bin should be enough, this will allow better air circulation and give you a chimney effect


now regarding the droplets

there is a difference between droplets remaining and fogging up/condensation

if you sprayed one side a few droplets remaining the next day is no issue, some may even persist longer

i use the sprayer too usually, not to increase humidity but simply to water the side and refill the waterdish, it is convinient, just dont use it to mist

on the other hand what you don't want is constand condensation from the air, if it foggs up for more than a few hours after spraying it was too much, idealy you don't wan't any condensation at all

in your case, as is, the condensation would only be visible just above the soil as airflow in the top should be pretty good

the row of holes above the substrate level will help a lot with airflow and reduce condensation significantly

just make them tiny, so it can't use them to escape

the care is pretty similar to tarantulas actually, water dish, a hide, some moisture in the soil, perhaps be a bit more mindful to keep the water dish full & clean ofc, they do seem to loose moisture a bit quicker but other than that...

 

[Ratmosphere]

In addition to above, you may want to use a drill with a bit sized 1/16" above the substrate layer. The ones toward the top are pretty big and should not be added to lower levels.

Centipedes will do anything to escape, and since the animal is 2", it may be able to get out of the bigger holes.

 

[Insects Glorify God]

Thank you. I appreciate the clarification/more detailed information! I will do my best to apply the tips for care.

 

[Shiverz]

I find it easier to hydrate the substrate out of the enclosure. Provided you keep it damp and never let it dry out, it won't become hydrophobic. How is your dehaani settling in?