Scolopendra dehaani Enclosure Setup re: Humidity/Moisture

[Insects Glorify God]

It’s more important to offer microclimates within the terrarium, than it is to keep the entire terrarium to a set humidity or temperature. How much a centipede of any species will stay above ore below ground, ore where they will hide will vary a lot between individuals and they rarely do what you plan for or expect. I keep a lot of individuals from the same species and they rarely show a clear pattern of preference. This can be frustrating but I also think it is pretty awesome, and something that makes keeping these creatures quite exciting and different from keeping a robot, even if they are primitive creatures. Just don’t go to extreme on any of the perimeters of their needs, like temperatures or humidity, and rather give them options within the terrarium and you should be more than fine. I would also recommend live plants and springtails to keep mold and stagnant air at bay. Just make sure not to use plants that have been treated with pesticides of course. Also I would recommend to read a lot about how other people keep them, look at pictures of others terrariums and find what fits you the best. There isn’t a single correct way to keep centipedes, but several successful ones so don’t get caught up in a single way of doing things, but rather keep successful keepers advices in mind, and find what works for you. Experimentation is what makes this hobby move forward in doing the best for the creatures, so good luck and have fun! A final tip is to take a lot of pictures to look back to and take notes of any changes you do the the terrarium so you can keep track of what works and what doesn’t

Thank you for the reply. I am definitely looking to get some springtails and I have added a ball of moss (java, I think) that is only 3/4 submerged in the water dish (a tea light candle glass) so it can't fall in and drown. A small (real) plant would be nice, too.

Thank you for the pictures tip. I do photo my Ts on occasion but they are just for memories, like you said.

 

[CentiPete]

Thank you for the reply! Mine must still be in the acclimating stage of things or prepping to molt. I have seen it only with a flash light down the hole it's hiding in. It ate a peanut beetle larva and a small red runner roach when I first got it but it has been quite reclusive since.

I hope to see it out and about at some point. I enjoy going down into my tarantula space when the lights have been off for a while and see so many of them out doing their thing. Maybe this will be true for the centipede, too.

I was not aware that they can hiss. That is so cool! I hope mine does that some time when I am dropping in some food or refreshing it's water.

To be fair I think the hissing seemed like a defensive act and I personally wouldn’t have tried to feed the animal the way my friend did.

Here you can see my old setup. Your thread reallly makes me want to get another one!

Newbe here - Species identification and enclosure setup

Hello Board, nice to read you. I have been gifted a centipede from a friend, and wanted to know what kind of species I got. From what I have foudn on the web, it looks like a Scolopendra dehaani, but I am not 100% sure. I setup a small enclosure, with substrate to dig around in, and some other...

arachnoboards.com

 

[Wolfram1]

it's interesting how they seem to be covered by quite a few springtails every time i see them, they oviously don't to mind them and who knows, perhaps the springtails also get something out of it

they are just walking about on the centipede though

i would keep the dish clean if possible, they do deposit food waste in the water dish sometimes, much like some tarantulas, and the water can go nasty quicky
that moss is just going to harbor those bacteria once it happenes
if you think it may drown in the dish, give it a smaller dish, they can swim and dive though so i wouldn't worry unless its a smooth bowl