Scolopendra dehaani housing and escape attempts

[anynameyouwish]

Disclaimer: I understand and accept the terms and conditions of owning an S. dehaani as a first centipede.

A very nice chap at a show told me dehaani are quite capable of chewing through metal mesh found on most brand-name enclosures. He recommended a fully glass enclosure with a sort of double-door "airlock" style top. Not even my dangerous spiders have that sort of safety mechanism. Of course he was also selling enclosures so... Nevertheless, I trust him.

So I did my research -- people say the same thing: dehaani are nasty escape artists. Yet I see posts, pics, and videos of people keeping them in flimsy jars and plastic containers without any worry about potential escape. I can't find a post with proof that their 'pede chewed through anything but crickets.

Lots of conflicting info: people say one thing then show the polar opposite.

Anyone with personal experience with dehaani and the likes: can you please give me your 2 cents about this?

 

[ouroboross]

Disclaimer: I understand and accept the terms and conditions of owning an S. dehaani as a first centipede.

A very nice chap at a show told me dehaani are quite capable of chewing through metal mesh found on most brand-name enclosures. He recommended a fully glass enclosure with a sort of double-door "airlock" style top. Not even my dangerous spiders have that sort of safety mechanism. Of course he was also selling enclosures so... Nevertheless, I trust him.

So I did my research -- people say the same thing: dehaani are nasty escape artists. Yet I see posts, pics, and videos of people keeping them in flimsy jars and plastic containers without any worry about potential escape. I can't find a post with proof that their 'pede chewed through anything but crickets.

Lots of conflicting info: people say one thing then show the polar opposite.

Anyone with personal experience with dehaani and the likes: can you please give me your 2 cents about this?

dont get a glass enclosure. doesn't provide ideal air flow. get a plastic tub and drill/melt holes near the soil around the whole enclosure. stagnent air causes mycosis infections. holes on the side provides the airflow needed, but no holes on the top keeps in humidity. Dehaani has a bad stereotype because people dont care for them properly and the pede is mad all the time. and if you dont already know, dont use coco fiber, and dont feed them crickets. Coco fiber grows mold really easily and will kill your pede because of impaction. crickets dont provide the nutrients needed for your pede, feed them a variety. Ex. Super worms, dubia roaches, black crickets, Chicken, non citrus fruits, ect.
enjoy your new pet!

 

[anynameyouwish]

Thanks for the solid advice!

Dehaani has a bad stereotype because people dont care for them properly and the pede is mad all the time.

Huh, I guess it’s a sort of survivorship bias then

Coco fiber grows mold really easily and will kill your pede because of impaction

Yeah I stopped using coco fiber because I couldn’t stop it from growing mold except when bone dry. It’s still good for my desert/dry species as a base layer, but that’s about it.

crickets dont provide the nutrients needed for your pede

Good to know. Good thing I hate crickets!

Chicken, non citrus fruits

Wait what? Chicken? Raw or cooked?

 

[ouroboross]

Wait what? Chicken? Raw or cooked?

raw chicken. ive only given cooked but i dont recommend it.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Thanks for the solid advice!

Huh, I guess it’s a sort of survivorship bias then

Yeah I stopped using coco fiber because I couldn’t stop it from growing mold except when bone dry. It’s still good for my desert/dry species as a base layer, but that’s about it.

Good to know. Good thing I hate crickets!

Wait what? Chicken? Raw or cooked?

Use a tall plastic container it cannot escape when you open up
For feeding , hopefully someday I get a giant pede.

 

[ouroboross]

i have a tub thats like a foot and a half tall and my dehaani can still escape

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

i have a tub thats like a foot and a half tall and my dehaani can still escape

Dang that’s nuts I didn’t think they had the leg grip to climb plastic . In that case what works ?

 

[ouroboross]

Dang that’s nuts I didn’t think they had the leg grip to climb plastic . In that case what works ?

he is 8 inches long and just uses the ventilation holes as footing

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

he is 8 inches long and just uses the ventilation holes as footing

That’s a smart pede , I guess you’d have to drill a pattern it cannot climb requiring another container and a lot of drilling…

 

[ouroboross]

That’s a smart pede , I guess you’d have to drill a pattern it cannot climb requiring another container and a lot of drilling…

they only need one hole when they bolt

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

they only need one hole when they bolt

Yeah I guess they have serious speed!!

 

[anynameyouwish]

he is 8 inches long and just uses the ventilation holes as footing

I was just wondering whether they can do that! Fascinating animals. And to think I didn’t want one because I used to think they were boring, haha

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

Haven't kept anything as scary as a dehaani, but you could stick the whole enclosure inside a large storage bin like I do with me smaller centipedes. This way, even if it gets out, it will be stuck in the bin. You still have to make sure escape isn't easy, and regularly check to see if the centipede has gotten into the bin, but at least Noone will get bitten this way.

I haven't had any escapes, but this could be a precautionary measure, especially if you have kids, dogs, or cats.

 

[anynameyouwish]

but you could stick the whole enclosure inside a large storage bin

Thought about that, but I’d be worried about airflow. Have you had any issues keeping them this way?

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

Thought about that, but I’d be worried about airflow. Have you had any issues keeping them this way?

The species and enclosures I used are quite small so it wasn't too much of an issue. Might need quite a big bin for a dehaani though

 

[ouroboross]

Thought about that, but I’d be worried about airflow. Have you had any issues keeping them this way?

you dont keep them in these larger tubs, you just put them inside of there when feeding or doing maintenance

 

[Ratmosphere]

Robot or human?

Look into these. I drill a significant amount of air holes on the top and sides. Works great for centipedes. I have not had an escape yet!

 

[anynameyouwish]

Robot or human?

Look into these. I drill a significant amount of air holes on the top and sides. Works great for centipedes. I have not had an escape yet!

Thanks for the suggestion! I ended up getting something similar.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything substantial here in the UK. All the ones I found had those reinforcement dents on the side not go all the way up (making escape nice and easy) or they were flimsy. Like: drilled a hole on the side gently and slowly and a huge chunk got torn out… finally got one set up, few days later that little terminator is hanging from the lip of the lid trying to climb out. At 2AM.
So I got a bigger box, same crappy quality and loose lid. But at least it survived the holes and it’s tall enough that it won’t be able to reach even when mature. So far so good. I’ll keep my eyes out for something better

 

[Dry Desert]

Thanks for the suggestion! I ended up getting something similar.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything substantial here in the UK. All the ones I found had those reinforcement dents on the side not go all the way up (making escape nice and easy) or they were flimsy. Like: drilled a hole on the side gently and slowly and a huge chunk got torn out… finally got one set up, few days later that little terminator is hanging from the lip of the lid trying to climb out. At 2AM.
So I got a bigger box, same crappy quality and loose lid. But at least it survived the holes and it’s tall enough that it won’t be able to reach even when mature. So far so good. I’ll keep my eyes out for something better

Most keepers with anything seriously venomous will always " double tank ".
Main enclosure with good ventilation, larger outer container with mainly top ventilation.
If it should escape one, it will be contained in the outer larger one.

 

[anynameyouwish]

Most keepers with anything seriously venomous will always " double tank ".
Main enclosure with good ventilation, larger outer container with mainly top ventilation.
If it should escape one, it will be contained in the outer larger one.

Kindly remove any and all cameras from my bathroom! Hah
Not 5 minutes before your message I finally captured my H. lunula. I triple tanked her while doing some maintenance and she decided it was prime time to teleport out of her hiding spot, out of her enclosure, out of the big box, and straight out of the bathtub. I turned away for about 1 second to grab a catch cup