Thread for the rest of my S. heros questions

[Pulk]

It's been pretty excited about getting one large cricket per day for four or five days. It's not starved, though (as you can see). Is that odd? (It should get one or two per week, right?)

The top of the terrarium is wire mesh, so there's lots of ventilation. Is it reasonable to have a full water dish at all times and spray it well a few times a week? (the substrate is peat moss and coco chunks)

I've only had it for 6 days, so I can't assume this is its normal behavior, but last night and today it's suddenly more comfortable being visible. Before, it would make sure it was entirely covered by the hide, but right now the four back segments and the whole head/antennae are in plain sight. Should I be worried?

Is it ok for it to have a hide but not substrate it loves to burrow in?

Just peat moss is good, right?

It's 7" body length. Can it be fed a live fuzzy mouse?

How do you tell when they're in pre-molt (not just right before)? Is there any way I could retrieve one molt without depriving it of essential nutrients/energy?

How do you tell when they're dehydrated?

 

[Drachenjager]

It's been pretty excited about getting one large cricket per day for four or five days. It's not starved, though (as you can see). Is that odd? (It should get one or two per week, right?)

The top of the terrarium is wire mesh, so there's lots of ventilation. Is it reasonable to have a full water dish at all times and spray it well a few times a week? (the substrate is peat moss and coco chunks)

I've only had it for 6 days, so I can't assume this is its normal behavior, but last night and today it's suddenly more comfortable being visible. Before, it would make sure it was entirely covered by the hide, but right now the four back segments and the whole head/antennae are in plain sight. Should I be worried?

Is it ok for it to have a hide but not substrate it loves to burrow in?

Just peat moss is good, right?

It's 7" body length. Can it be fed a live fuzzy mouse?

How do you tell when they're in pre-molt (not just right before)? Is there any way I could retrieve one molt without depriving it of essential nutrients/energy?

How do you tell when they're dehydrated?

i have shallow substrate and a rock for it to hid under. i dont see them burrow in the wild , they are generally under rocks.

 

[cacoseraph]

It's been pretty excited about getting one large cricket per day for four or five days. It's not starved, though (as you can see). Is that odd? (It should get one or two per week, right?)

The top of the terrarium is wire mesh, so there's lots of ventilation. Is it reasonable to have a full water dish at all times and spray it well a few times a week? (the substrate is peat moss and coco chunks)

I've only had it for 6 days, so I can't assume this is its normal behavior, but last night and today it's suddenly more comfortable being visible. Before, it would make sure it was entirely covered by the hide, but right now the four back segments and the whole head/antennae are in plain sight. Should I be worried?

Is it ok for it to have a hide but not substrate it loves to burrow in?

Just peat moss is good, right?

It's 7" body length. Can it be fed a live fuzzy mouse?

How do you tell when they're in pre-molt (not just right before)? Is there any way I could retrieve one molt without depriving it of essential nutrients/energy?

How do you tell when they're dehydrated?

centipedes make a mess eating mice. i would put it into a feeding container with no substrate if you want to give it a fuzzy mouse.

i wouldn't steal a whole molt. i have stolen bits of them, though.

spraying on the surface of substrate does almost nothing for humidity, unless you spray a LOT. over fill the water dish, is easier.


also, don't forget to periodically look over the mesh top for chew damage. given enough time a centipede can chew through almost anything.

 

[Pulk]

So I couldn't give it an injured cricket or something right after molting? It would be awesome to have a whole centipede molt.
How can you tell when it's dehydrated?

 

[cacoseraph]

So I couldn't give it an injured cricket or something right after molting? It would be awesome to have a whole centipede molt.
How can you tell when it's dehydrated?

we don't know exactly why they eat their molts. it is reasonable to assume they are regaining lost nutrients. there is a small chance that captive diets don't contain all the nutrients that a WC gets and that you would be taking away their only source of something critical. or... it could have zero impact and you could steal every single molt a centipede ever had and there would be no problems. we just don't know.

thirsty centipedes are bitey centipedes. they attack the ground, the lid, *everything*. this is when er, a centipede acts like a centipede, if you see what i mean

 

[Pulk]

Ok.

Now it's 1:30 pm and it's just lying there entirely in plain sight, not really even moving. When it was moving it was walking, instead of running like it had been the past few days. Is this something to be worried about?

 

[Drachenjager]

Ok.

Now it's 1:30 pm and it's just lying there entirely in plain sight, not really even moving. When it was moving it was walking, instead of running like it had been the past few days. Is this something to be worried about?

its seems that the more humidity and less ventilation you have the more visible they are... not sayign thats a good situation jsut seems to be the way it is lol

 

[Pulk]

I overflowed the water dish and sprayed today, so I'll assume it's the humidity.

...

If anyone has removed a whole molt, could you let us (me) know what the results were?

 

[cacoseraph]

its seems that the more humidity and less ventilation you have the more visible they are... not sayign thats a good situation jsut seems to be the way it is lol

me too. pretty regularily i have centipedes sitting on the open that will retreat to their burrow if i startle them. when i ran high vent rigs i had a bunch of "empty" cages.

 

[cacoseraph]

Is this something to be worried about?

doesn't strike me as somethign to worry about.

"faceshoveling" is a bad sign. just walking around is normalish. especially in a new set up. give it a couple weeks to settle in, like. pay attn to it's habits. after a few weeks if it keeps doign the same thing every day you can kind of establish that as a baseline. if it starts doing "weird" stuff counter to that baseline you might need to like, examine things

 

[Pulk]

I'm not sure what you mean by "faceshoveling."

It kind of examined the substrated, especially around the walls, apparently for burrowability. I guess the head was pointed downwards and maybe went under a little bit against the wall, although most of the inspection was done with the antennae. I thought that was to be expected?

 

[Pulk]

I'm a little worried. It's entirely out of its hide now, not moving, and when I tap its legs it only shifts a little bit. How bad is overfeeding?

 

[ragnew]

Your pede could just be adjusting to it's new enviornment. You might want to just let it hang for a bit and do what it wants to do. I'd think it'd have a better possibility of being overly stressed if it's messed with too much.

You just recieved it a few days ago right? I think it just needs time to get settled into it's new digs.

 

[Pulk]

I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something people know to be an indicator of a problem.

 

[ragnew]

I gotcha, and understand completely I think your pedes just acclimating though. It's good to be on the safe side.

Enjoy your pede man! They're cool little beasties!

 

[Pulk]

In the week and a half I've had it, I've -seen- it come out for a drink maybe 10 times. Normal?

 

[Pulk]

three questions

how acceptable would it be to use 100% repti-sand?

is it ok for the substrate to dry out for a day or two if the dish stays filled?

the pede is looking a little crinkly (not raisin-crinkly, but not quite entirely smooth). my humidity schedule right now is spray the substrate once per week, overflow the water dish twice per week, and keep the water dish always filled. how not smooth is acceptable?

thanks

 

[cacoseraph]

three questions

how acceptable would it be to use 100% repti-sand?

though we regularily find pedes on almost pure sand their seems to be a pretty strong feeling that it is not a great substrate in captivity. one thing, unless you set up the sand just right the pede won't be able to burrow in it... which might be what you are going for. but if that is the case you must provide a good hide and make sure the pede can't become dehydrated.

is it ok for the substrate to dry out for a day or two if the dish stays filled?

yes, generally. maybe in winter in hideous central air depressed RH it might not be as good of an idea... but it should be fine now.

the pede is looking a little crinkly (not raisin-crinkly, but not quite entirely smooth). my humidity schedule right now is spray the substrate once per week, overflow the water dish twice per week, and keep the water dish always filled. how not smooth is acceptable?

thanks

hmm... i'm not sure what you mean. what part(s) specifically are crinkly?

 

[Pulk]

though we regularily find pedes on almost pure sand their seems to be a pretty strong feeling that it is not a great substrate in captivity. one thing, unless you set up the sand just right the pede won't be able to burrow in it... which might be what you are going for. but if that is the case you must provide a good hide and make sure the pede can't become dehydrated.

i'm still a little confused about how bad it is not for them to be able to burrow, but having a hide instead.
how would the sand have to be set up to make it burrowable?
is there no danger of impaction or any sand ingestion worry?

hmm... i'm not sure what you mean. what part(s) specifically are crinkly?

the back.
here are some rather large photos for your examination. keep in mind they're with flash.
1
2

 

[cacoseraph]

i'm still a little confused about how bad it is not for them to be able to burrow, but having a hide instead.
how would the sand have to be set up to make it burrowable?
is there no danger of impaction or any sand ingestion worry?

as far as healthfulness... a hide should be ok. my concern is for captive hatching eggs.... it *seems* like a pede in a burrow is much less inclined to randomly eat the eggs. this could be a humidity thing or something... dunno.

the back.
here are some rather large photos for your examination. keep in mind they're with flash.
1
2

it looks ok. i think i see what you mean... instead of the tergites being completely smooth they have some ripples in them. those tergites can flex so they don't stay perfectly smooth. i imagine level of feeding and hydration affect them