North American Giant Centipede

North American Giant Centipede. It lives in the deserts of northern Mexico and southwestern United States. It is the largest centipede in North America, with an average size of 17cm in the wild and a maximum size of about 20cm. It is very aggressive and likes to actively prey on animals within its habitat.

Chinese Name: 北美巨人蜈蚣

Latin Name: Scolopendraheros

Distribution: North America

Reproduction: Oviparous

The North American Giant Centipede is found in the northern parts of Mexico and the United States. It is distributed in New Mexico, Arizona, western Arkansas, eastern Louisiana, and Missouri. Although its English name is often referred to as "Giant Desert Centipede" due to its presence in the Sonoran Desert and other arid habitats, S.heroes has also been found in rocky woodland areas such as Arkansas.

It is recommended to keep North American Giant Centipedes for those who love climbing pets. It is the largest species in North America, not only in terms of size but also in terms of its fierce and aggressive nature. With its high ornamental value, it is a highly popular species among enthusiasts.

The centipede often suffers from five diseases during breeding, namely: miscarriage, ant damage, shedding disease, abdominal distension disease, and green mold disease. If these five common diseases are treated with the correct methods, breeding centipedes will be much easier.

Miscarriage of pregnant centipedes is caused by direct interference, flipping, noise, or direct stimulation from foreign objects. Therefore, it is necessary to keep quiet during pregnancy. Rats eating adult centipedes, larvae, and eggs can cause significant losses, so this situation must be prevented.

When preventing and controlling ant damage, a ditch should be dug around the breeding pool and water should be injected to effectively prevent ants from entering. Use bones, sugar, fruits, or other sweets to lure ants away and then scald them with boiling water. Centipedes during molting or egg hatching have weak resistance, and ants will swarm and attack at this time. This can cause molting centipedes to be bitten to death or cause female centipedes in the hatching period to abandon their eggs and flee.

Shedding disease is caused by the excessive humidity of the centipedes' habitat, which leads to parasitic fungi in their bodies. Mixing 0.25g of gentamicin, 0.6g of sidalin, and 1g of calcium tablets into fine powder and mixing it with 400g of feed for several days can effectively treat this disease.

Centipedes often suffer from abdominal distension disease during the period of low temperature and rainy weather after autumn. Overeating and low temperature are the main causes of abdominal distension disease in centipedes. Mix 1g of sidalin with 500g of water and let them suck it, and increase the feeding temperature; grind 0.5g of sulfonamide tablets into powder and mix it with 300g of feed; or mix 0.25g of chloramphenicol with 300g of feed and feed it every other day until the disease is cured.

Green mold disease, also known as green Aspergillus infection, is the main disease in the breeding of centipedes. When the temperature is high, the humidity is high, and the food becomes moldy, the centipedes are prone to infection by pathogens and contract this disease. In the early stage of infection, black or green spots appear on the skin of the joints of the centipedes, which then gradually expand; and then the body loses its luster, black spots appear under the abdomen, appetite decreases, movement becomes sluggish, and eventually they refuse to eat, become thin, and die. The main cause of this disease is excessive humidity in the breeding environment or the decay and moldiness of remaining food in the pool. When treating, first remove the moldy food, feed fresh live food, maintain good hygiene in the breeding pool, and carry out disinfection and sterilization. Then adjust the temperature and humidity in the breeding pool and maintain ventilation and dehumidification. For centipedes that are affected, spray 0.25g of penicillin with 1kg of water for disinfection or use it for drinking. You can mix 0.6g of sidalin, 0.25g of terramycin, and 0.25g of chloramphenicol into coarse powder and mix it with 400g of feed to feed the affected centipedes until they recover.

Breeding Environment

   ①The cubic container should be larger than the body length of the centipede.

   ②The temperature should be maintained between 20°C and 35°C.

   ③The humidity should be maintained between 30% and 70%.

   ④Use coconut soil or sand with a thickness of more than 2cm as bedding.

   ⑤There should be sufficient ventilation.

  【1】Breeding of Juveniles

   ①Recommended feed: yellow mealworms, cherry roaches, pinhead crickets.

   ②Ensure sufficient drinking water.

   ③Avoid direct sunlight.

   ④The molting period is unpredictable. In an environment suitable and rich in nutrients, juveniles generally molt every 20-40 days.

   ⑤Before molting, the head of the centipede may slightly inflate.

  【2】Breeding of Adults

  ①It is recommended to keep adult giant centipedes separately to avoid cannibalism.

  ②Recommended feed: Dubia roaches, superworms.

  ③Ensure sufficient drinking water.