(Pet Post) Red-Headed Centipede

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Introduction

This week I wanted to write my first pet post. Throughout my lifetime, I have had many different pets. Some common, while others were exotic. This week’s post is going to be on the red-headed centipede. I will write about my centipede and what is needed to care for a centipede of your own. In addition to this I will provide some information on how the red-headed centipede lives in the wild. 
                                                                                          Photo Credit Yasunori Koide



My Pet Red-headed Centipede


In 2010 I walked into my local pet shop to buy crickets for my geckos. While I was there, it was normal for me to check out the other animals the store had. This time I noticed a large centipede in a small container. The centipede looked so unique. It had a red head with a black body and yellow legs. I went home and did some research on the centipede and discovered it was a red-headed centipede. After setting up an enclosure for him, I went back to the store and bought him. I named him Sindri. (Which is a Warhammer 40k character.)  
Sindri was a very interesting pet and actually easy to care for. He ate about 1 to 2 crickets every few days and needed daily water misting. He would actually drink the water droplets off the enclosure walls and artificial leaves. One interesting activity he would conduct is once he finished eating a cricket he would take any remains he did not eat and place them in a corner of the cage. This made cleaning very easy. I just had to scope a small part of the cage each week. Sindri was not very aggressive, although, I have no doubt he would have bitten me if I tried to handle him. I could clean the cage without him trying to attack me. Sindri lived about 3 years before he passed away.

 
                                                                                                         Sindri  Photo Credit Matt Bell.

Red-headed Centipede Pet Care and Enclosure Needs

My enclosure set up: The enclosure I had was pretty simple. It was about a three foot by two foot cage with a heating pad underneath it. For bedding I used about half a foot of plantation soil. I also included a small log for Sindri to hind under, and a fake plant for decoration. The plant also collected water from the misting.      
Food: Since crickets are easily purchased this is the red-headed centipede’s main diet in captivity. Since a captive red-headed centipede will be mainly eating one type of insect, it is important to dust the crickets with vitamin supplements.
Water: A red headed centipede does not need a water dish. A daily light misting will supply the water needs of the centipede.
Floor Material: A good centipede enclosure should be damp and maintain a high amount of humidity. Good materials are plantation soil, coconut husk, and shredded bark. Pine and cedar materials should be avoided. I used a mixture of plantation soil and shredded bark.
Decorations: Centipedes really do not care about decorations, but I do recommend giving the centipede a place to hide. A small log or rock will do the trick.
Heating: The red-headed centipede is from warm regions of the Americas. Its preferred enclosure temperature is around 80 degrees. So, I recommend a heating pad under the enclosure.   
Lighting: Centipedes do not need any type of lighting.
Handling: A red-headed centipede cannot be tamed and should never be handled. Also, a person who is allergic to bee stings should not own a red-headed centipede.  
Keeping with other insects: A red-headed centipede cannot be kept with other insects, even other centipedes. Multiple centipedes in an enclosure will eat each other.
Enclosure Security: Make sure the enclosure is secure. The last thing you want is to come home and find out your pet centipede is lose. Any enclosure that has a strong latch and no large holes should safely hold the centipede. I also recommend keeping the bedding and decorations low to the ground so the centipede cannot reach the top of the enclosure.

                                                                                                               Sindri Photo Credit Matt Bell


Red-head Centipedes Venom


The red-headed centipede is venomous, however, the venom is not deadly to humans. The centipede has a pair of forcipules, which are a pair of highly modified legs located behind the mouthparts. The forciplues are tipped with venom.
The bite from a red-headed centipede is normally mild. The result is a sharp painful sting that can last a few hours. Swelling can also occur. If a person bitten by a centipede has allergies to insect bites the symptoms can be more severe. In rare cases a centipede bite can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, and minor skin necrosis. Currently, there are no recorded deaths linked to a red-headed centipede bite.

  Wild Red-headed Centipedes Range and Size

The red-headed centipede (scientific name Scolopendra heros) is native to the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. It’s a large centipede whose average size is around six inches, but some can grow up to 12 inches. This makes it the largest centipede in North America. 

Diet

In the wild the red-headed centipede is mostly a nocturnal predator that feeds on insects, lizards, toads, rodents, and even small snakes!

Habitat

In the wild the red-headed centipede can be found under fallen tree limbs, rocks, and inside logs.

                                                                                                     Photo Credit Frank Boston


Reproduction


When a female red-headed centipede is ready to mate she releases pheromones to attract a male centipede. A male that is attracted to the pheromones creates capsules known as spermatophore, which hold sperm cells. The spermatophore capsules are left for the female centipede to find. When the female finds the capsules she places them inside her spermatheca. When the female is ready to reproduce she uses the sperm to fertilize the eggs.
The female red-headed centipede will lay 15 to 60 eggs during warmer months. Eggs are normally laid in rotting wood. The female guards the eggs by coiling around them. The eggs take around two months to hatch. When hatched the young lack the coloring the adult centipedes have. 

How Many Legs do Red-headed Centipedes Have?

The word centipede means “100-footed.” However, many centipede species don’t have 100 legs. The amount of legs a centipede has depends on the number of body segments it has. One pair of legs per body segment. The red-headed centipede normally has 21 to 23 pairs of legs. “Sindri was one below the average. He only had 20 legs.”   
                                                                                        Caudal Legs Photo Credit NNeilAlieNN



Red-headed Centipede’s Caudal Legs


The legs located on the back of the centipede are known as caudal legs. These legs act as antennae and allow the centipede to sense its surroundings.  
When the centipede is threaten it will flee and keep the caudal legs in a defensive posture. The goal of this is to make the predator believe this is the head of the animal. In a survival situation the red-headed centipede can escape by sacrificing a few legs. The predator is left with a few legs while the centipede escapes. The centipede can repair any damage legs by regenerating them when molting.

Conclusion   

The Red-headed Centipede is one of the most exotic pets I have ever owned. I really enjoyed the watching Sindri the three years I had him, and hope to get a new centipede in the future. Join me next time as we explore wildlife in my backyard and other nature topics.

References and Additional Resources

Aqualand. (2014). Caring for Your New Red-Headed Centipede. Retrieved from http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug,%20Centipede.htm
State of Missouri. (n.d.). Giant Red-Headed Centipede. Retrieved from 
https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/giant-red-headed-centipede
Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. (2018). Wild Thing: Stuff of Nightmares. Retrieved from https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2014/oct/scout5_wildthing_centipede/
Thought.Co. (2017). 10 Fascinating Facts About Centipedes. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/fascinating-facts-about-centipedes-1968228


Photo Credit and References

Frank Boston from Owasso, U.S. - Scolopendra heros GIANT CENTIPEDE, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54694298
NNeilAlieNN - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24334775
Yasunori Koide - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16029265

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