Cormocephalus spp.
Identity confidence: provisional. This is a genus, group, or trade name rather than a confirmed species. Treat it as the closest match we can stand behind, and use the more conservative end of any range.
Cormocephalus Centipedes: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A widespread genus (Australia, South Africa and beyond): smaller and more varied than the giant Scolopendra, with many species leaning toward arid setups. Care is per-species, but the universal centipede rules hold: fast, a venomous bite, an escape artist. Never handle. Adults reach about 3-5 inches.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 3-4: Intermediate / AdvancedSetup: Terrestrial centipede (often arid-leaning)Handling: NEVER
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 72-85°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | Ambient 45-60%, cross-ventilated; arid-leaning with a humid retreat (per species) |
| Setup Type | Terrestrial centipede (often arid-leaning) |
| Substrate | Soil/sand mix with a humid retreat; locked lid; depth per species |
| Feeding | Appropriate prey weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 3-4: Intermediate / Advanced |
| Handling | NEVER |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- terrestrial burrow setup for secure specimens
Warnings First
- Venomous bite, fast, escape artist. Never handle
- Solitary housing only; never cohab centipedes
- Many species are arid-leaning: research the specific species before assuming tropical care
- Lid must lock; bite/chew-resistant ventilation
- Moisture varies by species across this genus, but cross ventilation low on two opposite walls does not. It is the one setting that is right for every Cormocephalus, wherever you land on the moisture question.
Simple Care
- Substrate with a humid retreat; mostly dry-leaning for the typical species.
- Cross ventilation low on two opposite walls, at substrate level. Correct for every species in the genus.
- A shallow water dish packed with pebbles so small pedelings cannot drown; a locked lid.
- House singly; centipedes are cannibalistic.
- Tools and a catch cup; never touch with hands.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- A large, widespread genus: C. westwoodi, C. hartmeyeri, C. nitidus and many more, mostly Australia and South Africa. Care varies a lot by species; many prefer arid setups with a humid retreat rather than a tropical moist box.
- Whatever the species, the containment is identical to any centipede: a locked lid, tiny tough ventilation, deep enough substrate to disappear into.
- Ventilation is the other thing that does not vary by species. Build cross ventilation at substrate level on every Cormocephalus setup: fine-mesh vents low on two opposite walls, at or just above the substrate line, so air crosses horizontally through the layer the animal lives in. On the arid-leaning species it holds the contrast between a dry surface and one humid retreat. On the damper ones it clears saturated, motionless air out of the burrow before it turns into a mold and mite problem. Same build, both jobs.
- Bond fine stainless mesh flush over the low vents and size every gap under the head width. Many species in this genus are small, so measure against the animal you actually have.
- Because moisture requirements are uncertain across the genus, generous cross ventilation is also the safer error. An over-ventilated setup with a good humid retreat and a water dish lets the animal choose; an under-ventilated one removes the choice and traps it in whatever you guessed.
- Tune from behavior and by hand, not from a hygrometer. If the animal sits permanently in the humid retreat, it wants more moisture available. If it surface-wanders and will not settle, it is usually too wet. The retreat should feel cool and lightly damp with no free water; the open surface should read dry.
- Keep a shallow water dish packed with pebbles or coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim. On a dry-kept setup the dish carries most of the hydration load, and the stones mean a small pedeling cannot drown in it.
- Mist under the retreat hide only, never across the open surface. That recharges the one damp microclimate while leaving the dry zone and the airflow intact, which is exactly the setup that lets an unidentified species show you what it prefers.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Appropriate prey weekly; remove if molting or uninterested.
- Smaller and generally less imposing than the giant Scolopendra, but no less fast and no less of an escape risk. Solitary, no-contact, tools-only.
- Molting: a centipede stops eating and seals into its burrow to molt, staying soft and vulnerable for days. Leave it completely alone, keep all prey out, and don't excavate to check on it.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Australia, South Africa and other warm regions: varied terrestrial habitats.
- Habitat translation: A terrestrial enclosure with a humid retreat (typically dry-leaning) a shallow water dish, and an escape-proof, locked lid; moisture tuned to the specific species.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size ~3-5 in (varies). The big variable is moisture: tune it to the specific species, not to a generic 'centipede' default.
- Less common in the trade than Scolopendra; ID can be loose. When in doubt, lean drier with a humid retreat and adjust from behavior.
- Standard centipede rules: venomous bite, blistering speed, escape genius. Locked, solitary, no-contact.