In stock Vietnamese Yellow Leg Centipede for sale All centipedes for sale
Scolopendra dehaani
Sold under its hobby name. This guide covers the group or trade name this fella is sold as, so the ranges fit the whole group. Start in the middle and watch how your animal settles in.
Vietnamese Yellow Leg Centipede: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: The yellow-legged color form of the giant Vietnamese centipede, the same species as the Cherry Red and Cherry Head forms. Medically significant bite on a fast, flexible animal. Tongs and a catch cup, every time.
Group: CentipedesDifficulty: Spice 5: ExtremeSetup: Tropical fossorial centipedeHandling: No handling, tongs and catch cup only
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 | 75-85°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 70-85%, cross-ventilated, dry refuge zone |
| Setup Type | Tropical fossorial centipede |
| Substrate | Deep (6 in+) packed, moisture-retentive soil/coco mix |
| Feeding | Roaches/crickets under half body, weekly to biweekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 5: Extreme |
| Handling | No handling, tongs and catch cup only |
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
- Pedelings: Baby Buddy, fine-mesh security.
- Juveniles: Burrow Buddy grow-out, deep substrate.
- Adults: large custom terrestrial, depth and lid security prioritized.
Warnings First
- Medically significant bite: severe pain and swelling are documented for large Asian Scolopendra.
- Strict no-contact. Double-locked lid.
- Extreme escape risk. Fast and flexible, it passes through any gap its head fits through.
- Solitary housing only. Centipedes are cannibalistic, never cohab.
- Weak airflow at substrate level is the top risk, ahead of any temperature or humidity number.
- Yellow-legged Scolopendra are sold under several names. Match the animal in front of you, not the label.
Simple Care
- Use deep, packed substrate and a lid that locks, not a resting or taped lid.
- Vent low on two opposite walls for real cross airflow.
- Keep a vertical moisture gradient, not standing water.
- Keep a shallow water dish full, packed with pebbles.
- House singly.
- Feed with long tongs and pull uneaten prey within a day.
- Locate the animal before opening the enclosure, every time.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Same husbandry as the Cherry Red and Black Flame guides. This is a color form, not a different care profile.
- Vent low on two opposite walls at substrate level. Lid-only venting leaves the burrow stale, where cuticle fungus, mite outbreaks and stuck molts start.
- Bond fine stainless mesh over every low vent, sized to the head. If the head passes, so does the centipede.
- Hold 70-85% with damp lower substrate and a water dish under good ventilation, never by sealing the box.
- Mist under the hide, not the whole enclosure, so there's a damp dark pocket where it actually rests.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Feed roaches or crickets no longer than half the body, every 4-7 days for juveniles and every 10-14 days for adults.
- Molting: it stops eating and seals into its burrow for days. Remove all prey and leave it alone.
- Pull uneaten prey within a day. Every transfer is a tongs-and-catch-cup job over secondary containment.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Vietnam and neighboring Indochina. The wider species ranges across Southeast Asia.
- Habitat translation: Tropical forest-floor burrower: deep humid substrate with real airflow, a dark covered refuge, and a secure, minimal-gap enclosure.
Advanced Keeper Details
- A color form of Scolopendra dehaani, the same species as the Cherry Red, Cherry Head and Black Flame animals. S. subspinipes is a separate species with its own guides.
- Formerly treated as a subspecies of S. subspinipes, which is why the hobby and trade labels use the names inconsistently.
- Strict solitary housing. Rehouse with tubs or catch cups only, never chase with hands or soft tools.