Scolopendra sp. "White Beard"
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.
Giant White Beard Centipede: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A huge, dark-bodied Southeast Asian Scolopendra known for long, pale-white antennae. Commonly 8-10 in, with mature adults past 12. One of the biggest, most intimidating centipedes in the hobby.
Group: CentipedesDifficulty: Spice 5: ExtremeSetup: Tropical burrowing/fossorial terrestrialHandling: No handling, tool-only always
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 burrowing/fossorial terrestrial |
| Substrate | Deep (6-8 in) packed, moisture-retentive |
| Feeding | Roaches, crickets or pinkies, weekly to biweekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 5: Extreme |
| Handling | No handling, tool-only always |
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
- Hatchlings: Baby Buddy, fine-mesh security.
- Grow-out: Burrow Buddy, deep substrate.
- Adults (8-12 in): large custom terrestrial, real floor footprint.
Warnings First
- Medically significant bite. A big adult delivers a larger venom dose per bite.
- Fast and aggressive at full size. Long antennae make it quick to react to vibration.
- Species ID is genuinely unresolved. Listed honestly as Scolopendra sp., not a guessed name.
- Not the same species as Ethmostigmus trigonopodus: different continent and genus, don't use that species' care info.
- A big enclosure without cross ventilation on both long walls goes stagnant in the far corners: mold, mites, bad molts.
Simple Care
- Use deep, packed substrate scaled to its large adult size.
- Vent low on both long walls. A big footprint needs more than one air path.
- Use a secure, heavy-duty locking lid.
- Keep a shallow water dish full, packed with pebbles, sized up as it grows.
- Tool-only handling, always.
- Give it a generous floor footprint, not just height.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Undersizing the enclosure is the most common mistake with a species this large. Give it real floor area, not just depth.
- A tight-fitting, weighted or clipped lid matters more here given the strength of a 10 in+ animal.
- Scale ventilation to the footprint: low vents on both long walls so air actually crosses the whole floor.
- Bond fine stainless mesh over every low vent. It's heavy enough to lean on a weak panel.
- Mist under the hide and into one corner, not across the whole floor, to keep a reliable damp retreat.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Feed prey no longer than half the body length. Juveniles every 4-7 days, full-size adults can take larger roaches or occasional pre-killed rodent pinkies every 10-14 days.
- Size up the enclosure as it grows. This matters more than usual given how large this species gets.
- Pull uneaten prey promptly. A large adult's bolus can foul the substrate fast if left.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, reported localities. Precise range is unconfirmed without a resolved species ID.
- Habitat translation: Deep tropical leaf litter and forest floor. Large size needs proportionally larger burrow space.
Advanced Keeper Details
- The species is unresolved. It's listed as Scolopendra sp. rather than a guessed binomial, don't treat the trade name as an ID.
- Care specifics are extrapolated from general large-bodied tropical Scolopendra husbandry, which is well documented even where the exact species isn't.