Dspdrew's Hydrated Enclosure

#1 Offline dspdrew - Posted April 26 2016 - 9:43 PM

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I decided to use some of the extra parts from some of my fungus-grower formicarium prototypes to make a little hydrated enclosure. It was too hard to remember to hydrate my centipede's container every couple days, so I figured I would just use the same water tanks I use for my fungus-grower formicariums to keep a water bowl wet for months. Unfortunately, once I finished this I found my centipede dead for some unknown reason. Either way, this container should work great for many different critters.

First I drilled a hole in the bottom of the container for the water port.

I cut the bottom off a round container to make the water bowl.

Unglazed or bisque ceramic tile.

I rounded the tile, and bonded it to the bottom of the container over the hole. I then bonded the water bowl to the bottom of the container around the tile, making sure it was sealed all the way around. After that, I poured a layer of Hydrostone in the bottom of the container, and a thin layer inside the water bowl, filling in the small gaps on the sides.

Added some substrate and decoration.

Now I have a water bowl that stays wet for months, while all the other substrate stays dry.

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#2 Offline Crystals - Posted April 27 2016 - 6:05 AM

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LocationAthabasca, AB (Canada)

Nice, and in general, your local centipedes have no problem getting all the moisture they need from damp sand?

I always find our mini centipedes here in damp soil, I thought that they would have dried in dry soil.

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#3 Offline dspdrew - Posted April 27 2016 - 6:26 AM

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Most everything I find around here, likes living in very dry soil, and probably only needs a small source of water. If they needed a lot more moisture, they would be dead, or living somewhere in the city where there's lots of irrigation (like Argentine ants). Remember, it doesn't rain in Southern California, so the soil is never wet.

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#4 Offline Mads - Posted April 27 2016 - 9:13 AM

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Nice, and in general, your local centipedes have no problem getting all the moisture they need from damp sand?

I always find our mini centipedes here in damp soil, I thought that they would have dried in dry soil.

Stone centipedes, that we have locally, require much higher humidity than the ones Drew has locally in his area (I am assuming Scolopendra polymorpha). Stone centipedes will dry out very quickly if they are not kept at 90%+ relative humidity.

Mads

#5 Offline dspdrew - Posted April 27 2016 - 10:11 AM

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Right now I have a big jumping spider living in it, and I don't think it needs a whole lot of humidity.

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#6 Offline Crystals - Posted April 27 2016 - 1:42 PM

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Stone centipedes, that we have locally, require much higher humidity than the ones Drew has locally in his area (I am assuming Scolopendra polymorpha). Stone centipedes will dry out very quickly if they are not kept at 90%+ relative humidity.

Mads

That is what I assumed, but figured I would ask. It does not surprise me that centipedes from a California desert would be different from centipedes in a northern Boreal forest with 7 months of snow.