PLEASE HELP! What’s wrong with my centipede?

[AmyDaSnek]

I’ve had my centipede for a several months now. I have always found him cute and I would hold him even though most of the time he would be very aggressive/defensive. He would always use his many legs and dig his nails into my skin (which didn’t feel very pleasant) He walked close to my arm and I could usually feel his belly on my skin as me moved very quickly. Rarely staying in one spot more than 5 seconds.



Recently I had some friends over and I held him and noticed he wasn’t in a pissy mood like usual. He was walking much higher this time and I noticed how gentle he was being. This time he wasn’t trying to bite or dig his nails into me. I thought that maybe he had gotten used to me since I’d held him a lot. I was surprised because he was also gentle to my friends that held him that day too. I didn’t think much of it and they went home. The next day I went to go check on him and it was strange because he was at the top of the soil. I usually have to dig to find him and it’s tricky to catch him but this time he didn’t make much of a fuss. I thought I’d hold him again to see how he was behaving and noticed he was still gentle like yesterday but this time he didn’t walk. He just stayed still with his head to the side.


I also noticed one of his antennas was shorter and bulkier than usual (almost as if it were rotting away) Last time I checked it was just a bit shorter than the other antenna. I slowly put my arm upside down and instead of getting a grip he fell into my other hand (that was thankfully right under my arm) I was shocked and worried if he was sick or something. He seemed weaker. I immediately got a slightly smaller container and filled it with fresh bedding. I then put him in his new container with fresh spring water and some bark as a hide. The next day He was above the surface with his head sideways in the bedding and was slow moving and the day after that I held him and he was flat on my hand unlike yesterday. His grip was worse and he couldn’t get up by himself after I gently put him upside down. His legs were curled in instead of spread out and he moved in a side winding motion.

I am very worried about my precious baby. I really hope you can help.

 

[draconisj4]

I'm no expert on centipedes as I only have one but I would say that it is dying. I can see spots of mycosis which is caused by keeping the animal in too moist an environment, you can see where one of its legs and the antennae are rotting away in the picture. Whether or not this is the cause or if there is anything you can do to save it I don't know, I'll leave that to someone who knows more about them to answer. In the meantime I wouldn't stress it further by holding it.

 

[Staehilomyces]

That pede is a Cormocephalus aurantiipes, which are generally found in somewhat arid conditions, and as a result are susceptible to mycosis if kept too moist; that's what the black spots on your pede are, and they can lead to death. My advice is to temporarily keep the centipede on dry substrate, but ALWAYS have a full water dish present so it can keep hydrated. This will halt the spread of the mycosis, and when the pede next molts, most if not all of it should be gone.

Of course, I should also add that you might want to stop handling it. The fact that the pede is still defensive after being handled so often would suggest that handling stressed it out - otherwise, it would have gotten noticeably calmer, eventually becoming "tame", as several keepers have witnessed with one or more of their centipedes. The fact that the pede very rarely sat still is another sign that handling was stressful for it - the pedes I choose to handle eventually get to the point where they'll rest on me for long periods, even grooming, drinking and eating while on my hand.

 

[AmyDaSnek]

Thank you. I’ve done what you suggested. I hope he’ll be ok

 

[Scoly]

Seriously?!? I wouldn't normally call out a new person on here, but this is wrong on so many levels, so here goes...

Firstly, you handle it when it clearly doesn't want to be handled (not cool) and have been passing it round your friends to be handled (even less cool, that's just not what these animals are about...) all while it has a serious health problem which is plainly visible (even to someone who knows jack about centipedes, just look at its antennae!) and which given how advanced it is, you must have noticed a while back, and seen worsening for some time, and you did nothing about it (such as ask reading up on what it might be, asking someone who knows, perhaps here, on any of the several Facebook groups, or anyone in your wider circle of friends who might know a little more about creepy crawlies than you do) yet have the gall to call it your "precious baby" (which is wrong enough on its own, but borders on ridiculous when you take all the above into account).

I doubt this pede is going to make it, it is possibly already dead and just moving on nerves but miracles do happen. Put it in a smaller container with totally dry soil, decent ventilation, access to clean water (you got that bit right with the spring water at least), and a hide, a crushed garlic clove*, then leave it alone as nothing else you do will really help it.

I also doubt you'll go on to keep a second pede after this one, but if you do, then please come back here and post photos of your centipede, and most importantly your enclosure and ask people who know about these things if it's really suitable for the species before things start to go wrong. Most of all, please have a rethink about what you actually believe these creatures are. Yes we all get attached to them, but they are not cute cuddly pets you coo at and pass around for your friends to hold. Once you've got their needs and environment covered, and you understand what these animals are and aren't, and you're proactively doing everything you can to keep them healthy, then, and only then will other keepers accept you getting all cutesie about them or attempt to handle them. That's the order of things. Do it the other way round and you will not be taken seriously, and get told off, possibly in far less pleasant manner than this depending on where it happens (note that I'm sternly condemning your action, not attacking your character, so try not to take all this personally).

*yep, I'm serious. Garlic is an anti-fungal, so could be effective against mycosis, which is what your pede suffers from. I have no tangible evidence for garlic working against mycosis, just hearsay, but I do know it doesn't harm them, so is worth a shot at this stage.

 

[Schledog]

@Scoly that was a little rough but I’m not saying it was the wrong thing to say.

 

[50centipede]

Poor little thing...

 

[Staehilomyces]

Scoly said it all, really.
I rather doubt your pede will make it at this stage, but if you ever get another, learn from your mistakes: don't keep it overly moist, don't handle it if it wants to be left alone (which it very clearly did), and definitely don't let others handle any venomous invert. I wouldn't have even let anyone handle my first S. morsitans, and that thing had become the most chilled out centipede ever after a few days of handling.