# Need ideas. Cherry red constipation...



## AlanMM (Nov 17, 2009)

Since a couple of weeks i noticed the following with my Scolopendra subspinipes "cherry red":
It has a sort of dirt hanging on it's behind. It seems to annoy him/her because it tries to pull it off with its teeth from time to time...
I tried to pull it off myself with tweezers, but it doesn't come loose and it's very difficult because of the behaviour of this species of scolopendra.

Here are some pics: 













Anyone has an idea what to do? If it really can harm the scolopendra or someone has experience with this?


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## BiologicalJewels (Nov 17, 2009)

I have not the slightest idea what that could be.

I will say this, if you *must* pull it, you must do so carefully (duh).
You can either try the "osmosis" or the "fridge" way of calming your 'pede down (and be very alert for when it wakes up).
There also seem to be some minute white balls in there, is this 'pede as female? was it WC? did it cohabit with other 'pedes?

OR


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## AlanMM (Nov 17, 2009)

I guess those white balls are mites...
I don't know the gender of this scolopendra. I got it from when it was much smaller then this, so i presume it isn't WC.


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## AlanMM (Nov 17, 2009)

It didn't cohabit with other 'pedes.


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## zonbonzovi (Nov 17, 2009)

Those don't look like 'pede eggs & the solo, white, ovoid shape next to the left terminal in the picture looks like a mite.  Once you get it "calmed down" a few notches via Balam's methods maybe try a moistened Q-tip?  If I had a turd of that magnitude stuck in my caboose, I'd be a little testy, too.


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## AlanMM (Nov 17, 2009)

What is the osmosis way of calming it down? 
Or the Balam's method? Cold water??


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## Galapoheros (Nov 17, 2009)

The little white balls in pede frass has been brought up a few times in other threads.  It's common and I don't think we've figured out what they are yet.  I have two guesses:  They might be tiny, undeveloped, discarded pede eggs, or the little white balls might be the form in which they pass uric acid.  Who knows what else they might be but I think it's normal, see it a lot.  If your pede is still alive, what you can do is drop it in a bowl of rain water or distilled water for 30 minutes or longer.  The temp doesn't matter so much, room temp is good, you are temporarily drowning the pede.  When they don't get oxygen, their body shuts down but they can survive after being under water for hours.  When it appears dead, you can pick it up and try to take care of the problem, dry it off, lay it back in the terr and you will see it crawling around an hour or two later.  It's hard to do for some people but it's safe.


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## peterbourbon (Nov 17, 2009)

Hi,

best thing would be Galapoheros' advice to wash away the substrate and to find out what it really is.

Pulling it from the pede is dangerous, cause I suppose you'd accidentally pull the alimentary canal out which will surely result in death.

A question comes to my mind: How long have you seen the pede in this position with all the things coming out of the anus? Usually pedes have very very strong musculatory system and they are good in holding back all the digestive stuff, so if the pede is healthy it will pull all the stuff inside again sooner or later.

May be still feces though the digestive valves appear rotten/damaged.
After you have washed away the substrate you should update your posting with more pics - and hopefully we can say much more than now.

EDIT: Now I read you said "since a couple of weeks". It's a critical situation, to be honest.
EDIT2: I think we've seen each other already on Houten show. 

Regards
Turgut


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## AlanMM (Nov 18, 2009)

Ok, I "temperary" drowned this centipede, but Galapoheros, you said half an hour... The pede stopped moving after 5 minutes in the water... So got it out and looked closer.
I tried to get the substrate off that spot but it wasn't possible without tearing it's skin apart. The substrate is like hardened up against that "swelling". :? 


















(the hairs are from a cotton stick...)

It kinda looks bad... Any thoughts?
Besides that, the centipede moves good and eats well... (before the drowning... )


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## peterbourbon (Nov 18, 2009)

Hi,

thanks for the pics.
Really looks like it has lost its musculatory ability to control digestive canal - and I doubt it has parasites. Actually the main difficulty is the problem to avoid it being infested by bacteria of any kind. I guess it can still excrete, but I suppose it will also be very sensible of suffering by fungus or bacteria of any kind.

I would suggest you keep it in substrate you buy from a reptile shop, somehow "clean" stuff and not humus from outside or something that could have a kind of microclimate you are not totally aware of. Keep the enclosure clean, remove feces as soon as possible and watch your feeding - don't let insects of any kind roam around the enclosure for days or weeks.

Depending on size of the pede you could try to feed soft beetle larvae.
Good luck!

Cheers
Turgut


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## AlanMM (Nov 18, 2009)

Thanks for your comments!

I will double check after feeding it for remains and keep it very clean and not to wet. I always use cocopeat, so that would be OK.
I think another problem could be its next molt... Maybe it will get stuck because of that "thing"... We will see.
If anything changes i will mention it in this topic.

PS, Turgut, we met at Houten? Were you the person with Steven?


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## peterbourbon (Nov 18, 2009)

SeekneSs said:


> PS, Turgut, we met at Houten? Were you the person with Steven?


Exactly!


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## Galapoheros (Nov 18, 2009)

Dang, 5 mins knocked it out?... I'm so used to heros pedes, I have to be more careful of what I say.  Hmm, that doesn't look good to me either, I don't have anything to add though, people said more than I could.  I wonder if you could work more out with a dental-like tool/scraper.  Isn't that what is called a prolapse?


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## AlanMM (Nov 18, 2009)

Yes, as I understand it may be something like that...

Argh, watched it just now and the substrate at its ending has some mites on it, i can see them move. I will try to brush them of...


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## BrettG (Nov 18, 2009)

Good lord,the poor thing has hemmoroids.............


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## BiologicalJewels (Nov 19, 2009)

please keep us updated on it, I'd like to know how long it lives since the moment this happened, what if any impediments this presents and if it eventually makes a full recovery.

What was the last meal item it had before this happened?


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## AlanMM (Nov 19, 2009)

It ate a couple of grasshoppers last week. But i think the pede isn't really suffering as its behavior seems quite normal (/me knocks on wood...).

Tomorrow I will give it some crickets again, and I'm sure it will take it.

Here it is in all its glory... :






I will update this topic if something changes.


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## zonbonzovi (Nov 19, 2009)

Just my opinion, but it looks like he/she could use a few laps on a very small treadmill.  How often and what do you feed?


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## AlanMM (Nov 19, 2009)

I give her maximum once a week a couple of large crickets or grasshoppers, but mostly that is once in 2 weeks...
I don't think she is fat, she just looks healthy...


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## Galapoheros (Nov 19, 2009)

It's a poo bomb, could go off any second so be careful!


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## AlanMM (Nov 19, 2009)

OK, i will stop feeding it for a while then...
It... just looks more fat in the picture then it really is...


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## Galapoheros (Nov 19, 2009)

Haha, I was just kiddin, ..hmm, looks kind of wrinkly.  Is it still stuck, looks like it moved a little.


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## BiologicalJewels (Nov 20, 2009)

well... a general rule of thumb I follow (not my idea, but I agree with it) is that a centipede is generally wider than it is taller off the ground... sort of like...a flat remote control (wide and not so plump) as opposed to semi or fully round like a finger.

Don't feel bad, sometimes i overfeed some of my pets and realize that when I see them rolling instead of walking  


OR


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## AlanMM (Nov 20, 2009)

Update: The "swollen area" of the scolopendra is infested with mites. Would it harm a Cherry red to be kept on dry substrate? Low humidity?


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## zonbonzovi (Nov 20, 2009)

Oh- that sucks!  Needs ICU.  Bone dry sub WITH access to water(small dish/ deli cup/bottle cap).  I wonder if you might be able to get those mites to jump onto something else, i.e., a dead food object.  Of course, there's always mite predators...


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## peterbourbon (Nov 21, 2009)

Hi,

can you please show us a picture of the "mites"? Would like to see how they look like. If they are "small white balls" without legs (that's how they looked like in your first pics) then I doubt they are mites.

EDIT: IF they are mites, the best thing would be predatory mites to kill them. On the other hand they are not easy to purchase.

Regards
Turgut


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## AlanMM (Nov 21, 2009)

Yes, definitely mites...


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## peterbourbon (Nov 21, 2009)

Hi,

that's what I exactly meant. If you take a closer look there are two kinds of white things: The one with legs that appear a little bit more transparent and the milky white balls I have seen on one of my Scolopendra one day after mating (and not before).

Still not sure if those white balls have anything to do with the mites crawling next to them (don't believe they are "eggs" of the mites).

Interesting.

Regards
Turgut


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## Galapoheros (Nov 21, 2009)

I think they are "probably" going to be a kind of grain mite.  It's one of the most common pests in the hobby.  They eat plant matter and also like to feed on rotting inverts.  There may be some necrosis starting to go on back there on your pede attracting the mites besides them hanging around on the pede cork.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...mage_result&resnum=7&ct=image&ved=0CBcQ9QEwBg

See these mites stuck in-between the tergites?  It's hard to believe but they are most likely the same genus of mites, I'd guess the same species but don't know of course.  They go into a stage called the hypopus stage, their body completely transforms to a limpet shape and they hitch a ride on inverts.  They are a pain in the hobby.


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## BiologicalJewels (Nov 28, 2009)

any updates on this fella?


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## AlanMM (Nov 28, 2009)

balam said:


> any updates on this fella?


Well, i have put it on dry substrate with just a water bowl.
The mites disappeared but the "wound" hasn't changed, it still looks ugly but more dryer. The scolopendra is still acting normal.
I did not give it food since my last post because it already looks rather fat... 

I will keep this post updated.


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## patrick86 (Nov 28, 2009)

I'm pretty sure those are not grain mites. Their food of choice is usually flour, cereals, cracked grains, baking mixes and processed foods, crackers, macaroni, cured meats, powdered milk, dried fruits, nuts, popcorn and spices.

Those mites look like the same kind most of us find in our tarantula enclosures when we keep things too moist and don't remove prey remains on a timely basis.

Good luck with your 'pede.


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## Galapoheros (Nov 28, 2009)

I didn't believe it either at first.  Some call them "carrion mites", but after talking to people and looking at published material, 'usually' what people are calling "carrion mites" and what people are calling grain mites in the hobby are frequently going to be the same.  PM Orin (Elytra and Antenna) if you want to get more info, I think he's really looked into it.  They get all over Ts to in the hypopus stage too, on scorpions, spiders, pedes... hate'em.


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