Vietnamese Giant Centipede

Vietnamese Giant Centipede (scientific name: Scolopendra subspinipes Vietnam) is mainly distributed in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and other parts of Asia. It is the largest centipede in Asia, with an adult body length of over 25 centimeters. It has strong toxicity, fierce and sensitive temperament, and strong attack ability. It is a species with appreciative value and is loved by players.

Chinese name: 越南巨人蜈蚣

Latin name: Scolopendra subspinipes

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Subphylum: Myriapoda

Class: Chilopoda

Subclass: Labiata

Order: Scolopendromorpha

Family: Scolopendridae

Genus: Arthropoda

Fearful of sunlight, the Vietnamese Giant Centipede hides during the day and comes out at night. It prefers to live in dark, warm, well-ventilated areas that provide shelter from rain. Centipedes like to inhabit hilly areas and sandy regions. During the day, they often hide in crevices of bricks and stones, corners of walls, and dark corners with piles of leaves, weeds, and decaying wood. At night, they emerge to search for food such as caterpillars, spiders, and cockroaches. When the weather turns cold in October, they burrow into the soil on windward and sunny slopes, hiding about 12 cm deep from the ground, and hibernate until the following year's awakening in early March. As the weather warms up, they become active again and start searching for food. Centipedes have strong abilities to squeeze through cracks. They often use their sensitive antennae and flat headboards to probe into crevices. They can usually pass through or take shelter in cracks of rocks and soil. When the population density is too high or they are disturbed excessively, they may engage in fights and kill each other. However, under artificial breeding conditions with sufficient food and water, dozens of them can live together. The Vietnamese Giant Centipede is a typical carnivorous animal, known for its ferocity and a wide range of food preferences, especially insects. During early spring when food is scarce, they may also consume small amounts of grass and moss buds.

It is recommended to keep Vietnamese Giant Centipedes as pets for people who enjoy raising climbing animals. The typical diet of a Vietnamese Giant Centipede includes mealworms, waxworms, crickets, grasshoppers, fish meat, and small fish. However, overfeeding on mealworms can lead to refusal to eat. (Because mealworms are not easily digested, it is better to feed them in moderation) They are easy to care for.

Gastrointestinal inflammation

1. Causes of onset

The causes of centipede gastrointestinal inflammation can be as follows:

(1) The feed rots, which is the most common cause of centipede gastrointestinal inflammation. Especially in hot seasons, centipede feed is usually some high-protein small animals, and it is rich in moisture and juice. It is generally killed before feeding. If it is stored for too long after killing, it is prone to rot and deteriorate. After the centipede feeds, it can cause acute gastrointestinal inflammation.

(2) The feed animal carries toxins. In general, the regular feed animals of centipedes themselves do not produce toxic substances that are toxic to centipedes. The feed animals carrying toxins are mainly due to the presence of toxic substances in the growth environment, which invade the feed animals' body surface, and the feed animals are not sensitive to this toxin or it has not yet invaded the body, so it has not caused a reaction of the feed animals and it is difficult for the breeders to detect. After feeding, it can cause acute or chronic gastrointestinal inflammation in centipedes.

(3) Improper feeding amount, occasionally feeding too little, leading to some centipedes becoming excessively hungry, and the next day the feeding amount increases sharply, causing these excessively hungry centipedes to eat too much. At this time, if the temperature drops suddenly, these overeating centipedes will inevitably have poor digestion, and the food will stay in the digestive tract for too long, fermenting and causing inflammation.

2. Symptoms and characteristics

The simultaneous diseases affected by pathogenic factors are the characteristics of this disease. The affected centipedes first have indigestion, abdominal distension, weakness, and then diarrhea, loss of appetite. Then, with the occurrence of inflammation, toxic substances invade the whole body tissues, the centipedes have internal poisoning, the head is congested and purple, the whole body is weak, the movement is slow, the venomous hooks are fully opened, and finally they crawl weakly and die under the tiles or other concealed places, rarely dying in the breeding soil. During the autopsy of the dead centipede, warm and moist intestines can be seen, the intestine is ulcerated, there is pale yellow liquid in the abdominal cavity, the feces in the intestines are watery and foul-smelling.

3. Prevention and treatment

(1) Strict control of feed quality. It is best to feed fresh live feed to the centipedes. It should be freshly killed before feeding. The uneaten live feed can be stored, while the dead feed animals should be discarded. If the feed is found to be rotten and deteriorated, it must not be fed.

(2) For self-breeding feed animals, attention should be paid to the breeding environment, feed, drinking water, etc., and some harmful substances that may cause centipedes to get sick, such as heavy metal drugs, certain disinfectants, should not be used. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the breeding soil, feed, drinking water, and even the air are not contaminated by pathogens. Once a diseased feed animal is found, the causes or types of pathogenic bacteria and possible infection range should be analyzed to determine whether the batch of feed animals can be used.

(3) For field-caught feed animals, they should be caught in areas without pesticide, fertilizer, and other harmful substances. When catching, it is also necessary to check whether there are deaths of the same kind of animals in the area to determine whether the caught feed animals are infected with diseases, etc.

(4) Clean the pond. Remove all centipedes in the infected pond, put them in several small containers, and according to specific symptoms, separate them into healthy, suspicious, and diseased groups for isolated breeding. Remove all the feed soil in the pond and replace it with new soil. All the items in the pond, such as drinking trays, water pans or water tanks, and tiles, should be thoroughly disinfected and sun-dried before use.

(5) In seasons of sudden temperature rise or drop, when the temperature drops suddenly, close the doors and windows. When necessary, open the heating facilities appropriately to ensure that the temperature is relatively stable. However, when heating, pay attention to not causing indoor air pollution or gas pollution.

(6) Medication. For diseased or suspected centipedes, the following prescriptions can be used for reference:

① 0.5 grams of sulfonamidoimidazole, 0.6 grams of multi-enzyme tablets, and 200-300 grams of feed, crush the three and mix them evenly, feed once a day, continuously for 3 days.

② 2 grams of coptis powder, 1 multi-enzyme tablet, and 5 grams of whole milk powder, dissolve them in 100 ml of warm boiled water, mix well, absorb with a sponge, let the centipede suck, once a day, continuously for 3 days, pay attention to change the sponge every day. This treatment method is mainly for small centipedes.

③ 0.25 chloramphenicol, 0.5 grams of compound vitamins, 300 grams of feed, crush the medicine into powder and mix it with the feed, feed once a day, continuously for 3 days.

④ 0.5 grams of Fuke'an, crush it into powder, crush 500 grams of feed, mix them evenly, feed once a day, continuously for 2 days.

Centipede pharyngeal ulcer disease

This disease is an acute outbreak and infectious disease of centipedes that has been discovered only in recent years, which was first reported by experts including Liang Jiaquan from Guangxi Agricultural University.

1. Causes of onset

This disease is caused by an infection of centipedes with a bacterium called "copper-colored pseudomonas aeruginosa". This disease mostly occurs in hot seasons.

2. Symptoms

The main manifestations are the inability of the centipede to open and close its mouth, the secretion of mucus flowing out of the mouth, the inability of the diseased centipede to eat and swallow, mental depression, and eventually exhaustion and death.

3. Prevention and treatment

The prevention and control technology of this disease is still under research, but strengthening centipede breeding management, maintaining environmental hygiene, and not feeding contaminated feed animals are still effective measures to prevent this disease.

Mite disease

1. Causes of onset

Mites are a kind of mites that are less than 1 millimeter long. When they parasitize on the surface of centipedes, they cause centipede mite disease. In summer and high-temperature weather, if the humidity in the breeding room or pond is too high, it is easy for mites to settle here and breed offspring in large numbers. At this time, if there are centipedes molting or centipede offspring present, because their skin is exposed and unprotected, it is easy for mites to parasitize. After the mites parasitize, on the one hand, they consume a large amount of nutrients from the centipedes by feeding on their body fluids, causing the centipedes to become thin, weak, and die; on the other hand, the mites also produce toxins to stimulate the centipedes, making them unable to perform normal feeding, drinking water, and other life activities. At the same time, the mites bite through the centipede's skin, making the centipede prone to secondary infections by pathogens. Therefore, when mite disease occurs, if it is not handled in time, it often triggers other diseases.

2. Symptoms

The centipedes infested with mites are extremely restless, often crawling aimlessly and quickly in the activity area or on the feed soil. Sometimes they try to lick their backs when they turn back. Even when they are not crawling forward, some appendages also have "digging" movements. This phenomenon initially occurs in the newly molting centipedes or the newly born immature centipedes in that year. With the development of the disease, other centipedes also begin to get sick. The sick centipedes become thin and weak, and sometimes they die from secondary infections by other pathogens. Careful observation on the feed soil can reveal the presence of mite-like creatures. When inspecting the surface of the infected centipedes, mite-like creatures can also be found moving, which are the mites.

3. Prevention and treatment

There is no good medicine for the treatment of this disease because the drugs that can kill mites often harm the centipedes as well. It can only be controlled through management. The following measures can be taken:

(1) Improve the ventilation and lighting of the breeding room and do a good job in preventing heatstroke and cooling to maintain a good breeding environment.

(2) Properly place and store household items in the breeding room, and wash and sun-dry work clothes regularly. If necessary, they should be treated at high temperatures to kill mites or mite eggs that may be attached to them.

(3) If mite infestation is found, all centipedes in the pond should be removed, the original feed soil should be removed, and the entire pond and entire room should be sprayed with acaricides such as diazinon or chloromite. The breeding room should be closed for a period of time before reuse.

(4) After removing the diseased centipede group, separate the centipedes in the molting period, the tender centipedes, and the suspicious centipedes from the healthy centipedes, put them in separate small basins, and intermittently place them in the sun to drive away the mites. The sun exposure time is about 30 minutes each time, with a break of 30 minutes in between. After sun exposure, quickly pick up the centipedes one by one into another basin. The original basin should be disinfected and then used under ultraviolet light, which seems to have some effect. The method is the same as sun exposure.

(5) Place a partially dried pork bone on the feed soil or activity area during the day, and remove it every 2-3 hours. It has a good effect on luring and killing mites. However, this method cannot be used for the prevention of non-infected centipedes, otherwise, there is a danger of being counterproductive.

Parasitic nematode disease

The nematodes that often parasitize in the centipedes' bodies are also called filarial worms, which mainly come from feed animals carrying the worms. These worms parasitize in the centipedes' digestive tract, and even penetrate the intestinal wall, curling outside the intestine like an iron wire, hence the name. These worms feed on the centipedes' body fluids, causing a large loss of nutrients for the centipedes, thereby hindering the normal growth of the centipedes and causing the centipedes' body weight to be small and light. Although this disease does not occur explosively and does not cause extensive damage to centipede breeding, with the improvement of people's requirements for animal product quality, this disease may become a factor affecting the quality of centipede products. The prevention and control of this disease mainly include reducing or not feeding feed animals such as locusts and grasshoppers, and using juicy feed animals such as earthworms and tadpoles instead, and ensuring that the drinking water is not contaminated by worms. When frequent cases of filarial worms occur in the centipede group, 0.1 gram of antiparasitic powder can be crushed and mixed with 5 grams of whole milk powder, dissolved together in 100 ml of hot water, absorbed by a sponge, and offered to the centipedes for sucking to expel the parasitic worms.

Food for the Vietnamese Giant Centipede

The common food for the Vietnamese Giant Centipede includes mealworms, superworms, crickets, grasshoppers, fish meat, chicken meat, raw meat, small fish, etc.

Feeding Methods

1. The temperature should not be too low, and it should be above 16 degrees Celsius. In the winter in the northern regions, a heating pad should be used.

2. The humidity of the environment should not be too low. If the space for rearing is large enough, a water tray can be provided.

3. It is best not to disturb it frequently. Although it will not refuse to eat due to excessive disturbance like spiders, it is better not to disturb it if there is no special reason.

4. It can be fed with crickets or dubia cherry barleys.