Gastrointestinal Inflammation
1. The cause of the disease
The causes of centipede gastrointestinal inflammation can be as follows:
(1) Rotten feed; it is the most common cause of centipede gastrointestinal inflammation. Especially in high temperature seasons, centipede feed is mostly high-protein small animals, with high moisture content and juiciness. Generally, they need to be killed before feeding. If they are stored for too long after killing, they are prone to rot. Centipedes will develop acute gastrointestinal inflammation after eating the rotten feed.
(2) Toxicity in feed animals; under normal circumstances, the habitual feed animals of centipedes do not produce toxic substances that are harmful to centipedes themselves. The toxicity in feed animals mainly comes from toxic substances in the growth environment that penetrate into the surface of the feed animals. However, the feed animals are not sensitive to this toxin, or the toxin has not yet entered their bodies, so the feeders are unlikely to notice it. Feeding these toxic feed animals can cause acute or chronic gastrointestinal inflammation in centipedes.
(3) Improper feeding amount; occasionally feeding too little, causing some centipedes to become overly hungry. After a sudden increase in feeding amount the next day, these hungry centipedes will overeat. If the temperature drops suddenly, these overeating centipedes will inevitably suffer from indigestion. The food remains in the digestive tract for too long, ferments, and causes inflammation.
2. Symptoms and characteristics of the disease
The simultaneous occurrence of multiple disease factors is a characteristic of this disease. Diseased centipedes first develop indigestion, with swollen and soft abdomen, followed by diarrhea and loss of appetite. Then, as the inflammation produces toxic substances that infiltrate the whole body, centipedes suffer from internal poisoning. The head becomes congested and purplish-red, the whole body becomes weak and paralyzed, slow in movement, the poisonous hooks are fully exposed, and finally, they become weak in crawling and die under tiles or other hiding places. They rarely die in the breeding soil. Upon autopsy, warm and red intestines, ulceration, pale yellow liquid in the abdominal cavity, and loose and foul-smelling feces can be observed in dead centipedes.
3. Prevention and control
(1) Strict control of feed quality. It is best to feed fresh live feed animals to centipedes. It is necessary to kill them just before feeding. Leftover live feed animals can be stored, but it is best to discard the dead feed animals. If the feed is found to be rotten, it should never be fed to centipedes.
(2) For feed animals bred on-site, attention should be paid to the breeding environment, feed, water, etc. Do not use substances that may cause centipedes to get sick, such as heavy metals and certain disinfectants. At the same time, ensure that the breeding soil, feed, water, and even air are not contaminated by pathogens. Once the feed animals are found to be infected, the causes or types of pathogens and possible infection ranges should be analyzed to determine whether the batch of feed animals can be used.
(3) For feed animals caught in the wild, try to catch them in areas without pesticide, fertilizer, and other harmful substances. When capturing, it is also necessary to check whether there are dead animals of the same species in the area to determine whether the captured feed animals are diseased.
(4) Cleaning the pool. Remove all centipedes in the diseased pool and place them in several small containers. According to the specific symptoms, separate them into healthy, suspicious, and diseased groups for isolated breeding. Remove all the feeding soil in the pool and replace it with new soil. All equipment in the pool, such as drink trays, water basins or tanks, and tiles, should be disinfected and dried before use.
(5) During seasons of sudden temperature rise or drop, close doors and windows. If necessary, open heating facilities appropriately to ensure relatively stable temperatures. However, pay attention not to cause smoke or gas pollution inside the breeding house during heating.
(6) Medication treatment. The following prescriptions are available for diseased or suspected centipedes:
①Sulfonamide 0.5g, enzyme tablet 0.6g, feed 200-300g, crush and mix them together. Feed once a day for 3 consecutive days.
②Cortex Phellodendri powder 2g, enzyme tablet 1 tablet, whole milk powder 5g, dissolve them in 100 ml of warm boiling water, mix well, and soak it with a sponge for the centipedes to suck. Once a day for 3 consecutive days, pay attention to changing the sponge every day. This treatment method is mainly for small centipedes.
③Chloramphenicol 0.25g, compound vitamin 0.5g, feed 300g, crush the drugs into powder and mix with the feed, feed once a day for 3 consecutive days.
④Bacitracin 0.5g, compress into powder, crush 500g of feed, mix them evenly, feed once a day for 2 days.
4. Centipede Pharyngeal Ulcer Disease
This disease is a type of acute and explosive infectious disease that was discovered only in recent years, first reported by experts such as Liang Jiaquan from Guangxi Agricultural University.
1. The cause of the disease
This disease is caused by an infection of centipedes by a bacterium called "Pseudomonas aeruginosa". This disease is most common in high temperature seasons.
2. Symptoms of the disease
The main symptoms are inability to open and close the mouth, secretion of mucus from the mouth, inability to eat or swallow, mental dullness, and eventually exhaustion and death.
3. Prevention and control
The prevention and control techniques for this disease are still under research. However, strengthening the management of centipede breeding, improving environmental hygiene, and not feeding feed animals with bacteria are still effective measures to prevent this disease.
5. Mite Disease
1. The cause of the disease
Mites are a type of mite animal that is less than 1 millimeter in length. When they parasitize on the surface of centipedes, it causes mite disease in centipedes. In hot summer weather, if the humidity in the breeding house or pool is too high, it is easy for mites to settle and breed there. At this time, if centipedes are molting or there are baby centipedes, because their skin is exposed and unprotected, it is easy for mites to parasitize. After mites parasitize, on one hand, they feed on centipede body fluids and consume a large amount of nutrients, causing centipedes to become thin, weak, and eventually die. On the other hand, mites also produce toxins that irritate centipedes, making them unable to carry out normal feeding and drinking activities. At the same time, mites bite through the centipede's skin, making the centipede susceptible to secondary infections by pathogens. Therefore, when mite disease occurs, if not handled in a timely manner, it often leads to other diseases.
2. Symptoms of the disease
Centipedes infested with mites are extremely restless and often crawl aimlessly and quickly on the activity field or feeding soil. Sometimes, they try to lick or scratch their backs. Even when they are not crawling forward, some appendages show scratching and scraping movements. This phenomenon occurs mainly in centipedes that have just molted or in newly born young centipedes. As the disease progresses, other centipedes also start to become sick. Diseased centipedes become thin, weak, and eventually die. Sometimes, they also die from secondary infections by other pathogens. Careful observation on the feeding soil can reveal the presence of mite-shaped organisms. When examining the surface of infected centipedes, mite-shaped organisms can also be found. These are mites.
3. Prevention and control
There are currently no effective drugs to prevent and control this disease, because drugs that can kill mites are often harmful to centipedes. Therefore, control measures can only be taken from a management perspective:
(1) Improve ventilation and lighting in the breeding houses, and carry out heatstroke prevention and temperature reduction work to maintain a good breeding environment.
(2) Properly store and wash sundries and work clothes in the breeding house. If necessary, carry out high-temperature treatment to kill the mites or mite eggs that may be attached to them.
(3) When mites are found, remove all the centipedes in the pool, remove the original breeding soil, and spray the entire pool and house with mite-eliminating drugs such as diazinon and chlorocresol. Close the breeding house for a period of time before reusing it.
(4) After removing the diseased centipede population, separate molting centipedes, tender centipedes, and suspicious centipedes from healthy centipedes, and place them in separate small basins. Place them intermittently under the sun to drive away the mites. The sun exposure time should be around 30 minutes, with intervals of 30 minutes. After sun exposure, quickly pick up the centipedes one by one into another basin. After disinfecting the original basin, use it under UV light. It seems to have some effect as well. The method is the same as sun exposure.
(5) Put a semi-dried pork bone in the feeding soil or activity field during the day, remove it every 2-3 hours. It has a good lure and killing effect. However, this method cannot be used for prevention in unaffected centipedes, otherwise, there is a risk of being counterproductive.
6. Parasitic Nematode Disease
Nematodes, also known as wireworms, are often parasitic in the digestive tracts of centipedes. They even pierce through the intestinal wall and twist outside the intestine, resembling wires, hence the name "wireworms." This parasite feeds on centipede body fluids, causing the centipedes to lose a large amount of nutrients, hindering their normal growth and causing them to become thin and small in size. Although this disease does not occur explosively or cause widespread harm to centipede farming, as people's requirements for the quality of animal products improve, this disease may become a factor affecting the quality of centipede products. The prevention and control of the disease mainly involve reducing or not feeding grasshoppers, locusts, and other insects as feed, and using more juicy feed such as earthworms and tadpoles. It is also important to ensure that the drinking water is not contaminated by insects. When frequent occurrences of wireworm disease are found in centipede populations, 0.1g of praziquantel can be crushed and mixed with 5g of whole milk powder, dissolved in 100 ml of hot water, and absorbed by a sponge for the centipedes to suck and expel the parasite.
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