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We were in the den watching TV when David noticed something crawling across the floor. Turned on the light to see better and it was a centipede.. Tommy noticed it right when I realized what it was and ran over to sniff it and quickly jumped back and started shaking his head over and over and salivating. I looked closely at his nose/face/tongue but can't see anything...
He seems ok now. I'm not sure if centipede sting/bites can be bad or if they are more like an ant sting..
Well I've stayed up an extra half hour, 11:30 p.m. here, and he seems ok except for his front lower lip is swollen a bit, but he's sleepy and breathing normally. He's more relaxed than Tasha who has picked up on my anxiety and so is anxious herself.
I'm like a mother hen I guess when anything is out of the ordinary with them :rolleyes:
Centipedes are poisonous. Many of the larger centipedes have an unpleasant bite and the poison of some giant species can be dangerous to humans, especially children. I'm not sure if ALL species are poisonous, but I personally wouldn't chance it. I'd call my vet ASAP.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/002842.htm
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanu...298/ch298j.jsp
http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/centip.htm
Owie! Poor Tommy. :(
Like Twisterdog said, they're poisonous. I would call the vet.
Tommy looks good this morning, no swelling or any sign of the bite/sting now. :)
It was a small brown house centipede, nothing large or exotic so the only thing I was worried about was an allergic reaction. Actually all spiders/bees/wasps/centipedes etc are venomous. My brain is foggy this morning due to constant insomnia lately or I could explain it better (majored in wildlife ecology in college :p ). Some venoms are so severe that everyone reacts to them and others are more mild so that only people/animals with certain sensitivities have a reaction. Thus why some people are "allergic" to wasp/bee stings, and some people will have a bad reaction to a 'non-venomous' spider bite while others won't.
Anyway, I knew this centipede wasn't in particular dangerous BUT about a year ago, Tommy got bit by something, no idea what, but his entire face swelled up, so much that his eyes were almost squeezed shut. It was vastly alarming to me. I got him into the vet who said he was having a reaction to probably a spider bite of some sort, allergic reaction. He wasn't too concerned, just gave him a shot and advised some Benadryl. But it was still quite an alarming experience for me. That is what I was really worried about last night.
But, anyway, he got a better night's sleep than I did :rolleyes:
I never knew centipedes were poisonous. Huh!
Glad that Tommy is better. I am sure I would be freaked out if that happened. Although Drake would have probably bit the insect before it had a chance to sting :D
I never new they were poisonous either.
I learned something new today. :)
Glad that Tommy is ok.