Centipede bite or something else? (poop, vet, black, diarrhea)

[Mikala43]

Steve, our rescue gave us a scare last night.

He was in the house acting like he was going to throw up (a first, but we have only had him about 5 mos).

I let him out and noticed he staggered a bit. He walked outside to the grass and sat, with slobber dripping (not normal). Finally threw up tons of bright yellow bile, and walked to go lay down with it all still dripping from his muzzle. Very lethargic and not very responsive, but breathing was fine. He lied there for about 45 mins. when he started to come around, roll on grass (happy) and start walking around.

When we let him back in we noticed he was scratching a lot. Upon inspection, his under eye area was swollen and red, as was the bottom of his neck. We gave him 3 benadryl which helped (maybe just because it made him sleepy).

This morning he looks better, VERY active (normal).

But I am wondering what it could have been, and the only thing I can think of is centipede bite.

Any thoughts?

[hiero2]

Only thought is you are likely right. The only other thing would be something he ate, but then that doesn't account for the swelling and redness.

[Mikala43]

Originally Posted by hiero2

Only thought is you are likely right. The only other thing would be something he ate, but then that doesn't account for the swelling and redness.

I contemplated the chance it was problems from 2 different things, and I don't think so, it all occurred pretty quickly. There is not much he could have gotten into to eat, and he had just pooped, so no blockage.

Facial swelling is almost all gone this morning. I think we will does him one more time, just to chase away the last of it.

[TerraDown]

Wow, thanks Mikala. You taught me something---I didn't know centipedes can bite!
Even at my ancient age, I learn something new everyday.
Hope Pooch is OK too

[bassetluv]

I'd say it's pretty much a guess as to what it could have been. Perhaps take a picture if it ever happens again so you have something to show to your vet (fingers crossed that it never does); something in a picture might possibly reveal more.

I had a rabbit once who developed a problem; I noticed it the day I got home from vacation. His ear had begun to swell, and by the next day it was massive. He was a big-eared breed, an English lop, so the immense swelling actually weighed his head down on one side. (It was so swollen that it looked like an inflated tire, and it was red and very warm.) When I took him to my vet, he suggested that it might have been a reaction to a spider bite. We don't have venomous spiders here, but Yofi was strictly indoors while I was away, so the possibility of some sort of house spider was presented.

My dog once gave me a scare as well, when he was a pup of around 7-8 months old; about an hour after he ate his evening meal he became very sick; vomiting, diarrhea, quite lethargic. I kept an eye on him for the next few hours and it seemed that once he'd rid his gut of all food, he began feeling somewhat better...by the next day, he was his chipper self again. Of course it didn't dawn on me until the next day that it might have had to do with his food; when I finally went online to check for food recalls, it turned out that the bag I'd just purchased was part of a massive recall. Although I'll never know for sure, I do believe that in that instance my guy had a reaction to a bad batch of food. (My older dog also ate the same food, and while she didn't react badly, she did develop mild diarrhea.)

Anyway, all this to say that it does sound like your pup may have been bitten by a centipede or some such creepy-crawly. I'm so glad your guy is feeling better...they do keep us on our toes!

[hiero2]

I think Mikala is in Hawaii, so before I posted I looked up centipedes in Hawaii. On the mainland centipedes are uncommon at best, and I don't think any are poisonous. In Hawaii they have 3 BIG centipedes, and one of those is apparently slightly more poisonous than, say, a wasp or bee.

BTW - taking a photo of the issue is a GREAT idea. Smart phones are so handy for this. Take a pic, and you have it with you to show the vet (or the doc, if it's for you!). And phone videos can be really helpful, too. I started using them a few years back, and the vets and docs both find them very helpful.

Spider bites: I know a little something about these. I have lived in parts of the country where brown recluse were as common as pennies, and where black widows were easy to find. Those aren't the same areas, by and large. Brown recluse spiders like things humid, and can't stand it dry. Black widows like things dry, but can tolerate some humidity. But say the mid-south (AR, TN, KY, MS), brown recluse spiders are easy to find, and black widows are supposed to be there, but are rare, afaic. In CA, AZ, NM, you can easily find black widows. And brown recluses will not survive there for more than a month or so.

The reason I brought up all that detail about spiders is because people get, and I have seen, what appear to be spider bite reactions in other places - where you DON'T have brown recluse, and widows are so unlikely that you might as well not have them. Which means that there MUST be something out there, or some things, that can and do bite and cause reactions like spider bites. I had a hound who had a serious dermonecrotic lesion (big enough to insert a golf ball and have extra room), but I live where we do not have brown recluse. I don't know what caused it, but I sure wish the bug scientists would catch up to what is happening in real life.

[Mikala43]

Yeah, we have really big centipedes, I hate them. I'll call the exterminator to give the yard a once over.

[Katie1]

This information may be useful to those that Don't know... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede_bite