Concerned about my Emperor Scorpion

[Robert7784]

So for about 2 days now my Emperor scorpion is laying flat out on her stomach barely responding to anything. Is she injured, sick, dying, or about to molt? She hasn’t been eating since then and I’m not sure on what I should do. I’ve had her for about 9 months and this is the first time she’s ever had issues. I usually have her cage at 75-80 F and her humidity at 80-90%. Any suggestions or answers??

 

[Poonjab]

Hard to say. Post a pic

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Not a good sign.
Is the tail curled upwards or straight back ? Are the legs in their normal spread position or a bit more curled up under the body ?

 

[Robert7784]

Her tail is straight back but her legs are normal, not curled under her body.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Tail straight back + unresponsive + right 'in the open' during daytime is a bad sign.
You can heat up the enclosure by a few degrees, but I fear the end is near....

 

[Robert7784]

Tail straight back + unresponsive + right 'in the open' during daytime is a bad sign.
You can heat up the enclosure by a few degrees, but I fear the end is near....

Man that sucks, she never showed any issues. What do you think could have gone wrong?

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Could be old age, they have a lifespan of about 7-8 years.
In case its a 'fake' emperor, a H silenus (formerly know as H petersii) then its lifespan would be 6-7 years.
Prolonged periods of too low temperatures or too low humidity can also slowly kill them,
by the time they start acting weird or behave sluggish or unresponsive it is already too late in most cases.
I would fire up the enclosure towards 30°C (86°F) with a high humidity to give it one last try.

 

[Robert7784]

Could be old age, they have a lifespan of about 7-8 years.
In case its a 'fake' emperor, a H silenus (formerly know as H petersii) then its lifespan would be 6-7 years.
Prolonged periods of too low temperatures or too low humidity can also slowly kill them,
by the time they start acting weird or behave sluggish or unresponsive it is already too late in most cases.
I would fire up the enclosure towards 30°C (86°F) with a high humidity to give it one last try.

I’ll make the tank higher in heat, but humidity has always been high. I have a water dish in there so she’s got water. I’m kind of new to scorpion keeping but this is the first time I’ve had issues with them. Maybe the lady I bought it from lied about age but I’m honestly not sure.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

How are you managing humidity? Is the substrate kept moist all the way through, or are you misting the top, or what?

 

[Robert7784]

How are you managing humidity? Is the substrate kept moist all the way through, or are you misting the top, or what?

The substrate is a little damp, but I have one of those humidifiers so it’s always 80-90% in humidity

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

The substrate is a little damp, but I have one of those humidifiers so it’s always 80-90% in humidity

I'm not convinced that air humidity is as relevant as substrate moisture levels for burrowing and ground-dwelling animals. That's not to say that dehydration is necessarily the problem in this case, but as a rule I'd be more concerned with what's happening in the substrate than in the air.

Is there any chance the scorpion has been exposed to any kind of toxins? Flea medications, pest control treatments?

 

[Robert7784]

I'm not convinced that air humidity is as relevant as substrate moisture levels for burrowing and ground-dwelling animals. That's not to say that dehydration is necessarily the problem in this case, but as a rule I'd be more concerned with what's happening in the substrate than in the air.

Is there any chance the scorpion has been exposed to any kind of toxins? Flea medications, pest control treatments?

No, she hasn’t been exposed to any sort of that. I do have a cave built in the set up for her that she normally is in 24/7 but out of nowhere she’s just acting weird.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

No, she hasn’t been exposed to any sort of that. I do have a cave built in the set up for her that she normally is in 24/7 but out of nowhere she’s just acting weird.

Can you post a photo of her? If she looks shrivelled it could be dehydration, but otherwise it could just be old age or something else.