Emperor Scorpion Has not Eaten in 4 Months

[Kasettetape]

Hello! I'm writing here because im basically at a loss of what to do right now with my scorpion. I got her last year around Halloween, and she went off food in December 2019. Right before I left for Christmas.

For about a month she went down into a hole and pretty much stayed there, I dug her out to check on her and she was basically a ball and seemed very thirsty (I sprayed her with water and she drank from the spray)

After that she perked up, but still would not eat. Shes not lethargic, shes very active at night and very feisty when bothered, but she still flings food away when offered.

I feel like what might have happened is a mixture of it having gotten unseasonably cold in Cali (my house doesnt have good insulation and it was my first winter here) and the heating pad wasnt enough. As well as I had problems keeping the humidity up. But the temps and humidity are good now and I've tried to get her to feed with no results.

Im wondering, is she maybe having trouble molting? her plates are spread but shes not tried to molt at all. I've attached a pic that is hopefully clear enough.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

What heat source are you providing for it. It should not be kept at room temperature

 

[Kasettetape]

She has a heat mat under her tank, and before anyone asks, the shop I got her from was a specialty shop that said I should put it underneath, and that they've never had an issue with using them this way, even when I mentioned people on here said it should be on the side.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

I'm sorry I dont know what specialty shop that was but that is 100% false

This species of scorpions is an obligated burrower and burrows to ESCAPE heat. If it cannot burrow to escape heat and find a cool gradient to settle. It will stress this could be contributing to the non eating factor

Nobody can force you to change it but it's highly reccomend . Coming from a user who has years of experience. Has produced many broods and babies of various species along with one of the current best reputations in the hobby right now... i wouldn't steer you on the wrong direction


Aside from that an adult emporer can go an entire year with no food. I wouldnt worry

 

[darkness975]

It looks bloated.

And the head pad should be on the side, regardless of whatever that self labelled "expert" claimed.

Substrate should be moist and several inches of it present to provide burrowing medium.

Telson color will indicate the approximate instar of the specimen. If it is dark red/crimson then it is adult. If not, then it requires a molt or two to get there. They refuse food and become sluggish when a molt is pending.

 

[Kasettetape]

I'm sorry I dont know what specialty shop that was but that is 100% false

This species of scorpions is an obligated burrower and burrows to ESCAPE heat. If it cannot burrow to escape heat and find a cool gradient to settle. It will stress this could be contributing to the non eating factor

Nobody can force you to change it but it's highly reccomend . Coming from a user who has years of experience. Has produced many broods and babies of various species along with one of the current best reputations in the hobby right now... i wouldn't steer you on the wrong direction


Aside from that an adult emporer can go an entire year with no food. I wouldnt worry

Hello, thanks for the response, upon reading I did immediately move the heat pad to the side. The shop in question is a mom and pop shop and made me feel incredibly stupid for wanting to put the mat on the side, saying i shouldnt listen to what the internet says, figures. I hope this will help with her stress and maybe persuade her to eat soon, however I feel better knowing they can go at length without it, Ive been getting many different opinions on that as well.

 

[Kasettetape]

It looks bloated.

And the head pad should be on the side, regardless of whatever that self labelled "expert" claimed.

Substrate should be moist and several inches of it present to provide burrowing medium.

Telson color will indicate the approximate instar of the specimen. If it is dark red/crimson then it is adult. If not, then it requires a molt or two to get there. They refuse food and become sluggish when a molt is pending.

Thanks for the response, Im no longer taking their advice on this because I feel like they did tell me a lot of conflicting info. For the bloating, is that a sign of something i should be concerned about, or a very long premolt period? I have her on coco fiber that is moist, so that should be okay, and her telson is red, so I guess she is an adult, however Ive just been wondering how long exactly it can take to go from molt to premolt?

 

[darkness975]

Thanks for the response, Im no longer taking their advice on this because I feel like they did tell me a lot of conflicting info. For the bloating, is that a sign of something i should be concerned about, or a very long premolt period? I have her on coco fiber that is moist, so that should be okay, and her telson is red, so I guess she is an adult, however Ive just been wondering how long exactly it can take to go from molt to premolt?

The store is correct that you shouldn't listen to just any random place on the world wide web, but this site is an exception to that. A lot of long term hobbyists here with years or decades of keeping, breeding, etc.

Scorpions do not molt again once they reach their final instar. If yours has the telltale deep red telson, then it is adult. Can you get some more pictures of the telson in better lighting?

If the specimen is indeed an adult, then the plate separation is a concern. If it is not adult yet, then much less so.

What is the whole setup ? Does it have access to a full water dish? How often is it fed? What's the temperature?

As long as the substrate is moist humidity is not a major concern. As long as the substrate is not saturated it's fine.

 

[Kasettetape]

The store is correct that you shouldn't listen to just any random place on the world wide web, but this site is an exception to that. A lot of long term hobbyists here with years or decades of keeping, breeding, etc.

Scorpions do not molt again once they reach their final instar. If yours has the telltale deep red telson, then it is adult. Can you get some more pictures of the telson in better lighting?

If the specimen is indeed an adult, then the plate separation is a concern. If it is not adult yet, then much less so.

What is the whole setup ? Does it have access to a full water dish? How often is it fed? What's the temperature?

As long as the substrate is moist humidity is not a major concern. As long as the substrate is not saturated it's fine.

Ah okay, her telson starts dark but it kinda gradients to a lighter shade, however I did get a better pic that I'll post with this.

If my eyes dont deceive me she doesnt look as bloated today as yesterday? Thats what I noticed from comparing the pictures. Her setup is a 16 gallon low terrarium with the coco fiber substrate, a false bottom for drainage, some pothos, spagnum moss and lots of cork bark hides. Heating element is on the one side. The cool temp is around 75 and the hot end 92. Her dish is large enough for her and always full, but not too high obviously. Ive been offering food a couple times a week though shes been refusing, thats how much she used to eat though.

 

[darkness975]

Ah okay, her telson starts dark but it kinda gradients to a lighter shade, however I did get a better pic that I'll post with this.

If my eyes dont deceive me she doesnt look as bloated today as yesterday? Thats what I noticed from comparing the pictures. Her setup is a 16 gallon low terrarium with the coco fiber substrate, a false bottom for drainage, some pothos, spagnum moss and lots of cork bark hides. Heating element is on the one side. The cool temp is around 75 and the hot end 92. Her dish is large enough for her and always full, but not too high obviously. Ive been offering food a couple times a week though shes been refusing, thats how much she used to eat though.

Looks a lot better in that picture than the first.

They go off food sometimes. Shes still plump so no concern just yet.

And it appears to be an adult.

 

[JoshBC]

That first picture looked scary. Second, not so bad. The only way I could ever see mounting a heat pad on the underside of a terrarium would be if the terrarium was VERY large, and the pad represented a small percent of total area. I've only ever side-mounted heat pads, offered numerous hides, and the scorps find their sweet spot. If you were given a choice between blazing hot and soaking wet, you'd probably like to setup somewhere in the middle.

As for lack of appetite, par for the species. Once I established a dubia roach colony and began feeding my Pandinus Cavimanus and Heterometrus Spinifer truly appropriate sized feeders, they would routinely go 3+ months between feedings. If you're looking for a hungrier sp maybe consider hottentotta or centruroides. Tityus, little hotter but active hunters from what I've learned. Totally depends on your experience level and wants. I miss my Pandinus Cavimanus, only scorpion I've held. Never stung or pinched me once. Despite my brutal inexperience at the time. Cheers.

 

[Kasettetape]

That first picture looked scary. Second, not so bad. The only way I could ever see mounting a heat pad on the underside of a terrarium would be if the terrarium was VERY large, and the pad represented a small percent of total area. I've only ever side-mounted heat pads, offered numerous hides, and the scorps find their sweet spot. If you were given a choice between blazing hot and soaking wet, you'd probably like to setup somewhere in the middle.

As for lack of appetite, par for the species. Once I established a dubia roach colony and began feeding my Pandinus Cavimanus and Heterometrus Spinifer truly appropriate sized feeders, they would routinely go 3+ months between feedings. If you're looking for a hungrier sp maybe consider hottentotta or centruroides. Tityus, little hotter but active hunters from what I've learned. Totally depends on your experience level and wants. I miss my Pandinus Cavimanus, only scorpion I've held. Never stung or pinched me once. Despite my brutal inexperience at the time. Cheers.

Yeah Idk what was up with her that day vs. now, im a bit confused. To be fair, the heat pad is quite small compared to this terrarium as I moved her up from a 10 gallon given how active she seemed to be at night. this new one is long and low and about 16 gallons with a small sized heating pad. For whatever reason the store was adamant that mounting it below was fine, but from now on it'll be on the side, and I actually ordered some heat tape as well to keep temps up.

That's interesting to hear that they would go that long between feeding. I'd been feeding her superworms and crickets up until she started refusing. When i told the shop a little while ago she'd gone off food, they told me it was a temp issue and that their scorps never stopped eating. I don't doubt it might have been temps since it got cold here while I was away, but I wish I'd known a bit more about the eating habit of the species. As much research as i did, there wasn't a lot about that.

 

[darkness975]

Yeah Idk what was up with her that day vs. now, im a bit confused. To be fair, the heat pad is quite small compared to this terrarium as I moved her up from a 10 gallon given how active she seemed to be at night. this new one is long and low and about 16 gallons with a small sized heating pad. For whatever reason the store was adamant that mounting it below was fine, but from now on it'll be on the side, and I actually ordered some heat tape as well to keep temps up.

That's interesting to hear that they would go that long between feeding. I'd been feeding her superworms and crickets up until she started refusing. When i told the shop a little while ago she'd gone off food, they told me it was a temp issue and that their scorps never stopped eating. I don't doubt it might have been temps since it got cold here while I was away, but I wish I'd known a bit more about the eating habit of the species. As much research as i did, there wasn't a lot about that.

They told you that scorpions never fast and that a temperature gradient between 70 and 90 is a bad thing? Wow that place really knows nothing about keeping invertebrates.

It is not uncommon for scorpions to fast for weeks or months, as long as they are a reasonable weight there is nothing to worry about.

The species you own is notorious for fasting more often than others. In general I have found that the arid species tend to have better appetites most of the time.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Had one of my emps fast for around 3 months, she was totally fine. Yesterday I fed her, first time she ate in a while.

 

[darkness975]

Also super worms are hugely fattening so that could also cause a fast.

 

[Pana Lemontzis]

I'm sorry I dont know what specialty shop that was but that is 100% false

This species of scorpions is an obligated burrower and burrows to ESCAPE heat. If it cannot burrow to escape heat and find a cool gradient to settle. It will stress this could be contributing to the non eating factor

Nobody can force you to change it but it's highly reccomend . Coming from a user who has years of experience. Has produced many broods and babies of various species along with one of the current best reputations in the hobby right now... i wouldn't steer you on the wrong direction


Aside from that an adult emporer can go an entire year with no food. I wouldnt worry

What does broods mean?