is my dune scorp molting?

Carolinecrawford

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Hey all,

I've had my dune scorp Cleo for a couple months now. Every now and then, she sleeps or rests so hard I am convinced that she is dead! Well, today she is in this weird pose and I think maybe she's pre-molt? The guy I bought her from said that she had a little more growing to do. She hasn't been eating. Shes been killing crickets but not eating for about a week and a half. I am terrified that she's dead but I feel like if she was dead her body would be a bit more limp. Her tail is arching above her head. Can i get some advice on this pose? Everyone says to give it time but I love her and I'm impatient. She's also not fat like people describe scorps pre-molt.
 

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darkness975

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Take a paint brush and gently tap the back side. It does not appear to be molting or dead.
 

Dry Desert

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It's not moving at all. It's like it's paralyzed
Some species of scorpions do "play dead" - Cataplexy I think it,s called - Most scorpions when dead usually have pinchers tightly closed and tail curled around their rear. Yours does not appear to be either dead or in premolt, too thin, however scorpions do tend to come into the open to prepare for the end. Just give it a little more time, it will probably pop back into action soon.
 

darkness975

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If it was dead it would not be able to hold itself up, which is why I am confused.
 

Carolinecrawford

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Thats what I'm saying. Any living thing that dies would relax at some point. Yet here we are. I've posted another photo. If she was dead and in rigor mortis, rigor mortis wouldn't last two days.
 

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Dry Desert

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Thats what I'm saying. Any living thing that dies would relax at some point. Yet here we are. I've posted another photo. If she was dead and in rigor mortis, rigor mortis wouldn't last two days.
Thats what I'm saying. Any living thing that dies would relax at some point. Yet here we are. I've posted another photo. If she was dead and in rigor mortis, rigor mortis wouldn't last two days.
If you compare photo 2 with photo 3 you will notice that the scorpion has moved a lot closer to the tanks vent slots, also its left claw is higher up than in photo 2 and the rear two legs are in different positions - unless you,ve moved the scorpion with the brush when checking it - In all the photos there is a mark between the last tail segment and the stinger which lookes like a fungal infection, it may just be dust or the photo refection, but this may account for its limited movement. I hope I,m wrong about the marking though.
 

Carolinecrawford

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She is positioned differently from moving her a bit with the brush. You are correct about the spot between the bottom of her tail and the stinger. That spot has been there for awhile. I wasn't sure what it was but that's a bummer if it's a fungal infection :(
 

Dry Desert

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Wouldn't it be black if it was a fungal infection?
Not neccessarily, Mycosis is a fungal infection that,s black and usually starts on the feet and works upwards until it reaches the lungs. There are other fungal/ bacterial infections though some not as common, Mycosis is most common due to bad husbandry and is the easiest to spot. Some infections are due to battle scars or similar tissue damage, not related to humidity.
 

Carolinecrawford

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Well, she's definitely more relaxed now.. I'm thinking she's dead. I just wish I could know what I might've done wrong for her to die after having her only a couple months. At one point I fed her two crickets a week and I'm wondering if that was too much. She still doesn't smell, but I think it's safe to say she died
 

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darkness975

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Well, she's definitely more relaxed now.. I'm thinking she's dead. I just wish I could know what I might've done wrong for her to die after having her only a couple months.
It could have been wild caught, and thus suffering from any number of ailments prior to your acquisition of the specimen. I had a scorpion once a number of years back that I owned for about a year and half that never ate once until it finally withered away. It was not fully grown yet, so it was not "old age." That is an example of how resilient they are, but also shows that they can come to you with pre-existing ailments.
 

THR

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I think the environment is too dry and it looks really starving. Or maybe it just died normally——reaching its age.
 
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