Neglected Flat Rock Scorpion - Please help!

[Cassandra Green]

Hi all. Thank you for accepting me into the group. I really, really need your help! I have today acquired a Flat Rock Scorpion in this tank - obviously, it's going to need upgrading. Apparently, it hasn't been fed for a 'few weeks' and there's no water in that bowl, but it looks too deep anyway so I haven't filled it. The person who gave it to me had a freezing cold house and the little one was hiding under the log. My apartment is relatively warm and as you can see, 'she' is now sleeping outside. There's no heat source, or anything. I don't know if they need this (?!) I've got no idea what the humidity is like in there either. It's incredibly dirty and she has dirt all over her head and claws - I daren't brush it off! Or should I?



I have one major concern right now - other than the habitat! - it appears to have white stuff on two legs and some on the left claw. I have circled it in the picture - I'm really worried this is mould. I may be completely off here and maybe it's something else, but mould is just the best description I can give of it. Mould-like.



'She's' also rubbing her back with her tail, up and down, up and down, and then around her sides, up and down. I have tried googling but I'm not sure what sort of behaviour this is?
If anyone could help me with a shopping list for the exotic shop tomorrow, I would be so grateful. I know hardly anything other than the two-hours of Googling I've been doing and I just wanted to help this little guy/gal!

Thank you so much in advance and I do apologise if I'm rambling! Thank you

 

[darkness975]

Hi all. Thank you for accepting me into the group. I really, really need your help! I have today acquired a Flat Rock Scorpion in this tank - obviously, it's going to need upgrading. Apparently, it hasn't been fed for a 'few weeks' and there's no water in that bowl, but it looks too deep anyway so I haven't filled it. The person who gave it to me had a freezing cold house and the little one was hiding under the log. My apartment is relatively warm and as you can see, 'she' is now sleeping outside. There's no heat source, or anything. I don't know if they need this (?!) I've got no idea what the humidity is like in there either. It's incredibly dirty and she has dirt all over her head and claws - I daren't brush it off! Or should I?

View attachment 266016

I have one major concern right now - other than the habitat! - it appears to have white stuff on two legs and some on the left claw. I have circled it in the picture - I'm really worried this is mould. I may be completely off here and maybe it's something else, but mould is just the best description I can give of it. Mould-like.

View attachment 266017

'She's' also rubbing her back with her tail, up and down, up and down, and then around her sides, up and down. I have tried googling but I'm not sure what sort of behaviour this is?
If anyone could help me with a shopping list for the exotic shop tomorrow, I would be so grateful. I know hardly anything other than the two-hours of Googling I've been doing and I just wanted to help this little guy/gal!

Thank you so much in advance and I do apologise if I'm rambling! Thank you

Try to get some images in better lighting of the spots and such in question.

The water bowl is not the greatest, but until you get a better one at least bury it in the substrate so it's accessible to it. You want the top of it to basically be level with the substrate

Sad to hear about the neglect. They definitely need to be warm. They are an arid species, though, so don't spray it or anything. Just give it water so it can drink.

A few weeks without food is not too alarming. Plus, it appears that it is a reasonable weight so you can ease up on worrying about that for now.

 

[Cassandra Green]

Try to get some images in better lighting of the spots and such in question.

The water bowl is not the greatest, but until you get a better one at least bury it in the substrate so it's accessible to it. You want the top of it to basically be level with the substrate

Sad to hear about the neglect. They definitely need to be warm. They are an arid species, though, so don't spray it or anything. Just give it water so it can drink.

A few weeks without food is not too alarming. Plus, it appears that it is a reasonable weight so you can ease up on worrying about that for now.

Thank you so much! I will do her some water now then. I posted this on the Arachnoboards group on Facebook and someone suggested the white stuff is poop?

I will definitely try to get some more photos.

I’m now beginning to worry about mycosis as it’s damp in there. I’ve only just heard the word about 20 minutes ago and I’m worrying! How would I check to see if she’s suffering?

 

[darkness975]

Thank you so much! I will do her some water now then. I posted this on the Arachnoboards group on Facebook and someone suggested the white stuff is poop?

I will definitely try to get some more photos.

I’m now beginning to worry about mycosis as it’s damp in there. I’ve only just heard the word about 20 minutes ago and I’m worrying! How would I check to see if she’s suffering?

The Mycosis fungus is more black in color from what I have seen of it. Search up Mycosis on the Scorpion forum here and you should find some threads. Quite a few of them will involve Hadrurus spp. but it's still relevant.

The white stuff could definitely be excrement which is why I said you should post some more closer pictures with better lighting so we can see. I honestly can't see much of anything in the images you posted so I can't really guess what it is at this time. But very often it is just excrement that gets stuck. One of my Scorpions actually came to me with crap on it and I had to use a wet Q tip to get it off (which was super fun for a highly defensive species).

I am not familiar with the "Arachnoboards Facebook group" but I would caution you about trusting Facebook sources. You're 100% better off inquiring here on the Arachnoboards.

 

[Cassandra Green]

The Mycosis fungus is more black in color from what I have seen of it. Search up Mycosis on the Scorpion forum here and you should find some threads. Quite a few of them will involve Hadrurus spp. but it's still relevant.

The white stuff could definitely be excrement which is why I said you should post some more closer pictures with better lighting so we can see. I honestly can't see much of anything in the images you posted so I can't really guess what it is at this time. But very often it is just excrement that gets stuck. One of my Scorpions actually came to me with crap on it and I had to use a wet Q tip to get it off (which was super fun for a highly defensive species).

I am not familiar with the "Arachnoboards Facebook group" but I would caution you about trusting Facebook sources. You're 100% better off inquiring here on the Arachnoboards.

Thank you so much for your help! I will stick here from now on I'll try and get some photos of her now and come back. She does have very dark joints, but I don't know if that's just her colour!

I'll be back - thank you

 

[Cassandra Green]

Is this better? I'm so scared of blinding her with a flash or something lol. I keep calling it a her too, but I have no idea if it is!

 

[darkness975]

Thank you so much for your help! I will stick here from now on I'll try and get some photos of her now and come back. She does have very dark joints, but I don't know if that's just her colour!

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/sick-desert-hairy-help.300907/#post-2712320

 

[darkness975]

Is this better? I'm so scared of blinding her with a flash or something lol. I keep calling it a her too, but I have no idea if it is! View attachment 266035

If you're talking about the white gunk on the leg there it appears to be dried excrement from what I can see anyway. When you rehouse it you will want to wipe that off with a wet Q tip.

 

[Cassandra Green]

PHEW, I'm glad it's not mouldy

Thank you so much for the link to the mycosis. I don't think I'm qualified enough to know yet whether what I'm looking at is mycosis or not :/

How would it be treated or maintained so it doesn't get any worse?

 

[darkness975]

PHEW, I'm glad it's not mouldy

Thank you so much for the link to the mycosis. I don't think I'm qualified enough to know yet whether what I'm looking at is mycosis or not :/

How would it be treated or maintained so it doesn't get any worse?

Unless the Scorpion has any molts left that it can molt out of it there is no "cure."

You can stop it from spreading and getting worse by not permitting conditions that would exacerbate the ailment.

In the future, tag my name or quote the post. I didn't know you replied to me.

 

[pannaking22]

Looks female to me. Agreed with everything @darkness975 said.

 

[Cassandra Green]

Thank you @darkness975 and thank you @pannaking22 ! She’s doing a lot better and I don’t think mycosis is a worry anymore her joints look pretty good. She now has a nice enclosure with flat rocks and sand. She’s just a real sweetie. Thank you so much for all of your help!

 

[sr20det510]

Congrats.

You can't just tell us, " She now has a nice enclosure with flat rocks and sand," and not post pictures.

Hope she does well for you.

 

[Cassandra Green]

I’m sad to say the little lady didn’t survive. I tried feeding her several times, tong feeding and leaving her in peace with her food, crickets, locusts, mealworms and a run runner but she refused it all and passed away under her rock.

She has however given me a new passion for inverts, so I’m grateful the short time I had with her.

Thank you all so much for all of your advice.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

I’m sad to say the little lady didn’t survive. I tried feeding her several times, tong feeding and leaving her in peace with her food, crickets, locusts, mealworms and a run runner but she refused it all and passed away under her rock.

She has however given me a new passion for inverts, so I’m grateful the short time I had with her.

Thank you all so much for all of your advice.

Sorry to hear that the scorp passed... However I understand that, my first invert was a Black Asian Forest scorpion because I thought I wasn't interested in tarantulas. Then after looking them up a little and seeing all of the different interesting species out there that happened to be what I got interested in.

The thing is from the first thread post its pretty obvious you didn't know much about scorpion care so do some more research before picking up your next pet.

 

[pannaking22]

Sorry to hear that she passed. Sometimes that happens and there's not necessarily an explanation to why it happened. Glad to hear she got you into inverts though.

 

[Abdulkarim Elnaas]

Just for the record, many cold blooded predatory animals really don't eat that much. Like, I mean, they will go on for months without food sometimes, depending on the species in question. This is true for some arthropods and certain reptiles like snakes. It can be quite shocking to warm blooded mammals like ourselves.

 

[Cassandra Green]

Sorry to hear that the scorp passed... However I understand that, my first invert was a Black Asian Forest scorpion because I thought I wasn't interested in tarantulas. Then after looking them up a little and seeing all of the different interesting species out there that happened to be what I got interested in.

The thing is from the first thread post its pretty obvious you didn't know much about scorpion care so do some more research before picking up your next pet.

I didn’t buy her or get her on purpose. My neighbour says, “I’ve got this and I don’t know what I’m doing with it. Had it months just sat there, could even be dead.” So I took her and tried to gain as much information I could and give her a happy ending. I didn’t get a pet without doing any research and just allow the poor thing to die. That’s what my neighbour did and I’m sad I intervened too late.

Thank you @pannaking22. I’ve tried to think what it could have been but as I said to @Mvtt70 I maybe intervened too late. She seemed a little odd from the minute we got her and I was constantly worried there was something “not right” and it looks like my gut was telling me the right thing. As I say though, perhaps she was the unexpected gateway into a new passion.

I may get another flat rock that I can start with from the beginning as she was fabulous in stature and looks. Not yet though. It was very sad moving her lifeless body :’(

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

I didn’t buy her or get her on purpose. My neighbour says, “I’ve got this and I don’t know what I’m doing with it. Had it months just sat there, could even be dead.” So I took her and tried to gain as much information I could and give her a happy ending. I didn’t get a pet without doing any research and just allow the poor thing to die. That’s what my neighbour did and I’m sad I intervened too late.

Thank you @pannaking22. I’ve tried to think what it could have been but as I said to @Mvtt70 I maybe intervened too late. She seemed a little odd from the minute we got her and I was constantly worried there was something “not right” and it looks like my gut was telling me the right thing. As I say though, perhaps she was the unexpected gateway into a new passion.

I may get another flat rock that I can start with from the beginning as she was fabulous in stature and looks. Not yet though. It was very sad moving her lifeless body :’(

My bad I didn't know the whole situation, and I do find it commendable you tried to take it and give it better care. Like you said hopefully she was the start of something good though!

 

[RepugnantOoze]

My bad I didn't know the whole situation, and I do find it commendable you tried to take it and give it better care. Like you said hopefully she was the start of something good though!

She explained the whole situation. Do some more reading before you start accusing someone.