re: swollen abdomen

[ORION_DV8]

Alright this question may seem kinda of obscure so i will try to be as thorough as possible i have an adult female emp, ive had her for around 1.5 years now and all was well, yesterday as i was feeding however i noticed that her front for lack of a better word was small and almost deflated looking while the base of her tail up toparound the midsection was swollen or otherwise full looking giving her an almost exaggerated pear shape. So i guess im wondering can it be that she is gravid after an impossibly long gestation period, or is it possible she can have some sort of impaction or intestinal blockage? i will post pics a little later on.
thanks
ORION

 

[ORION_DV8]

here are the pics

 

[Kaos]

That's definatively no pregnancy. Check if her anal opening is blocked with feces. It is on the underside of the telson. If it had been wildcaught recently i would have tought som kind of parasite, but that dont sound likely to me if you had it for 1,5 year.

 

[fusion121]

Hi
I have scorpion with the same problem, and I've heard about scorpions with the same symptoms. I think it arises because the scorpion is unable to excrete its waste, probably because of a blockage along the metasoma. I've read that often its because the anus is blocked, however in my scorpions case there is no blockage at the anus (Check the anus of your scorpion, if its covered with dried waste it should wash off with warm water) so it must be somewhere in the metasoma, scorpion feces is a “suspension” of solid amino acids and can, I think, easily cause a blockage in the metasoma if the water content of the excrement is in correct. As to curing it there is no apparent way I can see, although the drastic step of puncturing the fecal tube below the blockage in the metasoma could be taken it would probably end up with the same result…namely the scorpion dying. A scorpion with a blockage like this will die eventually from poisoning.

A picture mine with the distended stomach:

 

[ORION_DV8]

WOW that is terrible news. I didnt think it was possible for arachnids to get impacted. I mean that is what you guys are saying this is, basically an impaction due to improper fluid concentration in the waste? So is that dehydration? I mean the humdity is up, and it has plenty of water. I am puzzled as to its origin, i guess it may be one of those things that just happen. Could it be caused by a bacterial infection?
thanks
ORION

 

[Ythier]

or parasitism (nematods, etc...) ?

 

[fusion121]

WOW that is terrible news. I didnt think it was possible for arachnids to get impacted. I mean that is what you guys are saying this is, basically an impaction due to improper fluid concentration in the waste? So is that dehydration? I mean the humdity is up, and it has plenty of water. I am puzzled as to its origin, i guess it may be one of those things that just happen. Could it be caused by a bacterial infection?
thanks
ORION

Hi thats purely my theory, it could occur purely by chance or has others of said as the result of something else like a parasite/infection. It may not be dehydration but rather the scorpions inability to regulate water concentration in its excretory system, perhaps a symptom of another condition. When mine dies I will dissect it to uncover to the root of the problem. Considering the location of the swelling near the intestinal region I'm inclined to go with an obstruction, I've also seen no evidence of the scorpion excreting waste, though it has been eating.

 

[ORION_DV8]

Thank you so much all for the info provided, i also will do a makeshift auto/necropsy when mine perishes, unfortunate as it is. I wish there was some way to medicate though the cure may be worse for the animal than the disease. When a pregnancy does occur in scorps it is a more uniform swelling correct?
ORION

 

[SpaceHawk]

How would it contract a parasite in your cage after having it 1 1/2 years? The only thing I can think of is, the substrate was not cleaned enough (harboring parasites?), a cricket had something (?) or it had it all this time and it is just now showing up.

I know with fish, they harbor the parasites inside them forever and then one day they get stressed out, it lowers their immune system, and then the parasite gets them. Hmmm...

 

[Kugellager]

fusion,

Your photo is of a Hadogenes spp. correct? From what I have heard from more than one source is that the defect you observe on your specimen is actually quite common with Hadogenes spp. It is probably not a life threatening injury to your scorpion.

As for the Emporer scorpion that Orion has posted, I would say there is probably a serious health problem. The portion of the mesosoma in front of the buldge is extremely thin and looks very malnourished. Because of this I also suspect some sort of intestinal blockage. I'm afraid at this stage there may be little you can do.

John
];')

 

[ORION_DV8]

She actually stopped feeding about 2 or so months ago, which i figured to be just a normal thing at the beggining of the winter months, i guess i always thought she would pull through this little fast without incident, i guess i was wrong. I would feed and then remove the dead crickets after they would perish or be crushed to death and discarded. I have a juvenile emp who is doing fine so i am really stumped (they are not in the same enclosure nor have they ever been) Aside from the origins the care i have given them is exactly the same, the sick one was wild caught however (im assuming) while the little one was captive hatched by a friend of mine.
ORION

 

[fusion121]

Your photo is of a Hadogenes spp. correct? From what I have heard from more than one source is that the defect you observe on your specimen is actually quite common with Hadogenes spp. It is probably not a life threatening injury to your scorpion.

Hi John
Thanks for the info John its actually a Opisthacanthus rugiceps, but same family so perhaps the same applies. The swelling has resulted in a loss of the scorpions ability to move its tail and it has not defecated in a long time, and its getting generally lethargic, so something is not right, but I’ll see if it turns out ok and if not I’ll dissect it to find the root of the problem.

 

[G. Carnell]

example of blocked anus:

 

[omj624p]

Hi all

Sorry to revive such an old post, but I have recently lost 2 emperor scorpions to this very same condition. A google search lead me to this thread...


A bit about me...

I live in the UK and have owned Emperor scorpions for about 8 years. My first one (sadly before I owned a digital camera) actually had babies and most of them lived on for a few years. I kept all the shed skins thought.


After they all eventually died, I bought a new one. This one lasted about a year, and in the final few months it became very lethargic and very fat. After it eventually died I cut it open. See the photos below, was this pregnant?

I then bought another one, a bit smaller and it seemed to have a red tinge to it's claws, and some people said I had bought a Red Clawed scorpion by mistake.

This one lasted about 6 months, it was very active at first as you can see in these videos...

http://www.omj624p.co.uk/scorpion

... but it also became very lethargic and fat in the last few weeks, and eventually died. When I cut this open it was just full of fluid and not much else.

Can anyone shed any light on this please? I'd like a bit of information before I go and buy another one.

Thanks for any information.

Steve

 

[Mark Newton]

The developing embryos are quite apparent in the first scorpion. No idea why they are dying on you like that. Possibly something to do with keeping conditions if so many have chucked it in.

 

[Thaedion]

The developing embryos are quite apparent in the first scorpion. No idea why they are dying on you like that. Possibly something to do with keeping conditions if so many have chucked it in.

I'm with Mark on this one, I would assume the conditions of the tank are leading to an early demise. Most all pet store scorpions can be assumed to be wild caught therefore no idea on how long they'll live for you, but from birth to death in a captive situation you should see life spans from 5 - 10 years no problem, 8 as an average. So when you said the slings lived on for a few (I assume you mean about 2 - 3 years) they are dying prematurely IMHO.

The tanks shown in the attached pics, seem very humid you need 80-90% (high end for slings to moult w/o problems), and the substrate being rocks is not suitable and the sub should be damp not soaking. Emperors are obligated burrowers and need a suitable substrate to tunnel into, coco fiber and or organic/chem free soil would be fine. Temps should be 28° - 31° C. Lighting just do not use a black light for constant lighting. (some of the pet stores in my area are doing this for displaying their emps, using a constant BL saying "look they glow" )Also make sure there is an adequate water supply to drink from deep is okay as they like to submerge. (do not use gel-water of any sort)

Thaedion

 

[omj624p]

Thanks for the information, I'll make the alterations to the tank as suggested and get it all ready before I buy another one.

Steve