So i recently acquired a 2.5 inch Scorpio Maurus Palmatus from Total Pet. I noticed when i got it home from the store his telson looked dry and cracked. Two weeks have passed and I do not think hes eaten once its hard to tell if any crickets may have disappeared or not. Today he is not moving his left pedipalp at all and when nudged wont raise his stinger(which has been gradually turning dark brown from the tip towards his abdomen) or act as defensive as he was when i first got him. What is wrong? Can anyone help me with what to do next?
Scorpio Maurus Palmatus Not doing well
- Thread starter Darvid
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2003
- Messages
- 3,611
Sounds pretty bad unfortunately,
Sometimes scorpions can get their anal canal (in the 'tail') blocked for some reason, which ends in death of the scorpion.
What you've described seems a lot similar to this!
You also mention its 2.5 inches, which suggests its adult and may be an old scorpion
If you bought the scorpion 2 weeks ago, you should try to take it back to the seller!
Sometimes scorpions can get their anal canal (in the 'tail') blocked for some reason, which ends in death of the scorpion.
What you've described seems a lot similar to this!
You also mention its 2.5 inches, which suggests its adult and may be an old scorpion
If you bought the scorpion 2 weeks ago, you should try to take it back to the seller!
What is totally unacceptable? That a wc animal is old and died soon after you bought it? Actually you could have known that this chance exist with an animal where can't determine the age. If the petstore refund it they do it just because they wanna be nice. It's not like you have bought a used care with a damaged gear and they did not checked the car if it worked properly. The petstore couldn't see that coming especially if you saying he was doing fine when you bought him.
btw you said you feard the worst? What is worse than hearing it will most likely die soon?
Nothing is worse then hearing it will die soon thats exactly what I was worried about what else did u think i meant?
---------- Post added 07-08-2014 at 08:49 AM ----------
And i had no idea it was sick and was advertised as perfectly healthy so i have a right to be mad about it if i want. The scorpion seemed fine when i got it but it obviously wasnt kept in good care at the store. Also while ive had it it has never had interest in food only runs from it or grabs with claws and just lets go. So if it wont eat i assume it wasnt eating at the store which the "reptile specialist" at Total Pet failed to tell me and assured me it was still young.
---------- Post added 07-08-2014 at 08:49 AM ----------
And i had no idea it was sick and was advertised as perfectly healthy so i have a right to be mad about it if i want. The scorpion seemed fine when i got it but it obviously wasnt kept in good care at the store. Also while ive had it it has never had interest in food only runs from it or grabs with claws and just lets go. So if it wont eat i assume it wasnt eating at the store which the "reptile specialist" at Total Pet failed to tell me and assured me it was still young.
As you seem pretty new to the hobby I try to explain some things to you. Scorpions not eating for weeks isn't anything to worry at all, especially if it's an adult specimen. They often fast for several weeks, so if it didn't ate at the store it wasn't any reason to assume near death.
When scorpions die of old age they often "slow down" weeks before they actually die. In some cases, especially if an animal was stressed because it was transported/set into a new set up etc, they slow down much faster and die faster. If you buy adult wc you always take this risk and i really doubt that the store was aware the scorpion you bought will die soon.
Actually in my opinion if you buy an animal you should get informed before buying them. Get informations how to choose the correct animal etc. If you would have done that you might have known that wild caughts have about 50% chance to die pretty fast after purchasing them. You can avoid this if you buying cb from trustable breeders and sellers.
Despite me overreacting a bit and just in general being pissed that this is the second scorpion to die soon after buying it for reasons outside of my control im not that new to the hobby have kept tarantulas and tailless whip scorpions but never a scorpion. I reckon I partly had bad luck and I think I will not risk a wild caught species again unless its proven to be healthy. I.e been in captivity for months etc... Thanks for the advice though
I don't know how it's about the whip scorpions, but compare tarantulas to scorpions is pretty hard in this case
Because I doubt that most of the tarantulas offered are wc. With scorpions you have a pretty hard time if you search for a special species which isn't not wc if you don't live in Europe. But wc animals, no matter if they are scorpions or other animals, had always a hard time to get into the petshop. Buying a scorpion that has lifed several month in the store is a risk too, because with scorpions you never can see how old an adult is. Tarantulas grow their hole life and often get xxl size before they die. But scorpions grow until they are adult and then they never change again size. So you might buy still an old scorpion even if he was 6.month fine in the shop.
I would recommend to look for cb. In first you support the breeder, which is really needed for the hobby in America in my poverty and you will get a scorpion that will last most likely for several years if you care good for it.