What is wrong with my AFS?

[Bighen303]

Just got home from work and went to feed my AFS and found this strange lump on its side. Has anyone seen anything like this before? I’ve only owned this scorpion for about three weeks and have never owned any other invertebrate before now, so I’m very much a beginner. So any advice anyone could give would be really appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Whitelightning777]

Some of the wild caught ones may have parasites. Keep him comfortable. Sorry for the bad news. The other possibility is some type of injury, which might heal after the next molt.

 

[Bighen303]

Some of the wild caught ones may have parasites. Keep him comfortable. Sorry for the bad news. The other possibility is some type of injury, which might heal after the next molt.

Thanks for a quick reply. Hopefully it’s not parasites, but I suppose there isn’t much I can do if it is. When I looked this morning, I found he had burrowed for the first time in my care. I’m hoping that’s a good sign, perhaps he’s in premolt!

 

[ianhunt]

Please do an update whatever happens to your scorpion, im quite curious of it since its the first time i saw something like that. hoping for the best though!

 

[Bighen303]

Please do an update whatever happens to your scorpion, im quite curious of it since its the first time i saw something like that. hoping for the best though!

Thanks, I will. He burrowed deeper and out of sight last night. I think that’s a good sign, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Does anyone know how long the molting process usually takes for these guys? I’ve read conflicting answers. Either way, I’m just going to continue to give him his space and hope for the best.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Thanks, I will. He burrowed deeper and out of sight last night. I think that’s a good sign, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Does anyone know how long the molting process usually takes for these guys? I’ve read conflicting answers. Either way, I’m just going to continue to give him his space and hope for the best.

Theres no timeframe. Could be 1 hour could be 24 .

 

[Bighen303]

Hey, so it’s been 4 days and still no sign of my scorp. I’m starting to think it’s time that I go in after it. Does anyone agree or should I wait longer?

 

[Whitelightning777]

If you do decide to dig him out, use a soft small paintbrush, nothing that could damage the scorpion. If the scorpion lacks a proper hide, they will burrow. A half round or flat piece of cork bark will work nicely.

 

[Smokehound714]

scorpions have many parasitoids that attack them. Heterometrus is notorious for being wild-caught, it can be infested with small-headed flies, nematodes, flesh flies etc.

The problem with this is anything that hurts the parasite will hurt the host, too. It could just be an injury though, hard to say

 

[Bighen303]

If you do decide to dig him out, use a soft small paintbrush, nothing that could damage the scorpion. If the scorpion lacks a proper hide, they will burrow. A half round or flat piece of cork bark will work nicely.

This is his enclosure. He used that cork bark as a hide for weeks and seemed to be comfortable in it. He only began to burrow after I noticed the lump. Also, he burrowed behind the bark, which I thought was interesting.

 

[darkness975]

It's probably an injury that will heal after it molts.

 

[Bighen303]

Update: so I finally went digging for my scorpion. I found her and she seemed to be (as far as I could tell) totally fine! She was pretty ornery when I found her, striking at the brush multiple times, which could only be a positive sign, right? The lump on her side was still there but greatly diminished. She also seemed to have grown a bit. The super worm I had dropped into her burrow the night before was completely gone so she is eating. She dug a new burrow afterwards, and I don’t plan on disturbing her again any time soon. I still don’t know what was wrong, but I’m just glad she’s alive and well. Thanks to everyone! You all gave great advice!

 

[ianhunt]

Nice to hear that, did she already molted?