A question about my scorpion with a broken pincer

Kirstielol

Arachnopeon
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Mar 23, 2021
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27
I got my first ever scorpion last week, a Heterometrus spinifer. He arrived to me with a broken pincer.. is this something that can correct itself after a molt?
I'm not even sure how old he is, I'm hoping he's not an adult and will still molt at least once in the hopes of it helping with his pincer. I feel bad for the guy, he has trouble grabbing his food.

He's about 4.5" big including pincers and tail. Does he look full grown?
IMG_20210318_105746~2.jpg
IMG_20210324_094320.jpg
 

jnmnj3

Arachnopeon
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Mar 23, 2021
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15
Looking at this thread, it appears the general consensus is that scorpions don't really regenerate limbs with molts like tarantulas but there is not a strong consensus. I think it looks to be about full size, so it likely will not molt again. Like you mentioned, grabbing food is an important thing to address. If you are able to, try slower feeders, crushing their heads, or tong feeding to make sure he is able to eat. They also use their claws to dig so that may be impaired a little. As long as you have a dark hide for him it shouldn't be a problem. He can still have a happy and relatively normal life!

Also as a side note, 4-6 inches of substrate tend to be ideal for this species since they like to burrow. It looks like you have him in one of the flat critter keepers so i'm not sure if there is enough room for that much substrate, but an enclosure where that is possible would be best for the little guy.
 

Kirstielol

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Mar 23, 2021
Messages
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Looking at this thread, it appears the general consensus is that scorpions don't really regenerate limbs with molts like tarantulas but there is not a strong consensus. I think it looks to be about full size, so it likely will not molt again. Like you mentioned, grabbing food is an important thing to address. If you are able to, try slower feeders, crushing their heads, or tong feeding to make sure he is able to eat. They also use their claws to dig so that may be impaired a little. As long as you have a dark hide for him it shouldn't be a problem. He can still have a happy and relatively normal life!

Also as a side note, 4-6 inches of substrate tend to be ideal for this species since they like to burrow. It looks like you have him in one of the flat critter keepers so i'm not sure if there is enough room for that much substrate, but an enclosure where that is possible would be best for the little guy.
Ah okay that's too bad. He's able to use his other pincer at least. He ate a couple days ago, he tends to switch the food into his other pincer if he grabs it with the broken one. So I don't think he'll have much trouble eating. I have only tong fed so far though so I'm not sure if he's able to catch anything on his own.

And yes he's currently in a large Exo-terra faunarium.. they are 6" deep, I have the substrate so it's much deeper in the back of the enclosure, and shallow near the front so I can see into the enclosure better. He's got about 5" substrate at the back but only about 1" at the front. I was not expecting a full grown scorpion when I ordered him, so I am planing on getting him a better enclosure soon! For now at least he's got two dark hides in there as well. He has not tried to burrow at all yet, now I wonder if it's because of the broken pincer.

Thanks for the information!
 

Necrodude

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Oct 23, 2018
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39
Is it just me or does it's stinger in the picture look like the tip is gone?
 

jnmnj3

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Mar 23, 2021
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Is it just me or does it's stinger in the picture look like the tip is gone?
I think it could be possible but it could also just be the angle. I don’t think its a concern though. Asian forest scorpions don’t typically use their stingers to eat so even if it is broken it shouldn’t be an issue in captivity.
 
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jnmnj3

Arachnopeon
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Mar 23, 2021
Messages
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Ah okay that's too bad. He's able to use his other pincer at least. He ate a couple days ago, he tends to switch the food into his other pincer if he grabs it with the broken one. So I don't think he'll have much trouble eating. I have only tong fed so far though so I'm not sure if he's able to catch anything on his own.

And yes he's currently in a large Exo-terra faunarium.. they are 6" deep, I have the substrate so it's much deeper in the back of the enclosure, and shallow near the front so I can see into the enclosure better. He's got about 5" substrate at the back but only about 1" at the front. I was not expecting a full grown scorpion when I ordered him, so I am planing on getting him a better enclosure soon! For now at least he's got two dark hides in there as well. He has not tried to burrow at all yet, now I wonder if it's because of the broken pincer.

Thanks for the information!
Mine didn’t burrow at all when I first got him so I think all of the behavior is normal. It’s actually pretty cool watching them drag piles of substrate out of their hide entrance. If you ordered him online you should have been made aware of the broken pincer/possibly stinger. He seems like he should be able to live a normal life but it might be worth bringing up to the seller.
 

Kirstielol

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Mar 23, 2021
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27
Mine didn’t burrow at all when I first got him so I think all of the behavior is normal. It’s actually pretty cool watching them drag piles of substrate out of their hide entrance. If you ordered him online you should have been made aware of the broken pincer/possibly stinger. He seems like he should be able to live a normal life but it might be worth bringing up to the seller.
Yes I was going to contact the seller today and ask if they know how old he is, I'll also mention the broken pincer and stinger. Wonder what happened to the poor guy.

And that's awesome I didn't know they could carry substrate! I remember the first time I saw one of my tarantulas carrying substrate out of their burrow, I was amazed! :)
 

jnmnj3

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Mar 23, 2021
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Yes I was going to contact the seller today and ask if they know how old he is, I'll also mention the broken pincer and stinger. Wonder what happened to the poor guy.

And that's awesome I didn't know they could carry substrate! I remember the first time I saw one of my tarantulas carrying substrate out of their burrow, I was amazed! :)
If I had to guess, I would say this was a wild caught adult so the seller may not know the age. Unfortunately, its so cheap to sell wild caught asian forest scorpions that not many people are breeding them. That would also explain the injuries, something just probably happened in the wild. Its just a guess so I hope im wrong! I bought my afs as an adult and because of that im assuming he was wild caught as well. Makes me feel a little bad lol.
 

Kirstielol

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Mar 23, 2021
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If I had to guess, I would say this was a wild caught adult so the seller may not know the age. Unfortunately, its so cheap to sell wild caught asian forest scorpions that not many people are breeding them. That would also explain the injuries, something just probably happened in the wild. Its just a guess so I hope im wrong! I bought my afs as an adult and because of that im assuming he was wild caught as well. Makes me feel a little bad lol.
Yeah that makes a lot of sense actually. I assumed he was captive bred. Makes me wonder how long I'll have with this guy :(
 

xXTristinaXx

Arachnobaron
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May 21, 2019
Messages
376
Oh no I think you're right :( I didn't even notice until you mentioned it. Will this have any effect on him?
No it should not, they NEVER use their stingers and just chow down on the prey so it shouldn’t be too big of a problem
 

Joey Spijkers

Arachnoprince
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Feb 20, 2019
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I have one scorp that actually fullt lost one chela, so he only has one left. He is still doing very well, just needs some extra attention with feedings.
 
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