Adult P. Imp. having weird symtoms for 3 months now

[Frank]

Hi, I've been keeping scorps for nearly a year one.. starting with an H. arizonensis then this summer a P. imperator.. my little female emp is starting to act very weirdly..


I'm writing here because it starts to scare me.. At first she stopped eating, its been 3 months since she didn't eat.. I waited, maybe she was about to molt (I never got a scorp to molt yet, so I don't have much personal informations about it).. but now she's aggressive, she was the one I prefered the more because I could handle her freely.. now almost 90% of the times I try to handle her she tries to sting (yes sting!) when I'm about to take her out of the tank.. it was about 10% of the time before...

I moved her in a new tank (a rubbermaid) she'll get more heat where she is right now.. I moved her yesterday, but I don't think that's the problem.. because she's doing something weirder too.. I handled her this weekend to show her to a friend, and after 5 minutes she started to rub her stinger on her back.. I looked with a magnifying glass and she really doesn't seem to have any mites..


Emps are tough.. I'm not that afraid but I don't know what she have and not to know what she have and if its dangerous or not somewhat scares me..





Thanks, Frank

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Hi Frank,

When you say little, how little is she? I take it she is not full grown, so probably not dying of old age?

Take care,

Paul

 

[XOskeletonRED]

Well, Frank,

I'm not exactly sure, as none of my scorps have ever shown exact symptoms of this. It sounds like a molt or young, but it also sounds like something may be wrong with temp, humidity or perhaps even a type of pesticide. I'm going to leave my statement blank and perhaps someone here has had the same symptoms and knows exactly what is going on. I can tell you, my female scorps, prior to giving birth, have all shown a huge increase in aggressiveness and have all acted quite strange (each one has acted different from the others though).

adios,
edw.

 

[Frank]

Sorry I forgot some points..

She's not pregnant and she's an adult..



I taught of old age too but I wasnt sure.. is it possible that she acts weirdly when old age comes near?

For humidity I don't think it may be a fact, emps are very tough.. but in the new tank, I used her old substrate, and the new tank is a rubbermaid and it got something like fog on the plastic windows.. so there's plenty of humidity.. after it dries I'll just mist everything..


So the final conclusions may be of old age or temps (that's why I put her in the new tank, its near an heating light, and not on ground)..





If you have any idea or comment feel free to say them!







Thanks, Frank

 

[Wade]

Well, if she's been an adult since you've had her, you can't rule out pregnancy. Most sold in the trade are wild-caught, and females generally take at least 9 months to give birth, and they can hold off even longer if conditions aren't right. Adult females that are impoted are probably gravid more often than not. I give my emps deep, moist substrate for burrowing.

Wade

 

[Frank]

Well, (sorry for forgetting to tell some stuff again) I've got her this summer, but I got her from a girl who couldn't keep her anymore.. and she kept the scorp for over a year, with no male contact.. so she couldn't be pregnant after 2years and more without any male contact


I'm not giving her alot of substrate to do a burrow, because she was kept for handling.. but since I doesn't handle as I was doing before I'll add some more substrate.. Wade, do you think it could be a cause of not having a burrow that she's doing the weird things she does? She had hiding places through..





Frank

 

[skinheaddave]

I believe that Dave Gaban once mentioned Heterometrus holding off for as long as 16 months. I don't know if Pandinus is capable of the same or longer?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Baphomet]

I would definitely rule out pregnancy if you can verify that this scorpion has been in captivity for over 2 years and separate from any male contact.

From what you describe, I tend to think that it is one of two possibilities:

#1. Environment
#2. Pesticides (poisoning)

#1.
If your scorpion is being kept in the wrong environment (heat, humidity, etc.), this will often cause P. imperator to become aggressive...in non-technical terms, it is freaking out and trying to tell you something is very wrong.

You also mentioned that you like to handle your P. imperator...just how much do you handle her? Unlike a dog or a cat, "docile" scorpions don't like to be over-handled. This can cause extreme stress in the animal, usually resulting in a refusal to eat, and at times to expire from pure stress. This is also seen in many reptiles.

Of course with this stress comes aggressiveness...it wants to be left alone.

Remember too, P. imperator is a nocturnal species. Constant handling/movement, disruptions during daylight hours also lend to a highly stressed-out scorpion.

Also, is the scorpion in a "high traffic" area by chance? Constant movement by or around a scorpion’s cage can also cause stress. Their pectines are extremely sensitive organs, and can detect even the subtlest vibrations.

Too much "traffic" = too much stress.

#2.
The possibility of pesticide poisoning may be considered as well. Many pesticides are extremely toxic to scorpions, and they can suffer neurological disorders due to their presence.

Pesticides are often accidentally introduced into many scorpion-keepers' cages by the simplest task: adding materials (bark, wood, twigs, stones, grass, moss, etc.) that one collects outdoors.

A good way to rule out poisoning is to observe the scorpion and make note of how it moves about the cage. Signs of neurological distress will be apparent by a scorpion acting clumsy or "dizzy"...

There is another form of poisoning that many overlook, which also has to do with its environment, most notably the proper heat levels.

Without the proper heat for digestion, the food a scorpion eats can become rancid, thus leading to a form of "ptomaine", caused by bacterial infection(s).

 

[Frank]

Well I was handling her for like 5mins a week, don't worry..


From what you said the only things I could think of would be the temperature or stress...

There's nothing moving in my room on days.. (except on weekends, but I'm never walking.. just staying on the chair) but there's the computer running 24hours a day.. maybe the small vibrations can hurt my big girl? There's always fan noise... But I never though of that because she stopped to eat a month before I moved the computer in my room..

Are scorp very very sensitive to vibrations?





Thanks a lot, Frank