angry angry redclaw

[bigsky]

hey guys, im having trouble with my male redclaw. hes getting extremely thin, the membranes on his sides are almost completely collapsed, and yet he wont eat, he hasnt even made a move towards a cricket in months.

i keep him well watered, i keep trying to feed him, but anything that gets close to him seems to just get mauled to death and left there. its like hes become so dangerously aggressive that hes too pissed off to eat somethign hes killed, hell just tear it apart with his claws and sit in a corner with his tail reared and his claws open...

i dunno what to do with him, hes not going to live much longer if he doesnt eat, and i dont wanna lose him, ive only had him for a month or so, he was given to me by his last owner because he didnt have time or space for him anymore. he was fat and quick and healthy when i got him, and i got his tank and everything so he hasnt changed his environment either. not sure what the deal is with him, its not like he cant catch or kill food, hes still mean and quick as ever.

any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

^ not a recent picture, this was right when i got him. also, ive checked him for mites or any kind of infection and hes pretty healthy, aside from being extremely thin.

 

[popcangenie]

take some tongs and rub the crickets on him mouth he will most likely bite it and might take it have to do this for my emp good luck man

 

[bigsky]

ive done that with crickets and with live pinkies, he just does the kill destroy thing, he just attacks it with his claws and backs away, this seems to serve to only make him angrier. also he doesnt go into his little hut anymore, just lays around by his water dish, days now hes gone without hiding.

 

[popcangenie]

well i can tell you pinkies and other mice and especially live is bad for them unless you prepping for a breeding and you want them to be fat i would stick with insects try mixing it up with super/meal/wax worms also could i get a picture of the full en-closer it could feel uncomfortable and not eating

 

[bigsky]

yeah im going to try re-doing his enclosure, putting in a few rocks and new bedding, see how that goes. if hes still not eating by the end of the week, he might be no-more

 

[Treynok]

What temperature is the inside of his tank, what do you use for a heat source, and does he have a hide like a small half log or something to hide under to get away from the light /feel secure.

 

[bigsky]

its usually about 70-75° in his tank, his heat source is the light for the tank, which doesnt provide very much heat but its usually pretty warm in my room anyways. he does have a hide, but the last few days he hasnt gone near it. i lifted it up and theres nothing under it, no mites, no bugs, no waste, nothing, he just got all claustraphobic on me... and ive never actually seen him eat, i can account for every cricket ive put in there, they all just eventually died.

 

[Michiel]

Why isn't someone saying his scorpion is perfectly healthy???

start with the substrate, that is not deep enough, try to give the animal a minimum of 3 inches deep substrate. Then, the temp needs to be between 25-30 celsius. You should know the temp, exactly, or better than "my room is pretty warm".....Pandinus species can fast for a couple of months, for various reasons, but if they keep refusing food, there might be something wrong.
Thus, first things to check is if the temp and humidity are adequate.
The higher the temp, the higher the metabolic rate, and thus the need for nutrition.

 

[bigsky]

well theres a thermometer in the tank that reads anywhere between 70 and 75 degrees depending on the time of day, or wether or not the heater is on, so i think once i get the new substrate in and whatnot ill try putting in a hotter bulb, see if that perks him up any. thanks!

 

[Michiel]

well theres a thermometer in the tank that reads anywhere between 70 and 75 degrees depending on the time of day, or wether or not the heater is on, so i think once i get the new substrate in and whatnot ill try putting in a hotter bulb, see if that perks him up any. thanks!

Good plan! Keep us posted, interested if it works. don't expect miracles and wait 4-5 days with feeding after you changed bulbes and substrate..

Cheers,


Michiel

 

[Treynok]

Why isn't someone saying his scorpion is perfectly healthy???

Because I had no info on temperature, hide etc. One month isn't long to go without food but he said it shrank noticeably in size. It may be him being hyper tentative and noticing the slightest change but who knows. With that little bit of info no one can flat out say yes your scorpion is fine and healthy. The only info that was given though was a not so great picture that made the enclosure seem less than adequate. The only thing that can be said is fasting for up to a few months at a time isn't going to be a danger to the scorpion as long as it doesn't desiccate from lack of moisture.

I know what you are saying though Michiel

Edit: when you get new bedding make absolutely sure there are no additives, pesticides, or wood by-products in it. What your using looks like it may have fertilizer in it (the little white ball under that piece of cork bark), I'd try to find something like coco-fiber or peat if it needs to be inexpensive but you need to make sure the peat is clean of anything that could harm him.

 

[Moltar]

If he's constantly hanging out by the water dish then perhaps the in-cage humidity isn't high enough? Make sure the substrate is moist when you do the upgrades to his substrate. These guys really do want high humidity.

 

[telow]

being a panidus species it would need deeper substrate
enough for it to make itself a good burrow

and yes cavimanus tends to like more humidity
panidus species do fast from time to time who knows why but they do
but it seems to be ok its normal for them not to eat for months at a time
and if its hanging around the water its not being kept in the right conditions
and it is looking for that are that fits its needs

so like the others said
deeper substrate
more humidity
bring up the temp a little bit
and offer it fresh food even if it doesnt eat

 

[Michiel]

Because I had no info on temperature, hide etc. One month isn't long to go without food but he said it shrank noticeably in size. It may be him being hyper tentative and noticing the slightest change but who knows. With that little bit of info no one can flat out say yes your scorpion is fine and healthy. The only info that was given though was a not so great picture that made the enclosure seem less than adequate. The only thing that can be said is fasting for up to a few months at a time isn't going to be a danger to the scorpion as long as it doesn't desiccate from lack of moisture.

I know what you are saying though Michiel

Edit: when you get new bedding make absolutely sure there are no additives, pesticides, or wood by-products in it. What your using looks like it may have fertilizer in it (the little white ball under that piece of cork bark), I'd try to find something like coco-fiber or peat if it needs to be inexpensive but you need to make sure the peat is clean of anything that could harm him.

What does temp, humidity and all those things say about the physical health of the animal? Imo, nothing. That leaves us with the scorpion itself, it doesn't show signs of severe amaciation or things like that, so you could state the scorpion is healthy. There also no bulges which would indicate internal parasites, deformities of the exoskeleton etc...The OP says that the scorpion exhibit alertness and acitivity, so no, I don't agree with your statement that "no one can say flat out yes your scorpion is fine and healthy"..A healthy scorpions does not have to look "fat and bulgy" with extended sternites and tergites......

 

[Treynok]

Environment says loads about the way a scorpion may be acting and it is very presumptuous to just say the scorpion is fine based on a picture posted from the time when it was healthy. I'm not disagreeing with you entirely about it being unhealthy simply because it won't eat. I am disagreeing with the general assumption that everything is healthy based on a tiny amount of information and because as a general rule most stuff is fine when keepers are worried about them. If you want to discuss this feel free to pm I agree with a lot of what you say but I don't see how environment it is kept in means nothing for the health of the animal.

PM me if you want to continue the conversation I gave my information and thoughts on the thread and don't want to use it to debate or hijack it by getting off-topic. I'm always open to other peoples thoughts and ideas and don't frown upon multiple points of view I just thought there was way too little info to just say the animal is okay even know it may be. If nothing else the keeper got a few pointers on how to better keep their animal from this thread.

I mean no disrespect Michiel, I find great value in reading all of your posts.

 

[darkavenger]

Pandinus imperator

In my years owning P. imperator and breeding them i noticed humidity is more crutial than the other requirements you must meet for them. i kept mine at 65-85% humidity i achieved this by using an aquarium topper for their tank with screen gaps for ventalation, this helps hold not only humidity in but also heat. the humidity must be kept high but not swampy or muggy. i kept the temp at 80-95 max during the day and around 75 at night with many places to hide in the hot end and cool ends of their tank. I noticed when kept on a 12 on 12 off light cycle they were alot more active at night foraging and exploring and fed more agressivly than when not kept on a photocycle. they usually always stayed hidden during the day unless to get a drink of water and didnt like bright light. mine usually emerged to do their thing about 20 minutes after the lights went out every night. i used eco earth with my emperors and all my inverts. it hold miosture well and works well in arid enclosures too. i used a 50 watt day bulb and a heat pad under the tank, alot of people suggest against them but i used one for my scorpions for years and never had any ill luck. i left the heat pad on 24-7 under the hide they all used most, and had the day light on for twelve hours. I hope this helps. feel free to pm me if u have any questions.

 

[Michiel]

Hi Treynok,

I feel no disrespect and there is nothing wrong with a good debate
I can't refute the fact that I base my opinion solely on one picture, and if that picture is from the time it was still healthy, I must have misread the OP. If that picture is old, my whole post has no relevance, because in that case I can only state it WAS healthy

Happy holidays everyone!
Cheers, Michiel

 

[bigsky]

okay, ill admitt i havent read everything thats been posted, as at this point i fear it all may be a moot point. hes the thinnest ive ever seen any scorpion, his body is basically upper and lower plates and nothing in between at this point, and top and bottom flat, as tho he were completely drained. he moves extremely slowly, and though he moves his claws as if to grab at food, hes obviously unable to open his claws, though if forced open, he can close them.

ive been trying for hours to get him to bite into this superworm, ive pushed his claws open and put a worm in, gotten him to hold it himself, hes even salivating from his mouth-parts a little, but nothing im doing can make him start to eat it. hes wanted to sting as well but cant even force his tail over far enough to reach the worm in front of him. the new bedding is very moist, its quite warm and very humid in his tank, but as much as i hate to say it, it may be too little too late. i kept his enclosure quite humid the whole time i had him, the bedding was always moist and it never got below 25 degrees in his tank, and he always had water readily available. at this point i know hes not going to live, i just wish i could understand why.

pardon my french but F***in Hell this sucks! even being an aggresive critter as he was, i still get very attatched to my scorpions.

 

[zad]

Man how long do your friend keep this scorpion before you?
When the scorpion walks hes dragging is tail all the time?

Maybe just age... =/ just a guess...

 

[bigsky]

im not entirely sure how long he had him before, but no hes not dragging his tail, he keeps it pretty well upright all the time. im gonna have to get ahold of the guy and ask him how long hes had him, cause that is entirely possible, the stress of moving on an older scorpion could be the culprit.