February 20th my roomate left the cage open and she got out. I assumed she was dead at this point. I found her this morning on accident(dead center on my kitchen floor). i am happy she is alive, but she is panicky and twitchingish. she can move around, but im scared she has some problem that cant be fixed. i didnt take a video because ive done minimal interaction so far. it is a scorpion that acts like it has dks. I cant find much on this so im coming here. im open to reccomendations right now for her.
asf has been lost for 3 months and found today. seems to have dks of some sorts?
- Thread starter Ig92
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usually a symptom of dehydration or poisoning, but considering your tale i'd put my money on dehydration
i hope so. i did mist the enclosure and put a water bowl in because she did like drinking out of it before she escaped, and there is a small dubia if she wants. whats your recommendation for care going forward?
Joey Spijkers
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Keep the subtrate well hydrated and provide a water dish as you're already doing and hope it gets better. Not more you really can do.
okay so she seems to still be very twitchy and uncomfortable after a few days of this. should i try to feed her soon or just leave her alone for like 2 weeks or something. i think she is gravid too because she is still looking overfed alter 3 months. ive heard in the past that if they can molt out she will be better after it and she is either gravid or fat or trying to molt. Whats the recommendation at this point? i will get a video soon, but as of now im still trying to leave her alone
adam james
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Are you just "misting" the terrarium? Please be sure the substrate is moist all throughout, that way it bumps the humidity in the enclosure for a long period of time, not just for the brief period of spraying.
If you are already doing this, then great. I suggest this because I see online a fair number of AFS that have bone dry substrate, and the person says they are 'misting'. Most of it evaporates quickly, and the humidity is back to dry in no time. These guys live in the rain forest where humidity is high, this means they transpire at a far faster rate than others. Pour water right into the substrate so its all damp, but not 'muddy' (no standing water). Assuming you have deep substrate (4 or 5" deep at least) that should not need to be re-watered for many days. This will be sure to have your humidity up to a decent level, especially under the hides in the terrarium. Restrict ventilation if you find it drying out too fast.
If you are already doing this, then great. I suggest this because I see online a fair number of AFS that have bone dry substrate, and the person says they are 'misting'. Most of it evaporates quickly, and the humidity is back to dry in no time. These guys live in the rain forest where humidity is high, this means they transpire at a far faster rate than others. Pour water right into the substrate so its all damp, but not 'muddy' (no standing water). Assuming you have deep substrate (4 or 5" deep at least) that should not need to be re-watered for many days. This will be sure to have your humidity up to a decent level, especially under the hides in the terrarium. Restrict ventilation if you find it drying out too fast.
i soaked a new block of coco coir and mixed it with a bit of scotts organic and reptisoil. i will add more humidity now though.. not sarcastic at all i poured water into her tank like id do with a Stirmi. im thinking about putting a heat pad on. her enclosure. could the added heat help too?
adam james
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What is the temp in the surrounding room?
adam james
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This is an area I am less experienced in. Heating up the enclosure will speed her metabolism up a bit, but i don't really know what effect this would have on an already stressed individual. I dont know if the increased metabolism will help her heal quickly, or make the ailment more prominent. Hoping someone else will have some insight here.
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Hard to say, still can't rule out poisoning or getting into something that would've had chronic effects. My personal recommendation is give her a big enough water dish to soak in, Heterometrus will soak when provided with a deep enough dish and rehydrating her is definitely the number one priority. Have you noticed her drinking out of the dish you've provided for her so far? I would also recommend extra heat, typically I keep my scorpions around 80F depending on where they're from. I don't know of any specific first aid for this instance in particular but with dehydrated or sick tarantulas and scorpions typically you would make an ICU container, which is moist paper towels and placing it under or near a heat lamp to keep it warm for a few days to see if they recover. That wouldn't be necessary in this case because she's still active enough that she can drink and thermoregulate by herself, so yea deep water dish and some extra heat would be my recommendation.
Awesome i will go get a waterdish big enough big enough to soak her in if she wants. i havent seen her drink in person yet and she wants nothing to do with food.(tried to basically mouth feed a smashed cricket. The locomotion is an issue, but she does get around. I also want a heat pad rather than a lamp. that is coming from what i have done with tarantulas though. i will hold off on an icu and do the heat and big water bowl and post progress or lack of it. i genuinely do not want to cull because shes always been great and being quite possibly gravid would be a real shame. Any advice on timeframe for this and does it have to be a heat lamp?
This is what I'm working with. I added the bigger bowl and put a heat pad on the back of the enclosure
View attachment 20240603_172434.mp4
View attachment 20240603_172434.mp4
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Probably exposed to something while loose.
Higher temps are always better.
Higher temps are always better.
on the subject of a heat pad versus heat lamp. how should i proceed?
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As long as the heat pad is on the side or back and not underneath just leave it for now.
adam james
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do you have an ir thermometer? or better yet, a probe? you could take a before/after measurement to get an idea of the change, and grade that against the non heated side to get an idea of what kind of increases you may have gotten. Use this data to determine if you need a heat lamp to supplement, or replace.
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What format is that video in? My player doesn't recognize it.