asian forest scorpion on its back???

[tyred664]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this website so I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, but I need some help. So today when I went to check on my asian forest scorpion like I normally do, I noticed he was moving strangely. His tail is laying completely flat instead of curling like it normally does and he seems to be struggling to climb things (he usually sits on top of this piece of bark I have in his tank). I believe he's been in premolt for about 2 or 3 months as he's showing all the signs; refusing to eat, moving slower, etc. Now I just checked on him again and he's upside down on his back. His legs are still moving so he isnt dead, but I'm wondering if this is just molting behavior or if he is dying. I'm very worried. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

I don't believe Heterometrus ever molt in a supine position (on their backs that is predominately how Buthids only molt). Can you post up a clip or pics?

 

[tyred664]

Sure! Like I said, he was having trouble climbing things so do you think he could've tried to climb that piece of bark next to him and fell? Should I try to help him flip back over? I'm worried about disturbing him because he seems to be heavily in premolt (I also attached a picture I took of him just a month ago)

 

[Poonjab]

They can molt on back. Odd but I’ve seen it. But I’m not too certain it is molting.

 

[scolopendra277]

That doesn't look like it's about to molt, but you might want to wait just in case.

 

[tyred664]

Unfortunately I think he's just dead. I blew on him gently and even tried poking him with tweezers, he didn't even twitch. Not sure what could've caused this, he seemed perfectly fine yesterday

 

[Poonjab]

Potentially a fall?

 

[tyred664]

I think he was on his back because he fell, but I don't know if he could've died from the height of the fall. The piece of wood I assume he climbed isn't very big, he would've only fallen maybe 2 inches. But I could definitely be wrong, I'm not sure how fatal falls are to scorpions.

 

[Poonjab]

I think he was on his back because he fell, but I don't know if he could've died from the height of the fall. The piece of wood I assume he climbed isn't very big, he would've only fallen maybe 2 inches. But I could definitely be wrong, I'm not sure how fatal falls are to scorpions.

2inch fall won’t kill. But I wasn’t sure if it fell from higher

 

[tyred664]

I wonder if it was fatal because he was in premolt? I'm not sure. This is my first scorpion so I'm not very experienced and it's difficult to find answers to questions like this. I've spent the whole day googling what could've happened and cannot find a single answer

 

[Poonjab]

Pic of entire setup? Other factors can cause death. Like too dry of substrate. Wrong temperature gradients, etc..

 

[scolopendra277]

I had a scorpion die like this. I thought it was molting, and then it was dead. I think it was an impaction, so yours might be that too.

 

[tyred664]

Here's his setup. Nothing too fancy, was planning on redoing his entire tank once he molted. Tank is a 10 gallon. His substrate is dry right now because he's dead so there's no reason to mist it, but when he was alive I misted every night before bed. He has 2 hides and a big water dish. On cold days I have just a normal heater for houses sitting near one side of his tank, on warmer days he just stayed room temp. I read that heat mats might burn them (don't know if that's true) so I didn't want to take the risk. I would love to improve my setup if I ever get another scorpion so please let me know if I've made any mistakes

I had a scorpion die like this. I thought it was molting, and then it was dead. I think it was an impaction, so yours might be that too.

I'm at a loss for an explanation, so maybe that's possible. What are the signs of impaction and what causes it?

 

[Poonjab]

Id say lack of humidity and potentially heat. Based off of pics. They need to be kept on damp substrate and it looks dry in there.

 

[tyred664]

Id say lack of humidity and potentially heat. Based off of pics. They need to be kept on damp substrate and it looks dry in there.

I mist once a day, but I also don't keep any type of lid on his tank so maybe humidity escaped too fast? Or maybe misting once a day just wasn't enough. I live in indiana, if that helps. It's not very humid here.

 

[Ferrachi]

How long have you had him and do you know how old he is ?

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

The enclosure looks far to

I mist once a day, but I also don't keep any type of lid on his tank so maybe humidity escaped too fast? Or maybe misting once a day just wasn't enough. I live in indiana, if that helps. It's not very humid here.

Misting is an absolute waste of time, it only achieves a brief humidity spike then immediately evaporates. Pour water directly into the substrate. Keep a moist deep substrate not only contributes more humidity but it will last as long as that substrate is kept moist. What I mean by moist is that you can't squeeze water out of it but that it is moist and will clump. You don't want a saturated substrate. Add a large waterdish (its evaporatation contributes additional humidity) and moss, you will have almost delivered the 1, 2, 3 KO on AFS/Emp sudden deaths the last thing that can help depending on what climate you live in is restrict the ventilation by 65%-75%. Also they thrive in 75F-85F temps which are the average temps per a month in their native land of south Vietnam (likewise for Emps: Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Congo).

 

[Dry Desert]

I mist once a day, but I also don't keep any type of lid on his tank so maybe humidity escaped too fast? Or maybe misting once a day just wasn't enough. I live in indiana, if that helps. It's not very humid here.

You said in your opening post, that he normally sits on top of his cork bark hide. Scorpions won't do this unless something is wrong with the conditions in the enclosure. I think he was too cold and climbing to the highest point towards the "sun". If it was a moisture problem he would spend most of the time in the water dish. It maybe a combination of both, with no lid on your enclosure you would have difficulty maintaining the correct humidity. A happy Asian Forest / Emperor species will be well hidden, either in a deep burrow, or under its hide in a shallow burrow. A scorpion out in the open regularly is not a good sign.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Misting is useless. Deep, moist substrate (not woodchips). "Room temperature" is meaningless. For some people, "room temperature" is downright chilly for a scorpion. Temperatures in numbers please.

 

[Spinnerets69]

My enclosures temperature is 25celsius I have a layer of Coco husk and the rest is substrate underneath.