Australobuthus xerolimniorum behaving strangely

[bmacca]

Hey all,
I’ve recently bought a Salt Lake Scorpion (Australobuthus xerolimniorum). While at the store he was healthy, behaving normally and generally seemed in good shape, and the assistants informed me that he had been at the store for about 2 months before I picked him up. However, once I added him to the enclosure I set up he immediately started behaving abnormally, dragging his legs when he walked, flipping over and curling up to one side. I can’t think of what could be causing this, as everything that I used to set up his enclosure was made for either reptile terrariums or aquariums (and I would therefore assume is non-toxic). I have even added an area with salt flakes for him to lay in, as this species inhabits the salt lakes of central Australia and have generally been found to do better when they have access to a small “salt pan”.
I’ve kept other species of Australian scorpions before (both tropical and desert species) and have never encountered any issues with them. Does anyone have any ideas about what might be causing the unusual behaviour?

 

[moricollins]

Pictures of the scorpion? Pictures of the enclosure?
A video of the strange behaviour you're describing would help

 

[Ferrachi]

Hey all,
I’ve recently bought a Salt Lake Scorpion (Australobuthus xerolimniorum). While at the store he was healthy, behaving normally and generally seemed in good shape, and the assistants informed me that he had been at the store for about 2 months before I picked him up. However, once I added him to the enclosure I set up he immediately started behaving abnormally, dragging his legs when he walked, flipping over and curling up to one side. I can’t think of what could be causing this, as everything that I used to set up his enclosure was made for either reptile terrariums or aquariums (and I would therefore assume is non-toxic). I have even added an area with salt flakes for him to lay in, as this species inhabits the salt lakes of central Australia and have generally been found to do better when they have access to a small “salt pan”.
I’ve kept other species of Australian scorpions before (both tropical and desert species) and have never encountered any issues with them. Does anyone have any ideas about what might be causing the unusual behaviour?

I'm assuming the scorpion is stressed from the move and the new enclosure. It usually takes time to readjust to it's new environment... I know you said you had scorpions before but not all scorpions react the same. Give it some time, leave it alone and try not to disturb it for a bit...

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Hey all,
I’ve recently bought a Salt Lake Scorpion (Australobuthus xerolimniorum). While at the store he was healthy, behaving normally and generally seemed in good shape, and the assistants informed me that he had been at the store for about 2 months before I picked him up. However, once I added him to the enclosure I set up he immediately started behaving abnormally, dragging his legs when he walked, flipping over and curling up to one side. I can’t think of what could be causing this, as everything that I used to set up his enclosure was made for either reptile terrariums or aquariums (and I would therefore assume is non-toxic). I have even added an area with salt flakes for him to lay in, as this species inhabits the salt lakes of central Australia and have generally been found to do better when they have access to a small “salt pan”.
I’ve kept other species of Australian scorpions before (both tropical and desert species) and have never encountered any issues with them. Does anyone have any ideas about what might be causing the unusual behaviour?

Could it be that there was any fresh glue or paint or solvent nearby ?
I used the wrong type of acrylic glue in a enclosure a few years back, the (invisible) fumes attacked the scorpion as well as the feeder crickets.
They were behaving sluggish and seemed totally drunk. Acting as if they were completely drugged up. Their legs acting very disorientated, but not entirely out of order.
It took me a few hours of observing to 'put 2 and 2 together'.
It was caused by the fumes from that glue !
Could your case be caused by a similar substance ?
And also please be aware that there are several 'salts' (natrium) out there.
Better get a sample from their wild habitat to be sure, instead of using any plain kitchen salt.

 

[bmacca]

Thank you for the responses. I’ve attached some photos that might help with explaining what’s going on.

Initially I thought it may have been stress as well, however it was occurring for a few days, which seemed quite long for stress and acclimation, especially with such a severe response.

I didn’t add any glue or things which could emit fumes into the enclosure. The most I can think of is that it appears the metal framing is made of bronze, which includes copper. I know that for some aquatic species this can be an issue, but I was unsure if it was the same with scorpions, and wasn’t able to find any information online stating that it was. I’m also not sure how it would have gotten into the scorpions system (if it were the case) since there isn’t really any way for him to be ingesting or otherwise absorbing it. His feeder crickets didn’t seem to be behaving strangely either.

Regarding the salts - I used pure sea salt flakes as this is what is usually recommended for animals. I don’t think it would differ significantly from the salt in their natural environment, as that salt is essentially just sea salt that washes into the lakes during floods. In any case, I was intending to hold off on salt until the salt pan was dry and ready to be added, but decided to add loose salt after he began behaving strangely, so I would say it’s safe to rule it out as the cause.

Hopefully the pictures are helpful for you all. Thanks again for your help!

 

[Dr SkyTower]

Have you tried taking him out of there and putting him into something that's just filled with sand? What is his response then? That is a very beautiful enclosure by the way... it's a shame he has responded to it like this. There must be something in there that's causing him to have whatever he's doing (convulsions? Spasms?) He is also a pretty little critter! Hopefully he will recover from whatever is causing this!

 

[hadogenesmike]

I'm going to guess some sort of poison or insecticide on the tillandsias. Have you had them long or recently purchased? I second Dr Skytower's suggestion to move to an isolation setting.

 

[radjess331]

Are those eucalyptus leaves? Many species of eucalyptus are actually really toxic.

 

[bmacca]

Hey everyone,
Thanks so much for all your help again. I removed him from the terrarium and placed him in a ‘hospital’ container to see how he reacted to that - his condition improved and he started to behave more normally again.

I still wasn’t sure exactly what it was that caused the odd behaviour, but I have a feeling it was insecticide on the tillandsias as hadogenesmike suggested. I disassembled the terrarium and gave everything a thorough wash just to be sure, and reassembled the terrarium once it had all dried. He’s currently back in there and from what I’ve observed he appears to be behaving normally. I’ll be monitoring closely in case the odd behaviour returns, but I believe we’ve fixed the issue.
Thank you all so much again for your help! It would never have occurred to me that the tillandsias might have been sprayed with insecticides (although it makes perfect sense).

 

[Dr SkyTower]

That's good to hear!
One question... is that a sponge in a water dish in there? There's no need for a sponge, it will gather mold and it may cause your scorpion to get mycosis. A little water dish by itself will be fine and there's no need to spray the enclosure.

 

[bmacca]

That's good to hear!
One question... is that a sponge in a water dish in there? There's no need for a sponge, it will gather mold and it may cause your scorpion to get mycosis. A little water dish by itself will be fine and there's no need to spray the enclosure.

Hey! Yes it was. It was more of a placeholder while I was waiting for sphagnum moss. It’s been removed now

For anyone interested - he’s now doing much better. I decided to upgrade him to a significantly larger enclosure after observing him in his previous one. This species is very active so I figured he would benefit from having more open space to explore at night. So far he seems to be loving it, and it’s been great watching him actively hunt down the crickets I put in for him. I’ve attached a pic of him with one he caught just before in his salt pan.