Death of a scorpion

[steve055]

I found my C.vittatus like this today. Im trying to figure out what happend. from the looks it appears to of had some kind of beetle larva inside it since i bought it. The thing is i got this scorp in Aug. i figured if something was going to happen it would of happend sooner. The tank has a snug lid and the holes are coverd with screening so nothing could get in. I have some pics of the beetle i hope someone has an idea of what happend.

 

[steve055]

the beetle

 

[steve055]

one more

 

[LD50]

Sorry about your C.vittatus i know how you feel

 

[Wade]

Steve-

The creature in the picture is a cockroach, not a beetle. It looks like it may be one of the ones often called "wood roaches" because they feed, at least partially, on rotten wood. It may have come in on a terrarium decoration. Or it could be a nymph of something bigger. Did you actually see it inside the scorpion? I've never heard of a parasitic roach, but anythings possible. If you saw a larvae in the scorpion, it was something else, as roaches do not have a larval stage.

My impression of Centruroides is that they are fairly short lived, maybe 2-3 years. I keep C. gracilis in a colony, and the individual scorps don't seem to have long lives, but it's hard to tell how long any one lives since theres quite a few in there.

Wade

 

[steve055]

I did not see anything come out of the scorpion. but i think i would have seen that roach before if it was in there. it just appeared over night. The bark that is in the tank was collected when i was living in FL it is some kind of pine bark. Before it was used it was used all 3 pieces were put in the microwave. I remember them being warm to the touch and pretty much dry when they came out. If it survived the microwave my hats off to it. When i first found the scorp it was hanging upside down off a piece of bark with its tail curved up and over its body. This seemed a stange way for a scorp to die a natural death. After i saw that i looked through tank and saw that roach. I never saw it before then. i did not have time to remove the scorp then, it was christmas after all. The next day when i came back i found the scorp like this w/ that roach feeding off on it.

 

[Gillian]

sorry

Steve,
God, I'm so sorry...I can't think of anything more adequate to say...Poor scorp

Peace,
Gillian

 

[skinheaddave]

Sounds to me like the scorpion may have died a natural death and then the mystery roach decided to make a meal of it. And by "natural" I include any of the multitudinous ways a scorpion can die without us having the foggiest notion of why or the slightest chance of preventing it.

Cheers,
Dave