desert hairy death

[Catch Smiley]

I bought a desert hairy a little less than a month ago from a reptile show. It was a little over an inch long (just a baby), I kept it in a small KK with sand as substrate, offered it two small roaches once a week, which it ate every time. Seemed to be doing well, until one day I noticed it was in the same spot and position that it was the day before. I poked it with a paint brush, got nothing. It was dead. Any ideas as to what might have caused it's death? I'm very interested in this species, but before trying again, I'd like to have an idea of what went wrong so I may be able to prevent it in the future. Any ideas will help. Thanks

 

[AzJohn]

the scorpion looks dehydrated. Have you given it any water?

 

[ShredderEmp]

Also, it doesn't look like the sand allowed it to dig, also meaning it had no place to hide, or was the hide the black thing?

 

[Smokehound714]

The substrate is unsuitable. These scorpions are obligate burrowers- a hide is not enough.


A clay/sand mixture is best- the clay needs to be finely pulverized- a small bit goes a long way. Even better is a mixture of sand/silt/clay, which holds even better than just sand and clay.

Mix it up well with your hands, and lightly wet it, then tamp it down, and let it dry. Despite being a desert species, and found in very dry habitats, the inside of their burrow is actually quite humid and cool. they strongly prefer to build burrows amongst root systems, and I theorize that the antifungal properties of creosote bush may play a role in their survival and successful molts in the wild- however, that's mere speculation.

Water is very important for these scorpions, as they're a sponge-bathing species. They regurgitate liquid from their mouths coat their telson, and dab/wipe themselves with it.

Too dry, and they dry out and die, too humid, and they develop mycosis. Some people have success by keeping a flat stone in the enclosure- misting under the stone daily, while keeping the substrate from being saturated.

Also, this genus is well-known for taking huge drinks of water- keep a clean water dish full at all times!

 

[ShredderEmp]

I can attest to them being drinkers. The Hadrurus arizonensis at the zoo I volunteer at takes advantage of the keepers watering the cactus. I saw this in action. The moment the keeper closed the door to the enclosure, the adult scorpion runs out to every cactus leaf/gathering of water, and drinks as much as possible. I even managed to get a picture of it drinking from the leaves of the cactus. I cannot find it at the moment, but if I do I'll post it here as evidence for those who don't believe.

 

[Disquiet]

they strongly prefer to build burrows amongst root systems, and I theorize that the antifungal properties of creosote bush may play a role in their survival and successful molts in the wild- however, that's mere speculation.

Creosote bush is fascinating, it wouldn't surprise me if invertebrates and vertebrates alike depended on the emissions of the plant to modulate or improve biological functions. The perfect grid-like pattern often seen in the S. Nevada desert (for those who may not know) is a result of these emissions which force other specimens of the same species to "keep their distance." Incredible!

 

[Smokehound714]

I can attest to them being drinkers. The Hadrurus arizonensis at the zoo I volunteer at takes advantage of the keepers watering the cactus. I saw this in action. The moment the keeper closed the door to the enclosure, the adult scorpion runs out to every cactus leaf/gathering of water, and drinks as much as possible. I even managed to get a picture of it drinking from the leaves of the cactus. I cannot find it at the moment, but if I do I'll post it here as evidence for those who don't believe.

If you think that's crazy, you should see the activity right after a thunderstorm during the height of the monsoon in arizona and california

EVERYTHING comes out, centipedes, scorpions of all kinds, snakes, spiders.. all just to get a drink of water

 

[ShredderEmp]

Yea. I just had never seen that before and thought it was cool.

 

[guywithaspider]

Could have been a failed moult. That's the reason most small desert hairy's die in captivity. They definitely need a good water source. Mine drinks a lot of water every week or so. Lastly you definitely need to let it burrow. Your scorp was likely very stressed being in the open all the time.

 

[ShredderEmp]

It actually looks like it wasn't an adult, so my guess is a combination of stress from not having a place to hide and dehydration.