Eating too much?

[Bjorgly]

Hi all,

I am thoroughly enjoying my little 2 inch emperor scorp, and he/she has made quite an impressive burrow, which i keep a moisture gradient in with the small water resivoir in the gravel at the bottom of the 5.5 gal aquarium. Anyways, this little guy will eat a good sized cricket every 2-3 days and is becoming quite plump. Should i cut him off? Is it bad to feed a scorp too much? I have been through just about everything with tarantulas, but i am still very much a newbie to scorps.

any help apreciated,

Mark

 

[skinheaddave]

Mark,

If the little guy is plumping up and staying that way, it may be a good idea to cut back a bit. That being said, there really isn't too much danger to providing too much food. They know when to stop eating.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Stormcrow]

You can never overfeed a scorpion, never. That is a myth, a serious bit of misinformation (perpetuated by Vosjoli's book). But you can create a meal-time regiment, like cut back to feeding the scorpion on a weekly basis. Don't fret about it's plumpness (or the unsightly seperation of the tergites). Scorpions know when they have had their fill.

 

[Bjorgly]

Thanks guys, i think i will go to 1-2 large crickets a week for its feeding.

Mark

 

[Gillian]

Hmmmm, if that's the case, my H. arizinensis can and will eat 2-3 adults a week. Maybe I was misinformed, but I was told its not good for them to be so fat that the tergites seperate. I just want my pets to be utterly happy and well fed. (but not obese)

Peace,
Gillian

 

[Stormcrow]

You are welcome Bjorgly! Excellent meal-time regiment. I usually feed my scorpions once a week. I have had instances where I let the scorpion just completely gorge themselves one week and refuse prey items the following week (or two). So just use your best judgement during their feeding, the scorpions will be perfectly fine as long as they're given their weekly sustanence. Just remember, ya can't overfeed them and it is impossible to underfeed them given the above regiment.

Happy scorpion keeping!