Feeding Question

[Barbarianhorde]

Hey guys,

I had an earlier post regarding feeding my Asian Forest Scorpion so this is a bit of a follow-up, I'm still slightly concerned because she doesn't show a whole lot of interest in anything I'm putting in there, thus far I've tried med/large crickets, large super worms, and med-ish dubia's, I've tried both live and dispatched prey which again she doesn't really seem to show any interest in. I was going to try wax worms to see if she fancies those at all, but I wanted to see if you guys might have any suggestions? As for her tank, it's a 20G Tall, I'm keeping it at 78-83 degree's, keeping the humidity in the 75% range, she has a burrow that she made under the rock I put in there, so she has a place to ambush from if she chooses to do so. As far as her size, I'd say she's 3.5" Inches or there abouts, I need to get a pic with a ruler, going to try to do that tonight. Anyways, I'm just looking for input/suggestions on what else I can try.

 

[adam james]

Just a couple things to note:

If you are making much noise, or causing very much vibrations near the enclosure when trying to feed, then scorp may be going into defensive mode. Do you leave the dispatched prey in there overnight near the burrow entrance? If not then you should try that. She could be just a bit shy.
What time are you feeding? My scorpion will not really want food until hunting time (for me its usually when the room has been dark for sometime and its somewhat late in the evening ( > 11:00pm).
I usually wait until I see my scorpion waiting near the burrow entrance in ambush mode (does your scorpion do this?)
I feed about once every 2 weeks, so I know the scorpion is somewhat hungry and more likely to grab it pretty quick, and I like to know if each feeding was successful by seeing it happen.
Be aware any light source you may use will be detected by the scorpion (red seems to get the least/no reaction).

 

[Barbarianhorde]

Hey Adam,

Apologies for the delay, I ended up getting a bit busy yesterday evening. As for your questions, I have her enclosure in my bedroom which is on the opposite side of the house from my game room, TV, etc. so it's pretty quiet in there. I've left dispatched prey in there for 24 hours and it was left untouched. I was feeding around 6-7pm, but I can certainly try feeding a bit later. As far as where she waits, I'll include a pic, she has a burrow under the big fake rock log on the righthand side so I can't really see down in there without removing the rock, she spends probably 50% of her time in there, the rest of the time she stays under the rock, generally on the right side, as I can see the tips of her pincers sticking out, I'll try to wait until she's sitting under the rock and drop something in front of her. I spoke with the place I got her from and they said they feed them a mix of meal worms or wax worms, I tried meal worms but I found that unless she gets them right away, they tend to burrow. I ordered some wax worms which should be here on Friday. As far as a light source, my room is pretty dark, I use a mix of a heat pad/lamp to keep the tank at temp, one change I do want to make is get an artificial lamp to provide her with a 12/12 light/dark period, as my room generally stays pretty dark even during the day. She also has a dugout covered by a log, but she rarely goes in there, I put that in there initially because I wasn't sure how long it would take her to dig a burrow and i wanted her to have some protection/safe spot, I need to take that out actually. The moss is also a bit floofy because I was looking to see if she ate a dubia I put in there, which she didn't so I pulled it out, i want to try to mix that in a bit more with the soil so it'll help to retain a bit more moisture. Since the Wax worms won't be here for a couple days, I'll try dropping the dubia in there when she's sitting under the rock log.

 

[adam james]

I would try drop it in when you see the claws sticking out (I usually squeeze the head of the cricket first just so it does not go too far, but I hate doing that). Sometimes my scorpion will dart out immediately grabbing it very violently, and other times it will just kind of ignore it for a moment and then take it gently lol.
Another thing you could try: get yourself a pair of aquarium tweezers (makes it easier since they are super long) and hold the live prey down near the claws (allowing the prey's feet to touch the ground so the scorpion can feel its vibrations/detect it easily.

When your scorpion's chela (claws) are visible from under the rock, do you notice if they are 'open' ? I find I can tell if my scorpion is hungry usually by it being near the burrow entrance, with its claws gapped wide open like a bear trap.

 

[CRX]

I find I can tell if my scorpion is hungry usually by it being near the burrow entrance, with its claws gapped wide open like a bear trap.

This exactly, same here.