I don't supplement feeders with calcium. Am I making a grave error?

[Tim Benzedrine]

To be honest, until noodling around on the 'net a bit, I wasn't even aware that calcium supplementation was a consideration. So I'm looking for a consensus. To dust or not to dust? I have a couple Heterometrus scorps, Asian forests, probably either spinifer or longimanus, if that makes a difference...

 

[ArachnoDrew]

I personally beleive this applies more to reptiles. Geckos, lizards etc...your best option for feeding your scorps a healthy diet is gutloaded feeders. Basically feed your feeders before feedng them to your scorps. A non gut loaded feeder (roach,crickets) etc... is not n optimal diet. More or less "empty calories" lol

 

[Jason Brantley]

To be honest, until noodling around on the 'net a bit, I wasn't even aware that calcium supplementation was a consideration. So I'm looking for a consensus. To dust or not to dust? I have a couple Heterometrus scorps, Asian forests, probably either spinifer or longimanus, if that makes a difference...

You can do it but it's not necessary. You can gut load your crickets with a little fish food and some sort of vegetable. You can go every other feeding if you feed them once a week. So you can dust them once or twice a month.

 

[Stenodactylus]

In my experience, it doesn't really matter whether you dust with calcium or not. I agree with @ArachnoDrew in that calcium and supplements are generally more for reptiles/amphibians. What would scorpions need calcium for? I'm sure trace amounts might be beneficial, but it's not like they have bones or heavily calcified eggs that they need to store calcium for. And honestly, I think supplements for reptiles are pushed a tad too much. I've kept a bunch of species on zero calcium diets, but I'm a huge proponent of gut-loading and using a variety of feeders. It has always served me well. Also, don't forget to keep your crickets hydrated!!

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Yup, I keep them hydrated. I generally feed carrots and oats. I don't need to keep a lot of crickets, so I aim for items that don't spoil too quickly.

I'd never given it much thought before, and then I realized I didn't really know what makes up chitin and wondered if there was an issue.

 

[darkness975]

To dust or not to dust?

No