in need of desperate help regarding moult...

[deifiler]

hiya

this morning, our baby emperor scorpion proceeded to moult, its the first time in 5 or 6 months its moulted. well we check back on him/her about an hour ago, it still hadnt finished, and was half out the cast, but wasnt moving or attempting to...

after observing it, my brother blew onto it, it didnt move, sohe gently prodded it and it responded... so we have a live scorp' that is fused to its moult.. (im guessing the humidity level was too low for its moult condition..:<)

its tail is still inside the moult, as are the 4 rear legs (the claws and 'front' legs are free and wiggling from time to time

so, should we try remove the moult from it, as i really doubt it'll get out of the moult alone... im 90% sure if we dont interfer then deaths claw will grasp at him, on the other hand, if i try to remove the skin it may lose legs and tail.. is this life threatening?

thanks for any input.. sorry that it isnt primarily spider related but i cant find any other forums

thanks, most appreciated

 

[krystal]

hey deif--
there's a scorpion forum here--
http://www.arachnopets.com/arachnoboards/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=4
sorry i can't offer any help--i'm not sure you'd want it anyway because i managed to kill my emperor scorp after only having it for two weeks or so (i blame ignorance at the pet store where i purchased it). good luck, though!

 

[deifiler]

ahh cheers! i didnt realise there wa sa scorp' forum!

if a moderator could move this post so there arnt the same thread all over that'd be great thanks...

anyway, its rear legs and tail appear not to be correctly formed... so tragic, all was well aswell with the porr little thing :<

which, sadly brings me to my next point - whats the 'best' (hah ) form of euthanazia? im kinda attacked to the scorp as ive spent a lot of time with it so i dont want to hurt it

cheers....

 

[Kugellager]

Thats a bummer deifiler...sorry to hear of your bad moult,

Generally, from what I have heard the best way to euthanize an invert is to put it in the freezer...maybe put it in the refridgerator first...I have never done either...mine tend to die spontainously on their own.

John
];')

 

[XOskeletonRED]

If you interfere physically, you'll probably kill the scorp. Your softest touch with dry hands would minimally injure it at the current state. You may be able to use something like vaseline on your hands to keep them from sticking to the partially shed scorp as well as to keep the salt from your hand from touching the scorp and risking drying the scorp out. Then peeling the exo away a little bit (I would not do this on the legs, as they are much more fragile) and while keeping a very loose grip or rather, none at all on the scorp.
Misting is about the only thing I can honestly say I've done in the situation with a scorp, though I have also heard of cooling them in the fridge. I have tried vaseline lip therapy on a T and millipede and it worked perfectly. Just mist heavily at the tank's heater and mist the old exo directly and see what happens before you try anything else. You might be able to soften it up enough to allow the molt to complete naturally. Use slightly warmer water than the container air temp is currently at, but do not allow too warm of water to touch the scorp where it has already shed the exo! I personally used a needle the last time to angle to water to the right locale on the scorp's exo (twas also a scorplett for me last and I believe the water was about 84 Fahrenheit). You take a chance either way. Good luck.


later,
edw.

 

[Kugellager]

Another potential substance to attempt to help with a difficult is glycerine. Very slippery stuff. most drug stores stock it.

John
];')

 

[deifiler]

Thanks for the help so far guys!

After I got in from college, I checked how it was doing (yesterday after relizing it wasn't actually dead I placed it in a small sealed container with air holes, and made it very humid).

I noticed that when I prodded it gently with a bit of bass string (a cutting from my last re stringing), it moved a LOT more than it had the day before, showing full use of both claws and its tail. However it hasnt any legs :'O( As far as i can tell its mouth+feeding parts are fully intact, and its digestive system develops first during the moult (with the legs and tail last).

So what I'm going to try to do, is to keep it alive by keeping it moist, watering and feeding it (straigh to its mouth) until its next moult when itll hopefully regrow enough legs to regain mobility.

I know it may seem cruel, but if you look at it in the light that it lives to survive and reproduce, in time I can restore it to that level.

 

[XOskeletonRED]

Very well done,
Good luck.

edw.

 

[deifiler]

Thanks!

Ive noticed that its regaining function of its claws and whats left of its tail.

Also, a few minutes ago i watched it slowly drag itself over the space of about 5mm with its front claws and 2 front legs (the only formed ones). The reason why it stopped is that its still got its 'moult' fastened to itself, and the casts of the legs are acting as anchors, so when the shells gone hard and has clealry separated from the moult I plan to carefully clip them off with small scissors/nail clippers. Hopfully this will leave it almost like a slug with two claws, so as long as I keep it on a smooth surface it could have some kind of mobility.

What should I attempt to feed it on (ill try in a few days) by the way? lso, should I push the food into its claw grasp, or beneath its mouthparts? Also, how should I provide water to it?

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[XOskeletonRED]

Just keep it very moist.

I'd feed it crickets, but I would do this only by use of a pair of forceps or whatever you use to handle your scorps (not your hands *lol*). Just make sure the scorp has killed or immobilized the prey before releasing it for dinner. Keep a small bottle cap filled with water next to the scorp for drinking needs. The scorp should still be able to drink, though you may have to result to an eye dropper to better the scorp's abilities (the scorp may not be able to "back out" of the water fro lack of leg use, causing it to drown).

adios,
edw.