itchy needs help

[Kazuki]

hi, recently i bought 2 emperor scorpions, named them itchy n scratchy. they're both female i think but i haven't got the guts to lift them up n take a look yet. i put them in a 20 galon tank, big water dish, 2 rock caves and coconut subtle. althought they have 2 hiding spots, somehow the first 2 nights they fight like crazy then afterwards they share the same spot from then on. couldn't even convince them to seperate. they eat, the explore, they were doing great!

then just a few days ago, itchy start looking as if she is really exhausted, moving very slowly, and now she appears even more tired as if she doesn't even have the strength to lift her own claws. she doesn't go into hiding anymore always on the top lying limp. but still moves a bit occasionally. but when she walks, she walks like she have difficulties and having spasms. she isn't eating anymore, n i noticed last night that the side of her abdomen where the gray area is almost completely flat, as if the top and bottom of her abdomen armor is touching...

is itchy dying? is she trying to starve herself to death? is there anyway i can save her?

 

[Fergrim]

It's okay for the top and bottom of the plates to be touching, just means she's skinny. What temperature and humidity are you keeping the enclosure at?

It takes an extremely long time for a scorpion to starve to death. This isn't the case. It does sound as if she is dying, I'd wait it out, make sure it's humid70-80% and warm (80f+) in there just in case.

How big is she? Full grown?

 

[Black Hawk]

my H. arizonis had a similar problem with jerky movement and lack of all coordination and energy. he died the day after, i suppose it was something inside him but i couldn't bring myself to dissect him. it was my first death. how is she positioned? is her tail moving? can you get pics???

 

[Kazuki]

poor itchy

i think i just lost itchy....... she was still moving a bit an hr ago. and now i check on her, she doesn't move at all, even when i pick her up.... i think i'll have to get an itchy replacement later this week. i feel so sad now.

the thing is i have no idea why she is dying and the other one is doing perfectly fine. although she does go toe to toe with scratchy occasionally, but it can't be scratchy's venom since she has the same. they're eating the same, they live in the same tank, when i moved them and clean their tank, i put them in the same temporary container. it had sand base, but i switched the temporary home back to coconut bark as soon as i found out its not good for emperor scorpions.

come to think about it, itchy did start acting weird after the last time i cleaned the tank. could it be something i did wrong? but why is scratchy not effect??

 

[Black Hawk]

it's something internal i think, like a parisite in the organs. there isn't much u can do. it happens since most scorps are wild caught unfortunately i would recommend a H. arizonis ("desert hairy") for a replacement if u want one

 

[Rabid Flea]

i think i just lost itchy....... she was still moving a bit an hr ago. and now i check on her, she doesn't move at all, even when i pick her up.... i think i'll have to get an itchy replacement later this week. i feel so sad now.

The same thing just happened to my 5th instar emp recently. I would pick her up and even her tail would not move very much, few days before she was perfectly fine.

the thing is i have no idea why she is dying and the other one is doing perfectly fine. although she does go toe to toe with scratchy occasionally, but it can't be scratchy's venom since she has the same.

They can still get a fatal sting or pinch.

they're eating the same, they live in the same tank, when i moved them and clean their tank, i put them in the same temporary container. it had sand base, but i switched the temporary home back to coconut bark as soon as i found out its not good for emperor scorpions.

good idea, sand is the worst substrate you can put emps on

come to think about it, itchy did start acting weird after the last time i cleaned the tank. could it be something i did wrong? but why is scratchy not effect??

Did you use any chemicals to clean the tank? Even misting an enclosure after you have used something like windex or similar chemicals can kill a scorp pretty fast, especially if they drink the water from the glass.

 

[Kazuki]

chemicals? didn't think so at least.

well, i don't think there r chemicals left behind. coz everytime i clean the tank i use hot water and soap, and i made sure i wrinced the soap away b4 i dry it. but that still didn't make sense though. if it was the soap, wouldn't scratchy get effect as well? it drank the same water anyways.

it all happened so fast, it took less than 3 days to take itchy away from me.

 

[Kazuki]

replacement

i agree a desert hairy would be a great replacement. but i don't think it can tolerate the climate here. i live in vancouver, canada. this place is rarely hot, very wet, but nill humidity. only emperor scorpions r officially available here as well, as for any other kinds of special order, they can't give me a surivial warranty.

i'd love to get one of those hissing scorpions or the death stalker as well. althought it meant definitely no touchy and buying a tight seal immediately. but i doubt they'll survive. scratchy is doing fine so far. i keep the room warm and humid. by the way can u guys give me any advice to maintaine humidity? coz right now they humidity level is hardly maintained. it drops and i have to mist a lot to raise humidity again. i also got a infrared heat bulb instead of a heat mat. i heard heat bulbs r better for scorpions.

 

[fiveohatch]

if they're both adults it might have just been that time.

there are a couple of times a month when i think my emp is dead. yesterday he didn't go into his hide at all and just stayed in the same place not moving. it's really rare that he's out for more than a few hours during the day. he's back to normal now though.

from what i've read, it seems like they just mysteriously die sometimes.

 

[Black Hawk]

from what i've read, it seems like they just mysteriously die sometimes.

mine died the same way. at least all the progressive behavior stuff leadin up to the death were eirly similar.
on a lighter note, u could try a Heterometrus sp. sold as "asian forest" scorps they have very similar living conditions to emps.

 

[Rabid Flea]

i agree with Black Hawk that Heterometrus are a good choice but dont put them together with your emps, that can lead to another heartache. I myself keep the hadrurus spadix and its a wonderful choice and very easy to care for. I have to admit though that there will never be replacing my little girl Keket the one that recently passed away. She was my first scorp and will forever be in my heart. I have her preserved now just waiting till I can get some resin to keep her with me forever. Good luck with your search for a new scorp.

 

[Kazuki]

bad news

this is not pretty. now scratchy is having spasms when it moves around. it doesn't look tired or exhausted, but its having spasms. what is going on??? is it bcoz the temperature or humidty not right?

 

[Rabid Flea]

there has to be some contributing factor, but one thing that pops into my mind is when my scorps are "flirting" with eachother, their claws will spasm, but yours is alone so I too am confused... give us a little more details as to the conditions in the room the scorp is kept, etc.

 

[Kazuki]

save dear scratchy...

now i'm going to do everything i can to prevent scratchy going down the same fate. could itchy n scratchy's previous fight leave them like this having occasional spasms? coz they did have some intense fights which they were fighting so loudly i had to get up in the middle of the night to break off their fight. but that was only the first week, they stopped fighting ever since.

as of now, my tank's setup looks like this

anyone can give me some pointers??
i'm sure u guys want scratchy to live as much as i do

also, the tank is on my bedroom's computer desk, and i hooked my computer up to a stereo system. does loud speakers hurt them?

 

[prang11]

Matbe swap the substrate out wiht coconut fiber stuff. Been keeping my full gron emp on the stuff for a year almost with no ill effects. The bark chips probably dont hold the humidity very well unless you mist often.

 

[G. Carnell]

1) yes loud music does hurt them
2) that tank is too dry, WET THE TANK!
they are from Tropical areas, not deserts!!

and IMO you should replace that substrate with another one, such as coco fibre or Peat

alternatively your scorp may be trying to moult, another reason to UP the humidity, as without high humidity they fail their moults

 

[prang11]

Loud noises affect them....

My tank is sitting right next to a speaker that shouts Halo 2, 12+ hours a day. Darn roommates. Maybe garth is special.

 

[G. Carnell]

i think after a while they get used to it
whenever a train passes my room, the enclosures shake, but no scorps move, whereas new additions go straight into Defence posture

some sort of conditioning.. dont remember which

 

[Kazuki]

humidity

i do mist the tank quite often, somewhere around once ever 2 or 3 hrs. during misting, do i need to avoid misting directly on the scorpions? for safety sake, i always try to get them back into their hideout b4 i initiate any misting.

i've already spent a lot of $ on coconut barks though, i don't want these go to waste. is there anything i can maybe add to the bottom of the coconut subtle u would recommend that keeps humidity really good? would adding live plants help? i'm afraid to move the scratchy now, since the last time i move itchy cleaning the tank, itchy didn't do so well coming back. someone suggested contamination...

how do u guys clean ur tank?

 

[Black Hawk]

if it helps at all this is what happened to mine.
i agree with others, that substrate won't hold moisture and i've heard hard wood like that can have chemicals in it that act as natural pesticide, the ground beneath them might be what's killing them????
the twitching thing is was the last signs of movement i had from mine.
may the force be with you and scratchy