murder mystery..

[xyxyxy]

I awoke this 2:30 am to find the horrific crime scene below. The scorpion above was one of three(3) "Death-stalkers" i received from Big Apple Herp the other day.

I keep a 10 gallon aquarium w/ four(4) scorpions total (3 now) Did one of the other scorpions do this???? Have you ever seen/heard of this before? I named her Marilyn Monroe because she never hid in the many hideaways the cage provides but instead would hang out front and center on full display which in itself was odd..

Also odd was her tail, it seemed damaged or something because she wouldn't raise it up even if provoked and her general demeanor was groggy and slow such that I worried she might be sick or injured (perhaps during shipping?) I've just recently begun raising these creatures so I dont know a whole lot about what fates may befall them along the way but I've never seen/heard/read about this type of thing and I would obviously love to avoid this experience in the future if possible so I'm doing my best Colombo impression and trying to get to the bottom of this murder mystery. Any ideas guys/gals/alien-human hybrids???

I'm pretty sure it wasn't suicide or self mutilation but what about one of the meal-worms that I've put in the cage for food? Crazy I know but there WAS one right by his tail when I discovered the body . It seems far fetched I know but perhaps he was the culprit? Could the tail have been damaged badly enough that the mealworm was able to make a meal of Marilyn's tail? This is driving me crazy. Who killed Marilyn Monroe? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Poonjab]

Who’s in your house who would want to harm it?

 

[xyxyxy]

only my wife and she wouldn't open the cage to save her own life

 

[Poonjab]

only my wife and she wouldn't open the cage to save her own life

One killing the other wouldn’t surprise me, but the telson cut off is rather odd.

 

[DarkInvader]

Idk much about scorpions but the black where the tail separated looks like it was black or dying. I could see another one taking advantage of it's slow moving to try a easy meal but doesnt make sense why they wouldnt eat more. Not to mention you've had them communal for a while with no problems.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Have you questioned the others to see if they saw anything?

 

[xyxyxy]

of course...and separately . as you might imagine they're all playing dumb

 

[Poonjab]

Well boys... looks like we have a cold case.

 

[mantiscatamp]

the wife!

 

[Ferrachi]

Idk much about scorpions but the black where the tail separated looks like it was black or dying. I could see another one taking advantage of it's slow moving to try a easy meal but doesnt make sense why they wouldnt eat more. Not to mention you've had them communal for a while with no problems.

Having them communal for a while with no problems does not mean there won't be problems in the future... really hard to predict with scorpions

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Might have been a serious mycosis "rot" I seen black spots on the legs, turn Marylin over and take a pic of her ventral side to see if there is any black spots there too. Anyways none of her tail was eaten all the five segments and telson are accounted for.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Also, it looks like fecal matter at the end of the tail where it broke off but I am not sure that is what it is. Maybe due to the injury or mycosis it could not properly pass its waste. IDK. Just throwing stuff out there. But you had a very sick scorpion that mercifully passed.

 

[ignithium]

agreed it look like impaction problem to me, if its cannibalism it would not just breaking the tail, they eat more of it for sure. For example here is picture from cannibalism:

 

[Dr SkyTower]

The aculeus (sting) looks broken and it looks like her tail was chewed off by something. She also does seem to have mycosis on her legs but it's quite hard to tell in that pic. It appears she died and the mealworm (or another scorpion) in there scavenged her remains.

 

[darkness975]

I awoke this 2:30 am to find the horrific crime scene below. The scorpion above was one of three(3) "Death-stalkers" i received from Big Apple Herp the other day.

I keep a 10 gallon aquarium w/ four(4) scorpions total (3 now) Did one of the other scorpions do this???? Have you ever seen/heard of this before? I named her Marilyn Monroe because she never hid in the many hideaways the cage provides but instead would hang out front and center on full display which in itself was odd..

Also odd was her tail, it seemed damaged or something because she wouldn't raise it up even if provoked and her general demeanor was groggy and slow such that I worried she might be sick or injured (perhaps during shipping?) I've just recently begun raising these creatures so I dont know a whole lot about what fates may befall them along the way but I've never seen/heard/read about this type of thing and I would obviously love to avoid this experience in the future if possible so I'm doing my best Colombo impression and trying to get to the bottom of this murder mystery. Any ideas guys/gals/alien-human hybrids???

I'm pretty sure it wasn't suicide or self mutilation but what about one of the meal-worms that I've put in the cage for food? Crazy I know but there WAS one right by his tail when I discovered the body . It seems far fetched I know but perhaps he was the culprit? Could the tail have been damaged badly enough that the mealworm was able to make a meal of Marilyn's tail? This is driving me crazy. Who killed Marilyn Monroe? Inquiring minds want to know.


View attachment 344491

Never leave uneaten prey items in the Enclosure. It's asking for trouble.

Also, keeping them communally is not a good idea.

 

[GordoOldman]

With wild caught importa many times damage occurs. It also occurs with incorrectly handled animals too forcefully grabbed with tools.

The description of how oddly this particular Leiurus acted lends to believing it may have died from issues not directly associated with having been kept communally. To have been scavenged upon post mortem is likely the cause.

If given plenty of space and a variety of hide options (making sure the hides provide humidity, not just cover and concealment) along with making sure all are fed well, Leiurus normally do well.

Leiurus are amazing scorpions but remember that they are HOT.