Ok whats up is my H. Arizonesis dying or in premolt

[Introvertedinverts92]

So I have a 2 year old adult Male hadrurus arizonesis and long story short he has been a ok since I found him and was eating regularly and burrowing with no issues and recently I moved from Colorado back to AZ and he was blocking off his burrows and collapsed them until he was directly beneath the water dish. Well it collapsed and I dug him out and now he's acting funny like twitchy and lethargic and he doesn't seem to want to eat. His sides are a little saggy and soft looking and he's just not himself. Will post photos asap

He has been trying to get inside his hide for hours now as you see in the one photo

 

[Harmonicon]

Hmm, I did not have any experience with this sort of behavior, someone else may be able to tell you what that is. A video may help, you can upload one to YouTube and paste the link here.

But there's a few things that you could fix that may help with the problem...

1. Does he have heating? I do not have a source, but from personal experience, heat will make your Hadrurus more active, eat better, and trigger molting. Although others say they are fine at room temperature, I highly recommend you give a hot spot of 90-100 degrees. I use an infrared heat lamp.

2. What substrate are you using? IMO that substrate doesn't look very stable / good for burrowing. This is a burrowing species, they need 4+ inches of burrowing substrate that is stable. I recommend a mixture of 1/3 excavator clay and 2/3 play sand. Mix it, pour it in the tank, thoroughly moisten it, pack it down HARD, and let it dry and harden into clay. Drying will take a very long time, so you'll have to be patient. This species loves to burrow in the wild and basically live in their hideout most of their lives. They will molt there and do all their business. A hide or similar is NOT a substitute!

Anyways, I hope this helps, and keep me updated on what happens!

 

[Introvertedinverts92]

His substrate is 1/3 desert sand from here in Phoenix Arizona and 2/3 Excavator Clay I pre-moistened let it dry and the only time I have let it since was overflow his water dish once or twice a month and then let it dry out completely the only reason he has the hide is because I have tried not having a hide and he just doesn't use it doesn't like to borrow as much he does make one little hole and feels it off every time

 

[Harmonicon]

His substrate is 1/3 desert sand from here in Phoenix Arizona and 2/3 Excavator Clay I pre-moistened let it dry and the only time I have let it since was overflow his water dish once or twice a month and then let it dry out completely the only reason he has the hide is because I have tried not having a hide and he just doesn't use it doesn't like to borrow as much he does make one little hole and feels it off every time

Oh I see. He may not be burrowing because it is difficult for him to. Most people use 1/3 or less excavator clay as the substrate tends to become a brick if you put too much. Also, how many inches of substrate do you have? Do you have heating?

 

[Introvertedinverts92]

Also I do not have a heat Source but I have one available that I could probably start to use. And his substrate is between 2.5 to 4 inches depending upon his digging he is constantly moving material from one side to the other until he gets a nice burrow started and then until recently he would block it off

 

[Dry Desert]

Also I do not have a heat Source but I have one available that I could probably start to use. And his substrate is between 2.5 to 4 inches depending upon his digging he is constantly moving material from one side to the other until he gets a nice burrow started and then until recently he would block it off

This species needs a daytime temperature of 86 - 89 F with a night time drop. Substrate needs to be a minimum of 6 inches made up of 1/3 excavator clay to 2/3 play sand, any more clay ratio and they will have trouble digging. If the hide is open at the bottom he will probably dig under the water dish as its solid bottom and makes him feel more secure, or he is seeking a humidity level that he's found under the dish. Fix a good heat source, ceramic heat lamps are better for them, and connect it to a quality thermostat. If you're going to use that hide have it almost buried so he has to dig a little to get under the hide. Are you sure it's a male, and how do you know it's 2 years old ?

 

[Introvertedinverts92]

I'm kinda guessing on his age and I actually purchased a sexed female from a semi reliable source and tried to mate and immediately separated the two and mine never showed signs of being gravid but the sexed female I had purchased for 14 bucks did and had tons of scorplings that I gave away and gave my brother the female and she melted and we sexed the shed then so I'm hoping this is the time if he molts or dies to find out