P. imperator leg stuck in molt

[Formerphobe]

Just found this guy dragging his exuvium around the tank by one leg. I managed to get the bulk of it trimmed off before he went back down the tunnel. Will he be able to get the rest of it off, or is this going to be problematic? Extricating him from the tunnels could be, ah, interesting... besides the fact that he is still soft.

 

[llamastick]

Most likely the tip of the leg will die and fall off or be deformed. It shouldn't cause much of a problem, though. If it still has more molts to go, it'll regenerate in the next one. 7 legs is plenty. It might manage to scrape the exo off, too.

 

[AzJohn]

If it's still soft you may be able to remove the old skin. Even just squirting it with water might free it. Personally i'd let figure it out on it's own. It might loose the leg, which wont grow back, but it really doesn't need them all. It will be able to do everything an 8 legged scorpion can do with seven.

 

[Formerphobe]

I got him as a near adult, so this may be his last molt. I haven't seen him since last night. He didn't seem to have any trouble scooting down that hole!

Now one of the females is molting. Is it common for communal scorpions to have similar molt cycles?

 

[llamastick]

Nah, just a coincidence. I've had siblings in a communal setup that all molted from 2i->3i together, then afterward completely de-synched, to the point that some were a full instar or more ahead of others.

 

[John Bokma]

I got him as a near adult, so this may be his last molt. I haven't seen him since last night. He didn't seem to have any trouble scooting down that hole!

Now one of the females is molting. Is it common for communal scorpions to have similar molt cycles?

Sometimes (in my experience) a change in weather is a trigger. Now and then several scorpions molt around the same time here, not even in the same enclosure.

 

[Formerphobe]

Well, he's now a 7.5 leg scorpion. The leg in question is off right at the patella. I didn't see any leakage, and he's getting around just fine.