Rescued Scorpion - help!

[Ridiculous87]

Hello all,

I recently fell into the possession of en emperor scorpion. Cool, right? Well, sort of...

I believe it was neglected for a couple of weeks (long story), so I'm now trying to nurse it back to health. It's a female, and I think it's fully grown, although I'm not sure how old she is.

I think I've got most things under control except the water issue. Am I right in understanding that I can't just put regular liquid water in the tank for her? It needs to be held in some material like silica gel or something? I'm worried that she's thirsty, but I wasn't able to get any silica gel before I had to go to work. I'm going to get some Monday, I hope, but if it's essential to survival to put the water in something, I'll have to get it tomorrow.

She hasn't been eating, but I wonder if that's due to inadequate heating. Her prior owner was using a metal lamp with an infra-red bulb...I don't know, it didn't seem legit. I went and bought a heat-mat, so that should improve.

So, food and water are my problems! She seems bloated, which I read can be from a lack of eating (or pregnancy....or molting, but I know it hasn't eaten in over a week at least).

Damn, this post is rather scattered, but the situation is kind of complex. Any help is much appreciated! I can only get so much info from the web, I need some people with experience and fast! Thanks ya'll

Chad

PS I don't know how emperor scorpions are supposed to behave, but she doesn't move terribly much at all. She still has fight though, which I learned when I cleaned the tank out! I was scared as hell to put her in the plastic container haha

I just want her to survive!

 

[Stewjoe]

These thing can easily go months without food. There is nothing wrong with standing water. Silica gel is a big no-no. Put the heat mat on the side, these animals burrow to cool off.

 

[DireWolf0384]

Sometimes my H. Paucidens go for weeks refusing to eat and then all of a sudden they eat like pigs. Just make sure they have water, thats more important than food. Sometimes they won't eat right away when they get into a new enclosure or living situation. Post some pics!

 

[Chrome69]

I've heard of emperor scorpions going a full year without eating, not joking in the least, I've had an emperor of mine go about 4 months without. Just try once a week till it does.

 

[Michiel]

Hello all,

I recently fell into the possession of en emperor scorpion. Cool, right? Well, sort of...

I believe it was neglected for a couple of weeks (long story), so I'm now trying to nurse it back to health. It's a female, and I think it's fully grown, although I'm not sure how old she is.

I think I've got most things under control except the water issue. Am I right in understanding that I can't just put regular liquid water in the tank for her? It needs to be held in some material like silica gel or something? I'm worried that she's thirsty, but I wasn't able to get any silica gel before I had to go to work. I'm going to get some Monday, I hope, but if it's essential to survival to put the water in something, I'll have to get it tomorrow.

She hasn't been eating, but I wonder if that's due to inadequate heating. Her prior owner was using a metal lamp with an infra-red bulb...I don't know, it didn't seem legit. I went and bought a heat-mat, so that should improve.

So, food and water are my problems! She seems bloated, which I read can be from a lack of eating (or pregnancy....or molting, but I know it hasn't eaten in over a week at least).

Damn, this post is rather scattered, but the situation is kind of complex. Any help is much appreciated! I can only get so much info from the web, I need some people with experience and fast! Thanks ya'll

Chad

PS I don't know how emperor scorpions are supposed to behave, but she doesn't move terribly much at all. She still has fight though, which I learned when I cleaned the tank out! I was scared as hell to put her in the plastic container haha

I just want her to survive!

Try to think. Ever seen hidden jars of silica gel in the natural environment of scorpions? Of course not... They drink tap water/ standing water.

This website is full of info about emps and their husbandry, so much, this should be called The Empboards...
Dig a bit around, and within 15 minutes you will know how to treat your rescued scorp.....

This is of course rather hilarious. You saved an animal and are not sure how to treat it. I am glad you didn't rescue me....LOL

 

[Ridiculous87]

Great news, thanks you guys. I was very worried that she was malnourished. I will try to feed her until she decides she wants to eat, I guess!

That's funny, I was getting most of my information from a "wikihow" website, and they specifically said to soak silica gel or cotton wool in water.

Michiel - indeed, somewhat funny...better than the alternative though, no?

These are beautiful creatures! I would never have bought one myself as the exotic pet trade has made them an endangered species....but I'm definitely getting attached...I feel like a 23 year old father

 

[Stewjoe]

Great news, thanks you guys. I was very worried that she was malnourished. I will try to feed her until she decides she wants to eat, I guess!

That's funny, I was getting most of my information from a "wikihow" website, and they specifically said to soak silica gel or cotton wool in water.

Michiel - indeed, somewhat funny...better than the alternative though, no?

These are beautiful creatures! I would never have bought one myself as the exotic pet trade has made them an endangered species....but I'm definitely getting attached...I feel like a 23 year old father

The idea behind cotton wool is that your scorpion and crickets wont drown. I use a medium exo-terra shallow water dish with filtered dechlorinated water and have never had a drowned cricket. Your scorpion wont be able to obtain any moisture from gel, its designed for crickets. Also gel and especially cotton is a great place for bacteria to grow. I have heard of scorpions drowning but mine stands up as tall as it can and wades through the water when it crosses it, these things are from the tropical rain forest so they can handle water.

 

[DireWolf0384]

The idea behind cotton wool is that your scorpion and crickets wont drown. I use a medium exo-terra shallow water dish with filtered dechlorinated water and have never had a drowned cricket. Your scorpion wont be able to obtain any moisture from gel, its designed for crickets. Also gel and especially cotton is a great place for bacteria to grow. I have heard of scorpions drowning but mine stands up as tall as it can and wades through the water when it crosses it, these things are from the tropical rain forest so they can handle water.

My Scorpions wade through the water without any trouble. I find my P.Canvimanus wading in the water dish. My scorps love to wade.