CABIV
Arachnosquire
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2014
- Messages
- 95
I'm having difficulty keeping my scorpion (Heterometrus Petersii) fed. Most of the crickets I feed it do not get eaten, despite the scorpion clearly making an effort.
Unlike with my tarantulas, who will hunt and prowl for crickets, my scorpion sticks to the ambush strategy 90% of the time. I don't blame him either, because when he DOES leave his cave to go on the hunt, it usually involves a spectacular effort to chase down a cricket, which ends in failure most of the time anyway.
Unfortunately, the crickets tend to be drawn to the heat pad, which isn't directly across form the entrance of the scorpion's lair. Half the time, he waits for crickets that will never come, and will die next to the heat pad without ever once running into the scorpion.
Furthermore, he seems to have inherited the "T-Rex" gene, since unless a cricket moves, the scorpion seems unaware of it. I have watched crickets walk past the entrance to the scorpion's cave while the scorpion is there. As soon as the scorpion approaches (having clearly spotted the cricket), the cricket stays dead still.
The both of them will stand absolutely still for an eternity (approximately 5-10 minutes). The scorpion will give up and fall back a little, the cricket moves again when it feels safe, the scorpion comes back, and the process repeats. On one particular night, this game of "statues" took hours, and finally, after literally ten minutes of watching them stare each other down (for the 5th round of stare downs that night), the scorpion launched itself lightning fast onto that cricket and finished it.
The rare times the scorpion goes "hunting", most crickets quickly scurry off. Though the scorpion is capable of quick lunges, it rarely seems to to get within range before the crickets retreat elsewhere. The result is something that looks like a reenactment of a Wile E. Coyote cartoon.
Though I know better than to personify my scorpion, I once saw it chase a cricket for 5 minutes, and in the end, it just jabbed it a dozen times with the stinger instead of using its claws as this species (and individual) seems to prefer. It seemed like an act of frustration to me.
I'm sure the scorpion is fine (it certainly seems healthy), but I wonder if there is a way to increase the odds in favor for the scorpion, so that crickets don't get wasted.
This is the set-up most nights (excuse the clutter). He sits there, usually more in the shadows, and the crickets park themselves by the heating pad on the glass just over his left claw.
Unlike with my tarantulas, who will hunt and prowl for crickets, my scorpion sticks to the ambush strategy 90% of the time. I don't blame him either, because when he DOES leave his cave to go on the hunt, it usually involves a spectacular effort to chase down a cricket, which ends in failure most of the time anyway.
Unfortunately, the crickets tend to be drawn to the heat pad, which isn't directly across form the entrance of the scorpion's lair. Half the time, he waits for crickets that will never come, and will die next to the heat pad without ever once running into the scorpion.
Furthermore, he seems to have inherited the "T-Rex" gene, since unless a cricket moves, the scorpion seems unaware of it. I have watched crickets walk past the entrance to the scorpion's cave while the scorpion is there. As soon as the scorpion approaches (having clearly spotted the cricket), the cricket stays dead still.
The both of them will stand absolutely still for an eternity (approximately 5-10 minutes). The scorpion will give up and fall back a little, the cricket moves again when it feels safe, the scorpion comes back, and the process repeats. On one particular night, this game of "statues" took hours, and finally, after literally ten minutes of watching them stare each other down (for the 5th round of stare downs that night), the scorpion launched itself lightning fast onto that cricket and finished it.
The rare times the scorpion goes "hunting", most crickets quickly scurry off. Though the scorpion is capable of quick lunges, it rarely seems to to get within range before the crickets retreat elsewhere. The result is something that looks like a reenactment of a Wile E. Coyote cartoon.
Though I know better than to personify my scorpion, I once saw it chase a cricket for 5 minutes, and in the end, it just jabbed it a dozen times with the stinger instead of using its claws as this species (and individual) seems to prefer. It seemed like an act of frustration to me.
I'm sure the scorpion is fine (it certainly seems healthy), but I wonder if there is a way to increase the odds in favor for the scorpion, so that crickets don't get wasted.
This is the set-up most nights (excuse the clutter). He sits there, usually more in the shadows, and the crickets park themselves by the heating pad on the glass just over his left claw.
