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 New to scorpions and need some expertise.

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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 3:01 am

I've had my emp for around two months now and he's become very jumpy, and is almost always out moving around his tank. He hasn't ate in three weeks witch doesn't bother me much after all the reading I've done on this forum, but he's even running from the crickets and pinky mice he was eating so well. He has also became very dry and dusty looking in appearance and the fifth section of his tail, before the telson, is almost white. Last night I changed the supposedly organic potting soil substrate to Zilla Jungle Mix (all i could get on short notice and close to home) after finding what looked like fertilizer pellets in the soil. He's in a 10 gallon tank with the original aquarium lid with two incandecent light bulbs for heat if needed, and a plastic jelly jar lid for a water bowl. I'll get some pictures on here soon for better reference. Any and all help from you guys would be greatly appreciated !
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PaperTiger
Babycurus
PaperTiger


Number of posts : 399
Age : 56
Location : Illinois/USA
Registration date : 2009-06-22

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 3:29 am

"He has also became very dry and dusty looking"


Emperor scorpions should be maintained at temperatures of 80-90ºF (27-32ºC) with 80-90% relative humidity. Although Emperors can tolerate higher temperatures and humidity levels, with no apparent adverse effects, I have found no benefit in maintaining them at temperatures above 90ºF (32ºC). An occasional light misting of distilled (I use nursery water for my Scorps) water once a week will not only assist in keeping humidity levels elevated within the aqurium, but many Emperor scorpions actually appear to enjoy the occasional light misting.
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 4:26 am

I keep the temp between 74 and 80 and have really no idea about the humidity level but, I get a good condensation inside the tank. I mist the tank every other day and I've started dumping water on the substrate ( but not as often as i mist ) since reading about it on this forum. I think I've read your other posts about your emp enjoying the occasional misting and tried it, mine definitely didn't like the misting, even if its overspray when I try not to get him. I use bottled water mostly but nursery water is a great idea, more of it for less money and saves the bottled stuff for the kids, lol. I live in southern Illinois and its getting cooler so I'm gona be going through a bit of water keeping the humidity up with heat on.
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PaperTiger
Babycurus
PaperTiger


Number of posts : 399
Age : 56
Location : Illinois/USA
Registration date : 2009-06-22

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 4:29 am

Yup, go ole Illinois; I can relate to keeping the humidity up too Mad
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 4:40 am

How do you know when your humidity level is good ? I've read that the guages aren't all that great. And thank you for the advice, I'm used to keeping Brown Recluse spiders, get it in a jar and feed occasionaly. You can't hardly kill one, lol.
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PaperTiger
Babycurus
PaperTiger


Number of posts : 399
Age : 56
Location : Illinois/USA
Registration date : 2009-06-22

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 4:50 am

I sacrificed a few meals and got a good hydrometer from Ace Hardware. I also get a clue from my Brachypelma boehmei. Brown Recluse spiders are cool as well as the Black Widow's.
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 4:59 am

Ace hardware, never would have thought of that. Everything I see in the pet stores look kinda toylike and haven't herd of them being very good. Got a Lowe's next to my fav pet store, I'll check it out ! I love my emp so I gota get him healthy. The jumpiness is really bugging me though.
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Mr. Mordax
Administrator
Mr. Mordax


Number of posts : 7743
Age : 38
Location : PNW
Registration date : 2008-02-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 10:45 am

Arachnid Steve wrote:
he's even running from the crickets and pinky mice
There's no benefit in feeding vertebrates to scorpions, and some say the calcium in the bones is detrimental to a scorpion's exoskeleton. So why risk it? (Not only that, but the leftovers are disgusting.)


Quote :
fifth section of his tail, before the telson, is almost white.
That would be scorp-o-poop.


Quote :
supposedly organic potting soil . . . finding what looked like fertilizer pellets
For the record, organic does NOT mean free of pesticides / fertilizers. This common perception really bugs me, and it's also why I never recommend potting soil of any kind. The best substrate IMO is compressed / expanded coconut fiber. After that is peat.

Also, for the record, humidity gauges are practically useless and in my experience completely unnecessary. If the humidity is at the right level, the substrate (if you're using cocofiber or peat) will have a dark appearance and feel slightly damp when you touch / squeeze it, but not leak water. When it starts to dry out, the best way to raise humidity is to just dump some water on the substrate.

I've been using tap water for years with no ill effects (I live in the PNW, so I can't vouch for your local water). Misting the tank only gets the surface layer damp which quickly evaporates.
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 5:33 pm

Thanks for all the input, but does anyone have any ideas on why he's so jumpy ? He jumps and turns in circles anytime anything touches him and sometimes for no apparent reason. A few weeks ago he had a seizure like episode, legs drawn up under, laying on his side with his tail flinging as if trying to sting, we noticed a spot under his claw that looked like he had stung himself ( a little puss spot ), but he got back up after a few minutes and it hasn't happened since.
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Chrome
Tityus
Chrome


Number of posts : 505
Age : 37
Location : western Canada
Registration date : 2009-08-03

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 7:40 pm

maybe he's just clinically insane and needs a straight jacket, scorpions do do some weird things out of the blue, which is a fun part of scorpion keeping. I've had my P.Cavimanus head butt the side of his aquarium then rear up and go on a full assault stinger and all at the glass for a couple seconds then just calmly walked under his overpass and curl up. Just an example of how odd scorpions can be. Smile
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 11:08 pm

[img][/img][img][/img]
hopefully here are some pics
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/15/2009, 11:39 pm

Sorry, don't know how to upload the pics, but he's on his back having another seizure type episode, i think he's on his way out. pale
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Mr. Mordax
Administrator
Mr. Mordax


Number of posts : 7743
Age : 38
Location : PNW
Registration date : 2008-02-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/16/2009, 12:07 am

Put the picture's URL (should look something like http://awebsite.com/apicture.jpg) between the IMG tags.

When scorpions die, they don't spasm, they just slow down and quit moving with their tail straight out. It could be diskinetic syndrome, but all people really know about that is it's called "diskinetic syndrome."
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/16/2009, 1:24 pm

Thanks Mr. Mordax for that info on the pics and the not spasming, it helped.
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/16/2009, 1:38 pm

Wasn't done with that last post, hit the wrong button. After about 15 minutes of being on his back and side I finally got him back on his legs and he slowly walked away. I think Chrome is right, this guy is a bit loopy !!! Laughing Now he seems normal, he's even back to rearranging his aquarium like he did before the first time this happened. And about the diskinetic syndrome, is it contagious to other scorps? My buddy is picking up a female for me today if he hasn't already' is it ok to put them together ?
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Mr. Mordax
Administrator
Mr. Mordax


Number of posts : 7743
Age : 38
Location : PNW
Registration date : 2008-02-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/16/2009, 9:42 pm

Before you put them together, take out your current scorpion and rearrange the habitat. Then put them in at the same time (this helps remove established territories).

Anywho, while little is known about diskinetic syndrome, I'm guessing it's a neural degenerative disorder (based on symptoms of spasming and such) -- so I doubt it's contagious.

Keep in mind the above is nothing more than an educated guess.

Edit: Apparently in humans it's a form of cerebral palsy, so not contagious -- but it's not necessarily the same disease in inverts just because it has the same symptoms.

Also found this link: http://www.justanswer.com/questions/1ky94-dyskinetic-syndrome-tarantulas

(Sorry if this post was utterly useless, but I don't think there's any solid research on this phenomenon because there's no economical motivation for anyone to research it.)
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/19/2009, 4:58 pm

New to scorpions and need some expertise. 100_1373_1-1
New to scorpions and need some expertise. 100_1389-1
New to scorpions and need some expertise. 100_1390
New to scorpions and need some expertise. 100_1392-1
New to scorpions and need some expertise. 100_1389
New to scorpions and need some expertise. 100_1392
I got it. Thanks Mr. Mordax
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Mr. Mordax
Administrator
Mr. Mordax


Number of posts : 7743
Age : 38
Location : PNW
Registration date : 2008-02-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/20/2009, 12:10 am

Definitely poop on the tail.
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Arachnid Steve
Hadogenes
Arachnid Steve


Number of posts : 67
Age : 44
Location : Southern Illinois, USA
Registration date : 2009-10-06

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/20/2009, 2:53 pm

With the new substrate and higher humidity, he seems much happier. He moved the tree bark hide around to the point it's almost flat against the substrate and burrowed in, haven't seen much of him since so I'm guessing he's doing okay. Can anyone tell by the pictures if he's sub-adult or adult ?
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binksyboy3
Androctonus
binksyboy3


Number of posts : 1690
Age : 30
Location : Hertfordshire, England
Registration date : 2009-03-05

New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty
PostSubject: Re: New to scorpions and need some expertise.   New to scorpions and need some expertise. Empty10/20/2009, 3:47 pm

Definately an adult. You can tell by telson colour;
1) juvenile = white
2) sub - adult = yellow/cream
3) adult = brown/red
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