New scorp in molt? Advice needed!!

Hey so i bought a new emperor scorp on monday and i was told it was about to molt. I am new to owning one even though i spent many weeks researching about care etc, i feel iv been thrown in at the deep end with the molt. Since iv had him he's not moved. I understand that this is probably normal in this state but i can't help but feel that it's most likely been stressed out during the move from its previous home to mine in it's condition.
My question is, as im worried it may die or already have and im not sure what to expect. Does anyone know how long it takes to molt? Are there any obvious signs that it is going to shed anytime soon?? Apart from him looking like he's about to burst at the seems he just hasn't moved, i don't know if he's been stressed to death or he's just waiting to shed. How long should i leave it? Like i say, im new to this and as iv not seen him do anything iv no idea what to expect...
Any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks!

maximus wrote:

Hey so i bought a new emperor scorp on monday and i was told it was about to molt. I am new to owning one even though i spent many weeks researching about care etc, i feel iv been thrown in at the deep end with the molt.

First off, congrats on your new scorpion! I take it you've read the the caresheets on this site?

maximus wrote:

Since iv had him he's not moved. I understand that this is probably normal in this state but i can't help but feel that it's most likely been stressed out during the move from its previous home to mine in it's condition.

Actually that's pretty abnormal. Typically scorps are pretty active for the first few days you get them.

What's your setup like right now? (Type and depth of substrate, temp & humidity, access to water, etc.) Do you have any information on its previous enclosure? Did you buy it from a pet store or from an online dealer?

maximus wrote:

My question is, as im worried it may die or already have and im not sure what to expect. Does anyone know how long it takes to molt? Are there any obvious signs that it is going to shed anytime soon?? Apart from him looking like he's about to burst at the seems he just hasn't moved, i don't know if he's been stressed to death or he's just waiting to shed. How long should i leave it? Like i say, im new to this and as iv not seen him do anything iv no idea what to expect...
Any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Scorpions in premolt will appear very fat, typically stay hidden and will be fairly inactive. They may refuse food for a couple weeks before the molt.

As for what you should do...

Nothing. Don't move it, don't disturb it. Just keep the temp and humidity high and the disturbances minimal.

Is there any chance you could get a picture?

Yeah i did all the research, looked at care sheets etc. I bought him from the local exotic shop after i'd been in previously to ask the guy for info about it and what i would need, so he pretty much set everything up for me when i went back to purchase everything. However, it seems very different to the type of set up's iv seen others advise to use.
I don't have a picture at present but can get one probably when it's day light so you can see it better. So everything i was given, he is currently in a large plastic tank, wood chip substrate (i hear coco fiber is preferred), heat mat covering one side, also has logs for hides, humidity box and very shallow water dish. Iv also been advised to cover holes of the tank with cling film to keep humidity up (leaving ventilation holes). Is this right? Im really worried on info iv had and it im doing something wrong? I just want him to be healthy!
The previous tank he was in was a glass tank, no heat source and 5 other scorps in with him. That's all i know on that.
Since i posed the question he has been out which is the first time iv seen him out and active at all, so thankfully he's still alive.
He is extremely fat, plates on the top have spread way out, he has a grey appearence on his body where his body has stretched out. Looks like he's going to pop literally.
Iv not disturbed him, iv been spraying the side of the tank daily avoiding the area he is/was.
Also his telson is bright yellow, is that normal?? Sorry for the questions and i hope im providing enough information. Im just super worried that im doing something wrong even though this was the information i was given buy the shop guy, and combined with the info iv looked up, im starting to get a bit confused which is correct. I don't want to cause the little guy any stress or discomfort.

Congrats on your first scorp and good luck with the molt!

maximus wrote:

Yeah i did all the research, looked at care sheets etc. I bought him from the local exotic shop after i'd been in previously to ask the guy for info about it and what i would need, so he pretty much set everything up for me when i went back to purchase everything. However, it seems very different to the type of set up's iv seen others advise to use.
I don't have a picture at present but can get one probably when it's day light so you can see it better. So everything i was given, he is currently in a large plastic tank, wood chip substrate (i hear coco fiber is preferred), heat mat covering one side, also has logs for hides, humidity box and very shallow water dish. Iv also been advised to cover holes of the tank with cling film to keep humidity up (leaving ventilation holes). Is this right? Im really worried on info iv had and it im doing something wrong? I just want him to be healthy!
The previous tank he was in was a glass tank, no heat source and 5 other scorps in with him. That's all i know on that.
Since i posed the question he has been out which is the first time iv seen him out and active at all, so thankfully he's still alive.

Everything sounds fine, just get him off those bark chips and onto some coco-fiber.

Quote :

He is extremely fat, plates on the top have spread way out, he has a grey appearence on his body where his body has stretched out. Looks like he's going to pop literally.
Iv not disturbed him, iv been spraying the side of the tank daily avoiding the area he is/was.
Also his telson is bright yellow, is that normal?? Sorry for the questions and i hope im providing enough information. Im just super worried that im doing something wrong even though this was the information i was given buy the shop guy, and combined with the info iv looked up, im starting to get a bit confused which is correct. I don't want to cause the little guy any stress or discomfort.

Sounds like he probably is in premolt from your description. (Either that or just really fat. )

The yellow telson indicates that it's not an adult. It will darken with age. Adults have dark red telsons. How big is he buy the way? What type of enclosure do you have him in?

Also, I suggest that you simply pour water onto the substrate instead of spraying the tank. That way you can regulate humidity more easily and moisten the substrate thoroughly, instead of just the top layer.

Without knowing anything about your local pet store, I'm going assume that the information they gave you was incorrect. I could be wrong, but most pet shops are pretty ignorant about inverts in general. (And reptiles, and amphibians, and fish, and birds.... ) Just go by what you've either read here or on some of the links on this site.

He's currently in a 5 gallon enclosure and he's roughly 4" big, maybe a tad smaller.
Def need to get the substrate changed and possibly quite a few things, i think the whole set up needs re organizing to suit his needs but like i say, at the moment if he is about to molt im not going to disturb him in any way and stress him out so what he has at the minute is a bare basic set up that i collected at the time. Once he's molted and hardened up properly im going to take everything and set it up more suitable for him. Don't get me wrong, he has all the right hides, access to water etc that he needs, he just doesn't have to right environment to be able to burrow.
So hopefully he'll get undressed soon. Every morning im expecting to get up and check on him and i'll find a skin in there, but nothing yet. I have no idea if it'll be any time soon, tomorrow, next week, next month...i guess it's just a waiting game!!
Once he starts coming out of the skin, how long does it take for them to completely come out? hours? days? Or is it a case of it just varies from species and scorpions own time scale?
Also thank you for the advice given so far, much appreciated.

You're welcome!

Yup, his setup should be fine for right now. As for molting, it varies between species, the individual scorpions, and depends on the size of the scorp. Larger scorps may take several hours to molt, smaller ones usually do it in less time.