Hairy moult

Hi everyone, and welcome to my first post.  Make yourselves at home.

I got a desert hairy scorpion a month or two ago.  Since I haven't checked it's sex or given it a proper name, we usually refer to him as Pinchy or Pinchers.  Anyways, the setup I have is a pretty small aquarium with 5-6 inches of sand/clay mix.  I have a small heat pad on one side and a red heat lamp on top that keeps him warm.  We have no A/C, so the heat lamp will go away soon.

I haven't been watering him, although it has been in the back of my mind.  I feed him 4-5 crickets a week, which may be too much.  I put some roaches on order yesterday along with two blue death feigning beetles that will hopefully live in peace with Sir Stingsalot.

His normal behavior is to either hide in his hole or stick his pinchers out.  He almost never comes out all the way or goes in face first.  Last week he screwed up his tunnel and dug to the glass so we can look at him underground.  He never goes hunting for food.  Anything that goes near the inside of his coconut or near his hole is living dangerously though.  He has yet to turn down free food.


So that's the baseline.  He's been acting strange for a couple days.  He's closed off his entrance and opened it back up several times in the last week.  I still don't know what he does with the dirt since I packed it down well and he leaves no piles on the surface.  Anyways, he let a cricket sit for almost a day in his cage.  I was going to take it out, but decided to prod it towards him (sticking out his hole) and he grabbed it when it basically walked into his mouth.

Today my wife tells me that I've been feeding him too much, and he's getting fat.  When I left, he was burying his head into his hole.  He's such a beefcake he can't even fit through the door!

I gotta assume he has a spare layer of skin he wants to get rid of.  I'll wait a week or so after the dust settles to give him any roaches and a bit more for the beetles so he doesn't eat them in a moment of hunger.  Aside from leaving him alone and maybe a mist of water somewhere in the cage, any advice?

Hallo alansirhc

My advice:
Just enjoy gathering scorpion experience and then keep on sharing with us   

Regards from Namibia
Gert

don't try to house
the beetles in with him he will kill them or they could kill him when hes in moult

porkins wrote:

don't try to house
the beetles in with him  he will kill them or they could kill him when hes in moult

The two cohabitate in the wild without any predation. Some people use the beetles as a clean up crew in their Hadrurus enclosures, although I've never found a real need for them.

OP: 4 to 5 crickets a week is too much. 1 or 2 crickets a week would be more than sufficient. This species is known to eat itself to obesity if you over feed it.

Don't over mist either; Hadrurus can get fungus if you keep it too moist. Watering every once in a while should be fine. I've had one for about six months and she just came back out after "hibernating" for the winter. Agree about not overfeeding; they have a habit of overeating. 1-2 crickets per week should be enough.
 

He hasn't turned down any food yet.  I didn't realize 1-2 crickets a week was all he needed.  The six roaches I ordered will last a long time then!

I think the molt went fine, but he's so shy now it's hard to tell.  A couple days ago he stuck his pinchers out the hole and they looked skinnier, but then he blocked the hole back up.  Must be feeling self conscious.

If he decides to eat the beetles, I'll just assume he wants premium food more than a roommate   

Hey alansirhc welcome aboard and great first scorp

I thought it was a good sign when he initially popped his head out to say hi, and looked smaller. His entrance has been closed off since then though and it's been over a week.

About all I can do for now is be patient and hope he just decided to be a hermit.

Make that two months he was underground with the door shut.  I almost replaced him last weekend on the assumption that he was either dead or boring.  Anyways, he must have sensed something.