Mold?? any ideas

This image is on another forum at the moment,
Iwas just wondering if you guys have any ideas on what it may be?

some kind of fungus perhaps? although it does look like mold. mabye a bit of cricket got onto the arm and moulded, and the scoprion was unable to clean it off.

I should mention that apparently the scorp has lost use of the pedipalp and arm

lol... i just read this on RFUK!
what i personally would be tempted to do (but dont) is cut it off... the mould not the whole arm... or maybee try the whole arm i dunno... amputataion for scorps? anyway, then cover the resulting wound with superglue... not sure i could bring myself to do it but unless that mould comes off anyway i think the scorps arm will rot, then fall off or something.its like the arm died but the scorp didnt! weird? oh i honestly dont have a clue! ask mike!

Amputation sounds mad lol

But if all else fails..

you mentioned its dieing... worth a shot...
but please dont listen to me! im just babbling! hopefully the mould can be removed....
try some warm water and a toothpic, that might loosen it up. hope he is ok!

Looks like a pretty nasty infection.

I've seen an example of one person on AB who amputated a scorp's limb when it was severely necrotic. The scorp survived the operation but died a few days later, presumably due to complications from the original infection.

I have an F10 solution on the way and if this doesnt work we'll go from there...

I was just wondering how well p. imperator do catching food with one palp, mine seem to struggle catching with two, they seem a bit stupid...

^Sounds like they may be getting old . . .

Mr. Mordax wrote:

^Sounds like they may be getting old . . .

I've only seen the juvi try to catch crickets, who has the mold problem.

The 2 adults I feed giant mealworms

Looks like something cause mold to grow at the join in the pedipalp. Perhaps a cricket punctured the thin tissue in there and caused an infection?

If the damage is mostly external you might try to use some isopropyl alcohol and q-tips to try and neutralize the fungus (might even wipe some away, just don't get any in the book lungs or mouth)). Also I would even look into a mild nail file to scrape some of the fungus off to get the alcohol into deeper layers of fugus. The amputation approach is extreme. If simple disinfection does not begin to correct the problem and the problem is limited to the pedipalps then it "might" work. Or it could kill the scorpion in a rather horrible manner (I simply can't endorse this approach unless it is last resort, even then it might be considered cruel). If the infection is spread to the carapace then I do not think there is anything that would work. Unfortunately advanced care for this type of problem is just not researched much.

I have heard of people using trace amount of animal antibiotics to treat some infection or parasites in arachnids, but I am not aware of any real results from it and it may likely do more harm than good.

I wish you the best of luck and what ever you do try please let us know if it worked.

Unfamiliar wrote:

I was just wondering how well p. imperator do catching food with one palp, mine seem to struggle catching with two, they seem a bit stupid...

I must admit, though it may seem odd, I feed all my scorps pre killed food. I generally feed once a week or so, and I can then just put the food in. If its gone, its been eaten. If its there, it hasn't. No searching round the tank to find the cricket, or letting the morio worm burrow in to the soil, or wondering if the scorp isn't hungry and the cricks will attack it. Then again, I only have 4 though.

Anyways, I have said before, good luck, let us know how you get on

Thanks, wont be anything for a few days while I wait for my F10 to arrive.

Maybe try puting woodlice in the tank they eat mould, if its mould they might eat it off the scorp, just an idea dont know if it would work.

I have decided against amputation lol, gonna try F10 and woodlice.

I believe he's had it now, checked on him today and he's limp, completely lifeless.

Aww no

Sad times he was my first ever scorp

Thats rubbish I am not sure what would help really, maybe increasing the temps to the top of their range? Making it drier, and wiping the limb maybe?

If you could see him I don't think it could be possible, the mould has spread even further down towards his body, I thought he was dead until I realised he wasn't stiff

Oh dear me Well, keep us updated, I hope for the best.

Unfamiliar wrote:

I thought he was dead until I realised he wasn't stiff

Unless it's a desert species or in a very dry container, freshly dead scorps are pretty limp.

i had a het spinifer die, he went stiff, the emp may be dead, no leg movement, no nothing, but we'll see