scorpion arrived and its dead....

i ordered a dune scorpion and its dead, i think it sufficated becuase it was in a bottle with no air.... i sent and email and asked for another one, and if he could put it in a deli container this time with air holes....... if he doesnt send me another on i doubt im going to order any more scorpion from him , i mean i ordered it with overnight shipping but the bottle had no air : (

he said he would replace the scorpion on my next order, so i ordered a Androctonus amoreuxi - Yellow Fat Tail - body 1 inch+ .......any body know the difference between the amoreuxi and the australis, or is that just another name for it ????

I'm sorry to hear about the S. mesaensis.

A. australis and A. amoreuxi are two different species. They're pretty easy to distinguish from each other. Unlike most other Androctonus spp. their metasoma (tail) doesn't broaden out into those broad segments that create that distinctive 'fat' tail commonly associated with this genus. That's not to say they aren't impressive scorpions though, and they're one of the largest of the Androctonus.

Colouration is also different, with A. amoreuxi being generally uniformly yellow in colour whereas A. australis often exhibit darker colouration on their 5th metasomal segment (end of tail) and vesicle (sting), and with the hector morph, dark chelae.

Be careful though, A. amoreuxi is a highly venomous species.

is the amoreuxi venom the same potency as the australis ???

It is on the same level as australis venom yes. Be careful man, they pack a punch.

Yer, they are a medically significant species. Not as toxic as an A. australis but they are a large scorpion so can potentially deliver a large volume of venom.

However, so long as you keep your head screwed on, have some common sense and take precautions you shouldn't have any problems.

You purchased a dangerous and potentially deadly scorpion without doing any research beforehand? Classic. You should stop what you're doing and spend the time before it arrives to learn as much as you can about keeping hot species. Androctonus roughly translated from Greek means "man-killer".

well ive read caresheets on these species before, and im on google looking up more information like there venom potency.

Sorry to hear about the S. mesaensis.

Okay, your scorpion didn't suffocate. Scorpions have extremely low metabolic rates, so their oxygen demands are almost non-existent. They could be kept in a airtight container for days with no adverse affects. It was probably due to a rapid change in temperature, or perhaps some idiot dropped the box. You never know.

the dune scorpion was really fat, i think it was in pre-molt, maybe thats why it died

Perhaps, but it's more likely that it died from a temperature change. But there's no way to tell.

You may want to read through the Androctonus discussion thread.

LD50 value for A. amoreuxi is 0.75mg/kg.

http://www.skorpionforen.eu/skorpione-giftigkeit/2631-ld50-wertetableau.html

well im surprised at how fast the order got shipped out today, last time it didnt ship out untill the next day after it was ordered, this time it shipped out the same day i ordered, the tracking information says they will be here tomorow by 3... i just hope the 2 scorpions are alive this time, i ordered over 30 dollars so if its dead i get a reship. ill post a comment tomorow to tell if the scorpions are alive or not.

Sounds good. I can almost guarantee they will be alive this time, Ken is one of the best dealers out there.

okay they just arrived, the dune scorpion is alive, the androctonus is dead, i emailed about a free reship becuase the order has a live guarentee becuase it was over 30 dollars.

That's very strange. May I ask what state you live in? It could be that it's getting too hot in the shipping box.

Would it be possible to post pics of your scorpions? (Including the deceased ones.) It may give a clue as to how they died.

he said hes going to ship another one out monday.... i live in pennsylvania, its about 85-90 degrees outside...... there coming from arizona where is really hot.... i had to send pics to ken of the dead scorpions, i dont have the camera with me i took it back over to my dads house already..... i dont know how they died ken said thats wierd they died twice, they looked normal there legs werent curled underneath them or anything they were just dead. but the dune scorpion is a good hunter its already going after the 2 crickets i put in its cage but didnt catch them yet but it tried a few times.

Well, glad to hear that the dune scorp is doing well. Yes, it's very weird that two scorpions died, especially with Ken's superb packing. I'm guessing they overheated.

ill keep this post updated with the androctonus that will be here tomorow (14th) by 3pm, to say if its alive or dead

i have bad luck, it spent an extra day in transit, and its dead, he refunded my money, told me to try a few months from now, becuase it might be too hott in one of the layaway locations. now i have a tank thats all setup with no scorpion, i checked a few other websites but i think im going to hold off for rite now.

Well that sucks.
Ken's right though, it's probably too hot.