Cannot Open Chelae

Hi,

I was cleaning out my P. Imperator's tank today and I was observing how he quite aggressively attacks the feeding tongs ( I was using them to push him out of the way a little bit) when I realized that only one claw was open and attempting to crush the tongs. The other he would use to push but it did not open once, even when I tried provoking that particular claw. He would instead bring his other one over to grab at the tongs and even tried to sting a couple times.

While I admit this aggressive streak is not the norm for most P. Imperators it is the claw that concerns me. He has been feeding normally and acting normal in every other way. I suppose I did not notice this sooner because he hides the majority of the time like most emps and I try not to disturb him and only really lift up the hide if I'm doing tank maintenance.

Should I be concerned that this will be detrimental to his health or is it just an unfortunate consequence of typical pet store conditions prior to purchase?

Thanks

Usually they would use both chela for offensive/defensive actions.

My suspect is that he has suffered an injury in that "non-responsive" chela, any close-up pics or vids?

Nothing much you can do except to giving him the right husbandry.

On worst scenarios, the "malfunctioned limb" would just fall off ultimately. Unless, it is obstructing his daily movements and such, you will not to need to do anything.

Hi GS,

It's not disrupting his routine and he can still move the entire limb to push and explore. He just can't actually open it.

Thanks for your reply - now I know I won't have to worry that much about it.