Mycosis Confirmation

Hey all,
I'm a little concerned with one of my Vaejovis Confusus. I've only had them a week so havent seen them too much but at feeding time last night I noticed what I think is mycosis on the tail between the second and third metasoma down from the stinger. I would like my thoughts confirmed or my mind put to rest please! Here's a few pic's.



and



You'll have to forgive the quality of the pics, my camera phone is all I have at the moment.
Many thanks!

Seems like it.

You may keep the mycosis from spreading with a pure dry substrate. However, do ensure that a shallow capful of water is filled once every 7 -10 days.

Do not place that capful of water at the corner where the scorpion may trample over it during their "wall-climbing", rather, place it somewhere in the center of the enclosure.

Ensure optimum (but secured) ventilated for the enclosure. E.g. Wire meshed screen top

If your specimen is yet an adult, the mycosis on the tail may be removed at the incoming moult. As long as the condition does not worsen that it affects their book lungs, it should not be fatal.

Let us know if you have further queries

Thought as much

Its been on a pure dry substrate since I got it (exactly one week now) so I'm wondering as to weather it came with it or not. I really hope it doesnt spread!
I will add some more ventilation to the container aswell. Its still got a few molts till adulthood so fingers crossed!

Many thanks!!

I'm no expert in this matter but I would think pure sand as a substrate would be best as it would not hold any humitity from the environment. Also maybe think about placing non wood hides and decor in the cage. Maybe use rocks or such as hides.

Seany-p wrote:

Thought as much

Its been on a pure dry substrate since I got it (exactly one week now) so I'm wondering as to weather it came with it or not. I really hope it doesnt spread!
I will add some more ventilation to the container aswell. Its still got a few molts till adulthood so fingers crossed!

Many thanks!!

No worries. Keep us updated

robert44 wrote:

I'm no expert in this matter but I would think pure sand as a substrate would be best as it would not hold any humitity from the environment. Also maybe think about placing non wood hides and decor in the cage. Maybe use rocks or such as hides.

Good point. Just to add, what substrate combination/type to use depends on the species we are keeping.

Pure dry sand/ dry coco fibre substrate does work well for mycosis prone specimens, or for slowing down the spreading of mycosis.

Please correct me if im wrong, but being a Vaejovis Confusus it should be on a dry substrate should it not?
At the moment it is on dry coco fibre with just the stone (which is real), I haven't given it any water yet or misted the container. I've added some more ventalation to the lid...



Before it was just the holes on the outer ring.
Heres where the little critter resides.....



Thanks very much for the tips and advice. I'll keep you informed of how me and the little one get on!

I'm not familiar with the V.c. but I have a general question. Is mycosis always black? Also, where does it usually start? (I.E. Where is the best place to look for it?)

@Seany
Imo, that amount of ventilation is still not ideal. For enclosure such as deli-containers, may i suggest something like the following:



For water provision, something like the following once every 7-10 days would suffice:



@Robert
Mycosis usually ends up in dark black patches/spots. It may occur in random places. Commonly found near the joints of the scorpions' exoskeleton. On severe incident, the underside of the scorpion may be affected as well.

Thanks GS! Any suggestions on how to look for mycosis on dark desert scorps such as an Androctonus bicolor? Or for that matter any dark scorp such as an emp or AFS?

Your emps and AFS are way more resistant to mycosis as they like high humidity. I'm not even sure if it's possible for mycosis to occur on them. It's the desert species that suffer from it.

Yames wrote:

Your emps and AFS are way more resistant to mycosis as they like high humidity. I'm not even sure if it's possible for mycosis to occur on them. It's the desert species that suffer from it.

+1
I would also like to know how to check for mycosis on black desert species.

Forest scorpions are built to adapt environment of high humidity, it's like fishes surviving in the sea

The following is a sample of mycosis on black desert scorpion (Androctonus bicolor)
Posted by LXDNG79 (Alex) awhile back:

LXDNG79 wrote:

Unfortunately, this one came with the black spot:

@GS,
Thanks alot for help and advice, I'm gonna get some mesh and add to each deli pot not just the one with the mycosis individual in. Cheers!

No worries

By the way, notice that apart from the meshed lid, there's also holes by the circumference of the lid and base, this is added measure as i couldn't resist myself to stack to the deli-containers

If you are considering stacking, each container may be separated from each other by using parallel chop sticks or four pieces of anti-friction rubbers glued/ sticked to the base of each containers, this is done sot o allow better air-flow to through the mesh lids. Similarly, it works during stacking of tackle-boxes as well.

There might be better ways of doing this of course. This is just an idea.

Thanks for the great pic GS, I can see the mycosis. I did a search on this site and found some mention of mycosis even with tropical scorps. I guess it's rare though.

I wonder if it would be best to keep all adult desert scorps on pure sand? I usually use a mix of about 75% sand and 25% dry coco. I know any kind of plant based substrate will absorb moisture from the air. Maybe a bit of that would be good for young desert scorps but undesirable for adults???

robert44 wrote:

Thanks for the great pic GS, I can see the mycosis. I did a search on this site and found some mention of mycosis even with tropical scorps. I guess it's rare though.

No worries. We'll thank Alex for that awesome shot.

Up till now, I have not seen mycosis on any of my forest scorpions.
Do you have the links to the mentioned post? Thanks!

robert44 wrote:

I usually use a mix of about 75% sand and 25% dry coco. I know any kind of plant based substrate will absorb moisture from the air. Maybe a bit of that would be good for young desert scorps but undesirable for adults???

Yes, partial substrate moisture (e.g. light misting on 20% of the substrate surface) is generally good for scorplings (2.instar to 5.instar)

Generally speaking, for adults (as a counter measure against mycosis) yes, i will say it's safer to have them on dry substrate, it may not neccessary be pure sand, it can be in your above-mentioned mix with dry coco fibre as well. However, keepers have to ensure that water provision via a shallow drinking cap is done religiously on a regular basis. In my opinion, more scorpions (in captivity) die from dehydration than the "painful" and slow death by mycosis.

However, we might have to consider that adult females which are gravid do require slightly more moisture during their brooding period.

There is a bit of discussion on forest scorpions getting mycosis and a pic in the link below. I think it is extremely rare to see anyway.

Mycosis Discussion Thread

Thanks for the link Jay.

My apologies for missing that thread.

Yes, in my opinion, it's indeed uncommon.

I just remembered reading that when one of my H. arizonensis had it.

This girl had it before I got her, she lived a good couple of years just on bone dry sand/clay with the odd cap of water once in a while. You can see it on 3 of her legs, spot on the yellow patch on her carapace and she also had a spot on her telson not show.

My Desert Hairy has a small dark dot on each leg joint. I think that's normal coloration for this species though right??? I think I can see this in the photo above.

@GS,
All the deli pots have now been fitted out with a mesh lid, so its time to play the mating game to see if it makes it through a molt. If it makes it to and through molt will it still have the mycosis?!

Does anyone know if any the of the products on the market for fungal infections in reptiles can be used on scorpions, I know most the packets say not to use on arachnids but has anyone tried? Possibly watered down?!

---

For mild mycosis spots/patches, I've witness specimens "reborn" with a brand new "skin" without any visible infection.

I cant speak for anti-fungal products as i do not use them. My advice is for you to maintain the right husbandry and be hopeful. Spend the money to get more captive breed scorpions is much more worthwhile. My 2cents.

Well I thinking hoping for that is going to be the best option then!

Once again thank you GS and everyone else for the advice, its been well recieved and incredibly helpful.

I've read somewhere (can't remember the source), that sterilized vaseline (from your local pharmacy) could be used for mycosis (it would restrict "breathing" of the fungus, thereby killing it).

I have not tested this yet, so if you do decide to try, it will be at your own risk.

DolbyR wrote:

I've read somewhere (can't remember the source), that sterilized vaseline (from your local pharmacy) could be used for mycosis (it would restrict "breathing" of the fungus, thereby killing it).

I have not tested this yet, so if you do decide to try, it will be at your own risk.

I will give this a try as I have a WC specimen that has mycosis. I will post photos of the progress. How much and how frequent do you think it should be applied to the infected area?