Dune scorpion has anxiety problems?

I've had my dune scorpion for a couple of weeks now, and it seems to be very shy.

-It wouldn't come out unless it is totally dark for a while.

-It scurries away from its food (calci worms and small crickets)

-I think it eats based on the disappearance of the food and the scorpions larger size, but it only happens after the next day. I feed it at night.

I have tried to not feed him for a week and a half, but he still scurries away from the food most of the time.

He even scurries deeper into his burrow when the calci worm enters it.

I think I heard from someone that dune scorpions typically eat their food soon after they are introduced to the tank, but this is not the case for my scorpion.

Is there anything else I can do to get him over his anxiety?

Sounds like normal scorpion behaviour to me and maybe that he has had enough to eat for a while. We are talking about a creature that has lived on the planet for millions of years, they know when to eat and when not to eat.
What are the parameters you are keeping him in, like temps, humidity and such? How much have you been feeding him and how often?

Yes.... Give it peace and quiet.

In the other topic you told us that the burrow collapsed and that it now is stressed.

That is quite understandable.

A scorpion is primarily nocturnal so it's natural for it to show itself when it has gotten dark.
It could have stopped eating because of stress.
A scorpion reacts a lot out of basic instincts.

Also you got some good advice from Shebeen about using sand with a clay additive.
I really think your best shot to make it better for your animal is, as I said in your other topic, completely restore the enclosure for your scorpion.

Use the cave sand (sand with clay additive ).....
Make a pre dug hole and place your water dish in the opposite corner.

Then leave it alone for a week. Do not bother it a bit.
It will make a new burrow and when it has a new hide it will relax and start thinking about other stuff like food.

They can go quite a while without food so just give it time.
Mine didn't eat for 3 weeks straight. It dug and dug and when it sort of finished it wanted to eat again. She also scurried away from the prey but now.....


I really believe you can fix it and your scorpion anxiety is stressed based.
Don't wait to long with the sand go ahead and make a good home now so you can watch and see your scorpion calm down eventually and display its normal behavior.


Goodluck

Joey

I have heard cognitive behavioural therapy is great for dealing with anxiety

In all seriousness though, you are probably the one being anxious, but there is nothing to worry about. Everything you have described above is pretty much standard scorpion behaviour.

Scorpions are nocturnal so they will usually only come out at night. Hence why you only see your scorpion after the lights have been off for a while.

Scorpions often won't eat in front of you. The disturbance of turning the lights on, opening the enclosure etc. can cause them to think there is a potential danger nearby and so they go in to a defensive/evasive mode. When in this state, a cricket dropped on or near them will only scare the scorpion and it will most likely flee.

Over the course of the evening, with some peace and quiet the scorpion will become 'relaxed' again and will capture prey, which is hopefully what is happening to the crickets you are leaving in over night.

A week and a half with out food is no problem for a scorpion. Leave it another week until you offer food again.

I don't think scorpions suffer from anxiety as we know it, but they can be stressed which may lead to less activity, too much activity (i.e. constant wandering, even during day), going off food, sitting out in the open etc. Make sure the scorpions enclosure is in a quiet place where there are few vibrations, try and avoid turning bright lighting on during the night time, don't open up the enclosure to check on your scorpion several times a day and obviously ensure you are meeting all the requirements the scorpion needs to survive i.e. heat, humidity, substrate etc.

I'm a slow typer.

your dune scorpion sounds the same as my dune scorpion

and my cant burrow cuase its loose sand

he has rocks to hide under.

and he doesnt eat rite away, he eats when hes in the mood.

i feed him both large and small crickets but not at the same time, i go back in forth between the two.

usually when he eats large crickets he leaves the crickets legs lay around the tank.

I didn't know scorpions were that sensitive to light.

The only lights that were on were from my laptop screen and phone.

Alright, I'll order some clay excavator.

And will red lights allow me to see the scorpion without disturbing it? I'm looking at Zoomed red infrared bulb 25 watts.

yes the infrared bulbs.

i had two 50 watt bulbs on my emps tank 10 gallon

and i have one 50 watt on my dune scorpion tank 5 gallon but......

if its a small tank, get a dome that has a dimmer switch so u can controll the temperature...

cuase if i had my 50 watt bulb on full blast in the 5 gallon dune scorpion tank it would get way too hott

Good news!

I caught him eating!

I had the light turned out for an hour or so, and he came out, but this time I left all the lights off, including my computer and phone. Then I dropped a calci worm into the tank, and waited for about 20 min, and when I returned, it had the worm in its claws and the tail stinging it.

And how often should I feed it? He's not an adult yet, but he's not a baby either. I read that scorpions that are not adults should be fed every 2 - 3 days, but I don't know if it's true for scorpions.

2 times a week 2 to 3 crickets max is fine.
Congrats in the eating:)

Shakudo wrote:

2 times a week 2 to 3 crickets max is fine.

That's a little bit too much for a S. mesaensis, IMO. One smaller cricket a week should be more than sufficient, even for a subadult. They tend to gorge themselves and become obese rather easily.

vespers wrote:

Shakudo wrote:

2 times a week 2 to 3 crickets max is fine.

That's a little bit too much for a S. mesaensis, IMO. One smaller cricket a week should be more than sufficient, even for a subadult. They tend to gorge themselves and become obese rather easily.

Ok, I thought for a juvenile that is ok taking its need to grow into account. Do they become obese that quickly??

Yeah, the ones I've had will eat and eat until they look like little sausages if you let them. I've had to put them on "diets" before.

vespers wrote:

Yeah, the ones I've had will eat and eat until they look like little sausages if you let them. I've had to put them on "diets" before.

Slim fast or Martha Stewart??


Lol no okay I understand:)

Shakudo wrote:

Slim fast or Martha Stewart??

Jenny Craig

Of course