Got my first desert hairy and I'm pretty sure it has mycosis

I got this guy yesterday and I suspect he has mycosis on his tail:

Spoiler:

If this is mycosis, is there anything I can do to get rid of it? Also, he didn't even attempt to sting that cricket, just pinned it with his pincers and attempted to eat it alive but It got loose and ran away. Do you think the mycosis has damaged his sting? or could it just be that hes still settling in so he didnt kill the cricket properly?

I'm not saying it's not mycosis but if it is it'd be the first time i've seen or heard of it in association with the anal region. Mycosis usually attacks regions that have contact to damp substrate, namely the spiracles, pectines, tarsus or legs in general or any other part of the ventral side of the scorpion. Although saying that i have seen it on the tergates. If it is mycosis and the scorp is adult (looks like it) then basically the best you can do is halt the spread. Getting rid of it is more often than not unobtainable. You would halt the spread by adopting a dry regime with water only offered in a bottle top or similar for one or 2 nights per fortnight or so. Removing the water after 1 or 2 nights so as not to risk humidity build up. Good ventilation will also be a necessity.

Having said all that though i still find it unusual that mycosis should develop there. Could it have been on a dirty coloured substrate before you acquired it and dirt or detritus has simply mixed with it's feces which then has been "baked" hard under spot lights. Alternatively could it have eaten some kind of prey item that produced dark feces....Feces is usually chalky white although i have seen it looking darker..getting darker the older it becomes. I can see no visible signs of problems with the telson or aculeus.

Not all scorpions use the aculeus all the time...Maybe it simply wasn't really that hungry and just grabbed the cricket without the intent to eat it and why waste venom on a cricket if the scorps only intent is to either kill it or frighten it off.....Personally i wouldn't introduce prey items in any enclosure until the scorp had at least had a few days to settle in so let it be in peace for a while before trying again. lastly...scorps, especially males can and do go long periods between eating. Weeks and months is not at all unusual. Offering prey to a scorp that doesn't want it will only annoy and stress it and i have experienced many times a dead uneaten cricket in a scorps enclosure where the scorp has killed the cricket probably as a way to stop it being bothered by it.

Edit...another time try cropping your picture. All that sand around the scorp is surplus to requirements. That picture is so large i had to use the bottom scrollbar, moving it back and forth to read your text....

Den wrote:

I'm not saying it's not mycosis but if it is it'd be the first time i've seen or heard of it in association with the anal region. Mycosis usually attacks regions that have contact to damp substrate, namely the spiracles, pectines, tarsus or legs in general or any other part of the ventral side of the scorpion. Although saying that i have seen it on the tergates. If it is mycosis and the scorp is adult (looks like it) then basically the best you can do is halt the spread. Getting rid of it is more often than not unobtainable. You would halt the spread by adopting a dry regime with water only offered in a bottle top or similar for one or 2 nights per fortnight or so. Removing the water after 1 or 2 nights so as not to risk humidity build up. Good ventilation will also be a necessity.

Having said all that though i still find it unusual that mycosis should develop there. Could it have been on a dirty coloured substrate before you acquired it and dirt or detritus has simply mixed with it's feces which then has been "baked" hard under spot lights. Alternatively could it have eaten some kind of prey item that produced dark feces....Feces is usually chalky white although i have seen it looking darker..getting darker the older it becomes. I can see no visible signs of problems with the telson or aculeus.

Not all scorpions use the aculeus all the time...Maybe it simply wasn't really that hungry and just grabbed the cricket without the intent to eat it and why waste venom on a cricket if the scorps only intent is to either kill it or frighten it off.....Personally i wouldn't introduce prey items in any enclosure until the scorp had at least had a few days to settle in so let it be in peace for a while before trying again. lastly...scorps, especially males can and do go long periods between eating. Weeks and months is not at all unusual. Offering prey to a scorp that doesn't want it will only annoy and stress it and i have experienced many times a dead uneaten cricket in a scorps enclosure where the scorp has killed the cricket probably as a way to stop it being bothered by it.

Edit...another time try cropping your picture. All that sand around the scorp is surplus to requirements. That picture is so large i had to use the bottom scrollbar, moving it back and forth to read your text....

Ok sorry for the uncropped picture, I was in a hurry this morning and wanted to get this post up asap so I could sort out the problem when I got home. The enclosure is already completely dry, but reading your post I think you might be right about it being substrate as the pot it was in contained small pieces of damp soil. Is there anything I should do to remove it, or will the scorpion clean itself?

I would try to clean it as it does look dry and hard. Maybe a qtip with a little bit of baby oil.

~Abyss~ wrote:

I would try to clean it as it does look dry and hard. Maybe a qtip with a little bit of baby oil.

Ok, do you have any tips on how to do this without stressing out the scorpion too much? Also, would it be a good idea to leave it a few days while it still settles in or does it have to be done asap?

I don't have an answer for you, I've never witness this I'm not sure if it's blocking the anus it might need to be done asap. I can imagine it would be difficult to get her to stay still. I hope someone else can put their input. My first thought is refrigerating her for ten minutes slow her down. But that would be stressful.

Can't seem to find anything on google on how to clean that particular area of the scorpion =/ she has a bit of a belly on her so I think I'm gonna have to try cleaning it. I don't currently have any baby oil, can I try cleaning it with warm water + Qtip?

Also, I forgot to mention that shes quite sluggish atm and hasn't attempted to dig yet. Is this because of the blocked anus or because shes still getting a bearing on her surroundings?

Well could be any number of things but sluggish behavior isn’t a good sign. Make sure your heat is right and yeah try to get that cleaned up asap even warm water should suffice but remember to make sure she is completely dry afterwards. I’ll see if I can get you some more info on this.

Abyss is right and i hadn't thought about that...If the anus is blocked then you really need to get that caked gunge of asap...Cooling it in the fridge will stress it but won't kill it..It might be a case of the lesser of 2 evils. If you can't get it of any other way then i'm thinking you're going to have to try that.

Cropping your pic and zooming slightly in reveals what actually does look like mycosis. I can see it on it's left pedipal plus at the base of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd legs on the right side. I also see a slight discolouration at the base of the 2nd leg on it's left side.

If you cool it down so that you can work with, flip it over and check the ventral side thoroughly. I suspect you may find more mycosis there....Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but i'm afraid you're not going to be able to do much about it.

If it is mycosis and i think it is, document it and then contact the seller. A replacement is in order...Shame about your scorp though...

Den wrote:

Abyss is right and i hadn't thought about that...If the anus is blocked then you really need to get that caked gunge of asap...Cooling it in the fridge will stress it but won't kill it..It might be a case of the lesser of 2 evils. If you can't get it of any other way then i'm thinking you're going to have to try that.

Cropping your pic and zooming slightly in reveals what actually does look like mycosis. I can see it on it's left pedipal plus at the base of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd legs on the right side. I also see a slight discolouration at the base of the 2nd leg on it's left side.

If you cool it down so that you can work with, flip it over and check the ventral side thoroughly. I suspect you may find more mycosis there....Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but i'm afraid you're not going to be able to do much about it.

If it is mycosis and i think it is, document it and then contact the seller. A replacement is in order...Shame about your scorp though...

Shes currently propped up a little against the side of the tank, and I can't see anymore mycosis underneath her but can see it on the left pedipalp =/ I'm gonna message the seller and see about getting a replacement / refund.

Den wrote:

If it is mycosis and i think it is, document it and then contact the seller. A replacement is in order...Shame about your scorp though...

Agree 100%.