Hi,
I have posted this on another forum, but I thought I would try it on here for some other opinions as I'm fairly stumped.
5 days ago I received an Opistophthalmus lamorali. I was expecting an adult to arrive but judging by its size it's definately at least one moult off maturity.
The scorpion arrived through the post and unfortunately the supplier did not add a heat pack to the parcel (why, I don't know?!). Temperatures dropped quite low the night the scorpion was shipped to me.
When I unpacked the scorpion it was obviously very sluggish due to it being cold, this I expected. However, I noticed that the membrane down the left hand side of the mesosoma looked like it was wet. I had a quick look around the area to see if maybe the scorpion had been injured and was leaking some kind of fluid. I could not see any obvious damage and moved the scorpion into temporary housing as I didn't want to stress it out further after its journey.
After leaving the scorpion in peace for 24 hours I checked on it and there was no more fluid. I think the scorpion had been injured due to inadequate packing. A snot like scab has formed where I presume the wound must have been. I have offered the scorpion a water dish to re-hydrate.
There are also some other strange things on the scorpion. Parts of the legs look damaged and both the tergites and membrane on the mesosoma look flakey and wrinkled. Overall, the scorpion doesn't look very healthy. It's movements also seem a little shakey and slow. Possible locomotive/nerve damage due to the cold?
The scorpion is quite fat even though it has not eaten for at least 2 months.
Here are a few pics..........
Having not eaten for 2 months and being quite chubby it is quite possible it is in pre-moult. Would a scorpion end up in such bad condition before moulting though?
Could it be some kind of disease or bacterial/fungal infection that is causing the flakey cuticle and membrane?
Look forward to hearing any ideas
I have posted this on another forum, but I thought I would try it on here for some other opinions as I'm fairly stumped.
5 days ago I received an Opistophthalmus lamorali. I was expecting an adult to arrive but judging by its size it's definately at least one moult off maturity.
The scorpion arrived through the post and unfortunately the supplier did not add a heat pack to the parcel (why, I don't know?!). Temperatures dropped quite low the night the scorpion was shipped to me.
When I unpacked the scorpion it was obviously very sluggish due to it being cold, this I expected. However, I noticed that the membrane down the left hand side of the mesosoma looked like it was wet. I had a quick look around the area to see if maybe the scorpion had been injured and was leaking some kind of fluid. I could not see any obvious damage and moved the scorpion into temporary housing as I didn't want to stress it out further after its journey.
After leaving the scorpion in peace for 24 hours I checked on it and there was no more fluid. I think the scorpion had been injured due to inadequate packing. A snot like scab has formed where I presume the wound must have been. I have offered the scorpion a water dish to re-hydrate.
There are also some other strange things on the scorpion. Parts of the legs look damaged and both the tergites and membrane on the mesosoma look flakey and wrinkled. Overall, the scorpion doesn't look very healthy. It's movements also seem a little shakey and slow. Possible locomotive/nerve damage due to the cold?
The scorpion is quite fat even though it has not eaten for at least 2 months.
Here are a few pics..........
Having not eaten for 2 months and being quite chubby it is quite possible it is in pre-moult. Would a scorpion end up in such bad condition before moulting though?
Could it be some kind of disease or bacterial/fungal infection that is causing the flakey cuticle and membrane?
Look forward to hearing any ideas