What are the tips for molting in scorpion farming?

Many farmers report that young scorpions have difficulty molting, which has long been a tough problem troubling farmers and easily leads to the common issue of physiological sudden death. Therefore, in farming practice, paying attention to the following points will improve the survival rate of young scorpions. Let's learn about it together below!

There are tips for molting in scorpion farming

Difficulty in molting for scorpions: if the scorpion's activity area is too dry and the feed provided lacks moisture, it will also affect the scorpion's normal development and can even trigger mutual killing. Young scorpions must lie on the mother scorpion's back, relying on the residual yolk in their abdomen and the secretions on the mother scorpion's body to sustain life. After 3 to 5 days, they begin to molt for the first time on the mother scorpion's back, and after 6 to 9 days, they gradually leave the mother's back to live independently. Improving the survival rate of baby scorpions: the key to successful scorpion farming is improving the survival rate of baby scorpions. After birth, baby scorpions lie on the mother's back and do not eat for about a week, surviving by consuming the yolk in their bodies. After about 4 days (when the room temperature is 25 to 38°C), they molt for the first time on the mother's back and become second-instar scorpions, then after another 5 to 7 days they gradually leave the mother's back and go to the ground to live independently. From the day they leave the mother's back, mothers and young should be raised separately.

1. Create a suitable environment. After young scorpions are born, their first molt is relatively concentrated in time, generally about 5 hours; starting from the second molt, the timing becomes inconsistent, molting once about every 40 days. If scorpion farming management methods are improper, food is lacking, the feed is monotonous, or the scorpion nest structure is unreasonable, it can all cause cannibalism or failure to molt, and physiological sudden death. Therefore, when young scorpions molt, the density for 2nd- to 3rd-instar scorpions should be below 3000 per cubic meter, and the gaps between brick and tile layers should not be too large, preferably 15 cm; some crushed stone or weathered soil clods should also be placed in the scorpion nest to help scorpions molt mechanically. In addition, special attention should be paid to nutritional balance in scorpion farming; besides feeding a set amount of high-protein insects, supplementary feeding of ground beetles, darkling beetles, and the like should also be provided.  

2. Create a suitable farming temperature. During molting, scorpions prefer an environment with moderate temperature and relatively high humidity. If temperature and humidity are suitable, the entire molting process in scorpion farming takes about 2 to 5 hours; if temperature and humidity are unsuitable, the time will be prolonged or they may die midway. When young scorpions molt, the required daily average temperature is between 25 and 35°C, the soil temperature in the scorpion nest should be between 10 and 15°C, and the relative air humidity should be about 75%.  

What do scorpions eat  

Scorpions are carnivorous animals, mainly preying on spiders, centipedes, and various insects such as mosquitoes and flies. The insects scorpions like to eat have the following characteristics: fresh and alive, soft-bodied and juicy, moderate in size, rich in protein and fat, and without special odor. Scorpions have very poor eyesight and basically have no ability to search, track, pursue, or detect targets at a distance. They mainly detect targets by sensing the air vibrations caused when small insects move around them. Therefore, they have a relatively strong predatory ability for the very agile house fly, while for the relatively slow-moving woodlouse, their predatory ability is relatively poor.  

The scorpion's relatively low predatory ability has fostered its habits of enduring hunger and eating large amounts. With moisture and weathered soil present, scorpions can survive 8 to 9 months without eating or drinking. A hungry scorpion can eat an amount of food roughly equal to its own body weight at one time.

Scorpion benefits, effects, and contraindications  

Effects:  

1. Scorpions are often used to treat convulsions, rheumatism, hemiplegia, facial paralysis, deafness with difficult speech, and spasms of the hands and feet.  

2. Scorpion venom has the effects of dispelling wind, detoxifying, relieving pain, and dredging collaterals, and has a certain therapeutic effect on esophageal cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, and the like.  

3. Scorpions are rich in nutritional value and are an important tonic health product.  

Contraindications:  

1. It is prohibited for those with wind syndrome due to blood deficiency and for pregnant women; scorpions are toxic, so the dosage should not be too large.  

2. Excessive dosage of scorpions can cause headache, dizziness, increased blood pressure, palpitations, restlessness, and in severe cases a sudden drop in blood pressure, difficulty breathing, cyanosis, coma, and finally death mostly due to respiratory paralysis.  

3. In allergic individuals, use can cause generalized red rash and wheals, possibly accompanied by fever and the like.  

4. Scorpions can also cause proteinuria and neurotoxicity, manifested as tonic spasms of the facial masseter muscles and generalized exfoliative dermatitis, and the like.

The economic value of scorpions  

Scorpions are an important medicine for treating wind disorders, with functions of expelling wind, calming convulsions, and attacking toxins. The medicinal value of scorpions lies mainly in their pharmacological toxin components. There are currently about 150 or more types of Chinese and Western medicines that use whole scorpions as medicine. Scorpion venom is renowned for treating painful conditions and is widely used for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Some foreign medical institutions have included its medicinal effects in research programs to conquer cancer.  

The edible value of scorpions: in addition to medicinal value, scorpions are also used to make health wine; in high-end hotels in Beijing, Tianjin, and Guangzhou, there is a famous dish of deep-fried whole scorpions.  

Scorpion farming has the characteristics of low investment, low manpower requirements, and relatively mature breeding technology. Early fixed asset investment in scorpion farming is relatively small, and the farming site can make full use of the courtyard behind the house, empty rooms, and greenhouses. Facilities only require basins, bricks, and other insulation and moisture-retention equipment. Farming does not require much labor; raising tens of thousands of scorpions requires only half a laborer, and this work is more suitable for careful, resilient people with weaker physiques.

Here is some advice for you on scorpion farming: appropriately place some sand and soil, keep the sand and soil moist, and facilitate friction between the scorpions and the soil. Eggshells should also be kept moist. Farmers can exchange and learn from one another and can learn each other's good experiences and methods.