Symptoms, Identification, and Control Methods of Black Belly Disease in Scorpions

Also called black rot, it is caused by eating spoiled feed and becoming infected with black mold, or by environmental pollution and unclean drinking water. The disease mostly occurs in summer. Symptoms of affected scorpions are: in the early stage, the scorpion's abdomen turns black, the abdomen swells, activity decreases or stops, and appetite decreases or the scorpion stops eating; in the later stage, black decay appears on the front abdomen, and squeezing it by hand causes black mucus to flow out. This disease has a short onset time and a high mortality rate.

Control methods: keep the feed and drinking water fresh and clean, and frequently wash the food dish and water dish; when sick scorpions are found, immediately remove the source of infection, clear away dead scorpions and contaminated tiles and nest soil, and spray and disinfect with 1%-2% formalin solution, burn the dead scorpions, and prevent reinfection; carry out isolated treatment by separating the affected scorpions, and feed them with 1 g of dried yeast and 0.5 g of erythromycin (or 0.5 g of sodium bicarbonate) or 0.5 g of long-acting sulfonamide and 0.5 g of oxytetracycline mixed with 500 g of feed until recovery. The medicine can also be mixed with water and soaked into a sponge for the scorpions to drink, which is more effective.