Vaejovis spinigerus - bad moult

[James Box]

one of my V spinigerus scorplings just had a bad moult. its right pincer seems to be bent back along the body and possibly incomplete, and the legs don't seem to be all present.
is there anything i can do? i will feed it crushed crickets and water it as long as it takes, but will the next moult sort everything out?
it is very young. i received this batch the week before Newark and i believe they'd only recently left the mother.
it is roughly a centimeter minus the tail in size.
basically, should i amputate the pincer and hope it grows back properly, or can i leave this kind of thing to nature? being so small, i hesitate to do any kind of delicate surgery, but i will if i have to!
it is mobile and active, and the one healthy pincer seems ok, as does the sting, which it flexes with much enthusiasm.
there has been one other moult of the batch of 10, and it seems healthy.
i will take a picture tomorrow if the camera i can borrow is capable of such an extremely small subject at close range!

[Peter Roach]

Once a scorpion loses one of its legs or pincers that is it .... it will NOT grow back again.

[James Box]

cheers Peter. guess i'll just hope that the next moult straightens things out, if i can get it to live that long.

[Colin D Wilson]

James,
Scorpions have been known to regenerate the pretarsus, this grows from whatever joint the leg has been lost (Rosin 1964)
The tip of the tip of the sting and the distal part of the celicerae are also able to be regenerated (Rosin 1964 & Vachon 1957). Adult specimens are able to overcome the disabilties easier than nymphs or juveniles.
Just the regeneration of these smaller additions to the body are highly advantageous to the lifestyle of the scorpion in it's natural habitat.
The mortality rate, however, is very high in the nymph stages after any form of loss or disfigurement of limbs and appendages.

(source: Crustacea And Arthropod Relationships, Frederick R Schram: edited by Stefan Koenemann, Ronald A. Jenner)

Colin

[James Box]

well that's good news. thanks Colin! the fact that it still seems as active and energetic as before the moult i'll take as a good sign. since only one of its pincers works, i'll crush its food and just hope the next moult sorts things out.
i got 10 because i know scorplings are tricky to rear, but i still hope for a 100% success rate!
now i'm in a fair amount of suspense for the next 8 scorplings to moult haha!