u/florakolex

Hi guys, so I've never had a scorpion before but I have plenty of experience with tarantulas and jumping spiders alongside isopods and many different reptiles.

Constructive criticism would be great here, on a whim I bought an Asian forest scorpion from my workplace because she had been there so long and was discounted significantly because of that. I had recently lost one of my jumpers so was in the market for another bug critter sooo brought this big lady (?) home.

So far I've tried my best to do a ton of research, and for the first time last night I handled her (I like to at least try to handle my creatures once in case I need to in emergency or for whatever reason. Also helps a lot with some initial nerves) I'm aware it's not typically recommended to handle them as it's just more stress for them than necessary. But had to at least do it once!

I've had her a little over a week now and have her setup in a plastic tub. I have a heat mat on hand for the side of it but as of now I haven't been using it because temps have been pretty decent. I keep her near a general heat source.

Is this setup okay or is this totally wrong and awful?? not sure the measurements but shes in a bin with a clasping lid that I've put ventilation in. Had it on hand for isos but wasn't being used.

I am willing to spend extra if it means she is comfortable. She has eaten since I've had her and I also am not entirely sure how her weight looks so the experienced people that would be great to know, and how are y'all's feeding schedules? I know they have relatively slow metabolisms so spaced out feeding is ideal but I'm just wondering if there's a better baseline for me to go off of.

Any other tips or general information would be great. I have been researching but I'd like to hear from people who have experience.

Also went to crumbl and I can't just leave him in my car sooo he came in with me. Wasn't until I was about to leave that another customer said omg he's real??!? I thought he was part of your shirt!

Really goes to show how chill/kinda lazy my guy is lol

Went on a walk with him on my shoulder and by the end of it I was practically cradling him because he was absolutely clocked out fast asleep

In all honesty sometimes I get worried he's "too lazy" but even in perfect temperatures he really just prefers to sit and give everyone his iconic judgment face

This is Carl!!! My beloved dragon

Since ive have had him now (around

7-8 years) he has always been much more connected to me than others, he's pretty much bitten everyone in my family but me haha

He's always been super cuddly with me too, not so much with other people but there's definitely been a few times in the past I accidentally fell asleep with him.. I usually wake up with him passed out in the same spot

I love him!!!!

I also feel like he's a bit special since in bad circumstances we moved out together.

He was originally my dad's dragon, then me/ my mom took over care, but all the while I was virtually the only one taking him out and hanging out with him /making him chase bugs on the floor.

He for some reason absolutely despises my mom, if she even enters the room he's in he starts black bearding and I'm genuinely not sure what could have happened to make him so spiteful of her lol

My parents were planning on getting rid of him but I just couldn't let that happen, I actually was forced into bit of an ultimatum, I had to re-home all of my leopard geckos in order to keep Carl as mine... So I did that and when push came to shove and I got kicked out, Carl came with obviously...

Hi guys, honestly just posting this for fun at this point as id like to preface this by stating it happened in September'25 and since then things have calmed down significantly!

Context: at 17 my mom kicked me out over what seemed to be a small irrelevant argument that turned into a huge mess where it got physical.

So it makes more sense; (bare with me here ) basically what had happened was I had just gotten home (late at night) after a long shift at work, only to find out a cat had massive liquid shits all over my room and had seemed to have been there all day. My room is the basement and I have no door + my parents room is right across from my living space alongside the laundry room being in the middle. It stunk bad so I'm also a bit perplexed how no one noticed all day.

But anyways, I got home, very disgusted and disgruntled by that and I usually vomit when I have to clean up cat remnants (puke or liquid shit) despite that I do clean it, and had every intention to do so when I saw the mess in my room. I went upstairs, a bit teary eyed, and had grabbed some cleaners and a plethora of paper towels. I took a moment to pause upstairs and sit down and just let some tears out.. wasn't crying audibly just letting tears flow. (In the past I have been told to do this specifically, as I've struggled with mental health and SI since the ripe age of 12. This was actually my first time trying to be open with my emotions)

This seemed to really irritate my mother at the time, I have no idea her mood prior to the event as I typically keep interactions to a minimum in the first place (arguments like this are nothing new)

Things escalated very quickly, I was sitting in the living room on the couch, she started to make a lot of comments about my crying and was escalating quickly, I kept my responses to a minimum but she kept raising her voice and cussing at me. Eventually I did tell her straight up this is ridiculous and I did not understand why she was yelling at me for this as I really didn't even say anything to begin with, was just crying on the couch, kind of in a state of total defeat. Prior to all of this my grandmother had passed away recently so tensions and stress were already pretty high and her passing was a lot on me as we were very close.

I began getting very frustrated but still hasn't really said anything besides pointing out how silly this is, she continued to scream and I threw the fabreeze bottle I was holding at the floor (nowhere near her and in the opposite direction of her actually)

I understand that is where I could have gone wrong but I struggle with a few mental health conditions that can make me somewhat irrational (thanks for the terrific genetics mom!) and at the time was still figuring out medications for myself. So definitely in a strange akward emotional period of my life. I do have a history of being destructive when frustrated but it has NEVER I repeat NEVER been aimed towards anyone other than myself.

We ended up standing face to face, my best description of this is in the military when you are getting chewed out by a leader, she was in my face screaming at me and belittling me and my emotions. Yelling at me telling me telling me I am being a baby etc. meanwhile I can smell her breath and feel her spit (yes she was THAT close to me) up until this point we hadn't actually made any contact with one another until she had grabbed a vacuum nearby us and shoved it at me. In response I pushed her and the vacuum away but from then it got bad, she began trying to hit me and in response I kicked her away from me (literally one gut kick to put some distance between us, I am currently in fight or flight) she then started coming at me and was grabbing anything in the nearest vicinity. Which resulted in her getting ahold on a metal grabber (one that's for reaching things behind couches and crap) and was swinging it at me and definitely got a couple good wacks in. Now I'm not a total idiot so I did not continue to try and fight her BUT I was actively trying to distance myself. I was literally standing behind the couch to keep her at least a reasonable distance away, at this point my dad has stepped in and is in the middle of is and unfortunately getting wacked by my mom in the process (lol hes fine I swear)

You could definitely say I could have gone downstairs to my room in the basement but the unfortunate aspect of that is that she will follow me(later on she did anyway) and like I said this is not new so that would be a pretty typical thing for her. We were both yelling at this point and both saying some pretty damaging things to one another, I remember telling her that I hated her etc and she was also saying things along the lines of you're not my daughter etc.

So after a short game of cat and mouse there I went downstairs with my dad backing me, she had already told me to leave multiple times during that whole ordeal so I intended to. Grabbed my school backpack, my work shirt and a baby blanket of mine, (had school and work the next day) called my grandpa and was on route to leave. I have a sliding door in my room since it's the basement so I had absolutely no intentions of going back upstairs anywhere near her. But the inevitable happened and as I was waiting for my ride out she came downstairs to continue this useless fight. It wasn't physical anymore but just a lot of screaming and my dad keeping us separated.

So I got out, obviously a bit disoriented by the whole thing but was finally out and in a safer place.

The very next day I received these messages, I was at school and did NOT want to hear this. You could also say I should have blocked her and realistically I should have but I didn't want to because she is my mother and I wanted to leave a way for her to contact me if she wishes to resolve things. It ended up with her trying to say I assaulted her and was sending me photos of a bruise on her elbow. I did not touch her besides the kick to the stomach. I am not someone who resorts to physical assault in situations like this.

After the trail of messages I don't remember if it was the same day or the next day I had gone back over to get my animals out of her house and grab anything else I could. As you could probably guess that went pretty terribly, the plan was that I would enter through the basement into my room to get everything I needed and we would not see each other at all (she was aware i was coming and was aware of the plan of no contact) but ofc that did not work at all. It started with my 4yo level 3 autistic brother. He tried coming downstairs to see me (I could hear this at the top of the steps) she began to tell him that I am mean and I will hurt him so he can't come see me. So you'd think they would both stay upstairs if that's what they really think but no, mom and brother came downstairs and the argument started again. She started getting into my space and grabbing blankets and things that I had packed into trash bags, literally taking everything out and it ended with her stealing this quilt that yes was originally hers but I had been sleeping with it for over 10 years now. She claimed I stole it and it belongs to her so she took it back and that was pretty annoying. The thing that makes this kind of awful is that I have ASD and textures are a huge thing for me, I struggle to sleep without the right textures touching me ie, this blanket was very important to my general comfort (I did eventually get it back)

I should have probably waited longer till I went back to get my stuff but realistically I had absolutely nothing but my school items and work shirt. And then the threat of my animals was a big thing for me. The kicker is that she has no right over them other than that they lived in her house. These were my pets that I had full financial responsibility over and had bought everything myself. (Hedgehogs are expensive! Just the hog is around 200$ and that's not even the supplies and cages. )

But anyways, I guess I'm wondering what some outside opinions are over this whole ordeal. To say I'm over it is a lie but we are cordial now, I fully moved out since then and did not go back for a while after. Now we are good enough that I stop by to visit my dad and brother and me and her will chat as well. All is decent.

Please keep in mind I was 17 at the time of the messages. 18 now but still in highschool. So my responses may seem a bit immature but reading these kinds of things and hearing it from your own birth mother is hard.

Am I overreacting to her behavior if I know this is typical?

She has been diagnosed with ASD, and Borderline personality disorder, amongst many other things and takes medications for it.

Also shouldn't she be paying some kind of child support for me? Since moving out she has done nothing for me and does not provide anything (she never really did when I lived with her anyway, all my clothes and personal care items came from my late grandmother.) .-.

Hey y'all, I just got home from work and am absolutely devastated. I left my window open and it was unexpectedly colder in my room than usual. I found one of my spiders completely lifeless on the bottom of her enclosure. I have another jumper who is older and he seems to be completely fine and so is my avic avic. They are close to a heat source as well.

She wasn't curled up or anything just on the bottom and not reacting to any stimuli. I have no idea what could of happened but I'm suspecting I may have overfed her and she has a separation, maybe from a fall since she was on the bottom, mixed with cooler temps.

She seems to be completely limp and no reactions to anything, I held her in my palm and her limbs do move but only from me moving them. I genuinely don't know what happened and I want to do right by my spiders and avoid this happening to my other one.

I had a really long day at work so this is probably the worst thing I could have come home to, I am genuinely so upset by this.

Does it look like separation? She is much smaller than I've bad before & she has not molted since I got her which was about 2 months ago now. (When I got her she had just molted)

Kind of in shambles guys sorry if this post doesn't make a ton of sense, just want to know if anyone has any clue of what could have happened to her and how I could avoid this in the future.

Rest in peace Cubone.