How to Feed a Pet Scorpion: Schedule, Prey, and Fasting

Scorpion feeding is simpler than most exotic pet feeding — insects only, once or twice a week, with no supplementation complexity. The behavior that confuses new keepers is the fasting: a scorpion that refuses food for two or three weeks is usually perfectly healthy, and the refusal is often pre-molt. The feeding guide that matters covers what to feed, how much, and when refusal is normal versus when it is a problem.

This guide covers the complete feeding routine. Part of the pet scorpions complete care guide series.

The Basic Schedule

• Adults: one or two appropriately-sized insects, once or twice a week. That is the whole schedule.
• Juveniles: more frequently — every three to four days, while they grow.
• Less in winter — most species slow down in cooler months, and the feeding reduces accordingly.
• Feed at night — scorpions are nocturnal hunters, and prey introduced during the day may be ignored or may harass the resting scorpion.

The Prey

The Staple Insects

• Crickets — the standard staple. Nutritious, active (which triggers the hunting response), and available everywhere.
• Dubia roaches — the better staple: more nutritious than crickets, easier to keep, and they do not escape as readily. The upgrade if you can source them.
• Mealworms — supplementary only. The hard exoskeleton is less digestible, and they burrow into substrate where the scorpion cannot reach them.
• Locusts and roach variety — occasional variety adds dietary breadth.

The Size Rule

• Prey no larger than the scorpion’s body — an oversized cricket fights back, and a large locust can injure a scorpion.
• Prey smaller than the claws’ span — the scorpion needs to control it with the pedipalps.
• Juveniles get smaller prey — appropriately-sized for their size, not the adult portion.

Gut-Loading

• Feed the prey nutritious food 24 hours before feeding — the nutrition transfers through the prey to the scorpion.
• Fresh vegetables and commercial gut-load for the insects — the prey is the delivery mechanism for nutrition.
• Dust occasionally with calcium powder — less critical for scorpions than reptiles, but it supports molting.

The Feeding Process

1. Introduce the prey at night, into the enclosure, away from the scorpion’s hide.
2. Let the scorpion hunt — the stalking is the behavior, and the scorpion detects prey by vibration and chemical cues.
3. Remove uneaten prey the next morning — crickets harass a resting scorpion and cause stress, and the stress suppresses feeding further.
4. One or two insects per feeding — more produces crickets loose in the enclosure and a scorpion that eats only what it needs.

The Fasting Behavior

The most misunderstood part of scorpion care:

• Pre-molt fasting: scorpions stop eating days to weeks before molting. The refusal is normal, and the molt follows.
• Temperature-driven: a scorpion in a cool enclosure eats less — check the temperature before assuming illness.
• Stress fasting: a recent move, a disturbed enclosure, or handling can suppress feeding for a week or two.
• Seasonal fasting: many species reduce feeding in winter even in climate-controlled enclosures.

A scorpion can fast for several weeks without harm — the water matters more than the food, and a hydrated fasting scorpion is usually healthy.

When Refusal Is a Problem

• The temperature is wrong — the first check. Below 70 degrees suppresses feeding.
• Pre-molt — check for the dull coloration and the reduced activity that precede a molt.
• Approaching end of lifespan — elderly scorpions eat less and eventually stop. The lifespan varies by species.
• Dehydration — a scorpion without water stops eating. Check the water dish.
• Parasites or illness — weight loss with continued refusal. A vet familiar with invertebrates is the check, though options are limited.

The diagnostic order: temperature, then water, then pre-molt signs, then age. Illness is the last check, not the first.

The Water

• A shallow water dish always available — scorpions drink from dishes, and dehydration kills faster than starvation.
• Depth safe — a dish the scorpion cannot drown in. A bottle cap or a shallow reptile dish works.
• Change regularly — a soiled dish grows bacteria.
• Humidity supplements the water — many species drink from humid substrate and dew as much as from the dish.

What Not to Feed

• Wild-caught insects — pesticide exposure.
• Fireflies — toxic.
• Vertebrates — pinky mice and similar are sometimes marketed for large arachnids and are not appropriate — the fat content and the ethical problems make them a poor choice.
• Oversized prey — the injury risk is real, and a stressed scorpion refuses future feedings.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do scorpions eat?

Adults eat one or two appropriately-sized insects once or twice a week; juveniles eat more frequently while growing. Feeding at night matches their nocturnal hunting behavior.

My scorpion stopped eating. Is it dying?

Usually not — pre-molt fasting, cool temperatures, and stress all suppress feeding, and a scorpion can fast for weeks. Check the temperature first, then the water, then look for pre-molt signs. Continued refusal with weight loss in an elderly scorpion may be age-related.

Do scorpions need calcium dusting?

Occasionally — less critical for scorpions than reptiles, but light calcium dusting supports molting. Gut-loading the prey is the more important nutrition step.

Can scorpions eat mealworms?

As a supplement — the hard exoskeleton is less digestible, and they burrow where the scorpion cannot reach them. Crickets and dubia roaches are the better staples, with mealworms as occasional variety.

The Bottom Line

One or two insects no larger than the scorpion’s body, once or twice a week, fed at night, gut-loaded. Crickets or dubia roaches as staples, mealworms as supplement, uneaten prey removed the next morning. A shallow water dish always available. Fasting for weeks is normal — pre-molt, cool temperatures, and stress all suppress feeding, and the temperature check comes first. The feeding is simple; the interpretation of refusal is where new keepers struggle. The rest of the care is in the complete scorpion care guide.