That creature can hold its breath for six days!

Not minutes. Not hours. But days! Six Days—And How It Works

It sounds like something out of a desert survival manual: stay low, stay quiet, and stop breathing—for almost a week. For scorpions, that’s not fiction. That’s routine.

These small, armored creatures can go without drawing a breath for up to six full days. No tricks. No stunts. Just good old-fashioned efficiency.

Scorpions Don’t Breathe Like You Do

Scorpions don’t have lungs. Instead, they use something called book lungs—flat layers of tissue stacked like pages of a notepad, hidden on their underside. Air enters through small openings called spiracles.

Here’s the cool part: they can seal those spiracles completely.

No air in. No air out.

Why Stop Breathing?

In hot, dry environments, breathing comes at a cost: water loss. Every puff of air means a little more moisture gone. Scorpions don’t have water to waste. So, they shut the system down.

And they can afford to. Their metabolism is so slow, they don’t need much oxygen to begin with. They’re not running laps—they’re just waiting, Patiently.

Not Just About Thirst

Closing up shop isn’t just about hanging onto water. Staying still and not breathing also helps them avoid predators.

Many animals hunt using motion or heat. A scorpion lying low, holding its breath, and giving off almost no heat might as well be a rock.

Predator walks by. Scorpion stays silent. Game over.

Six Days? Seriously?

Studies have shown that certain species can go without oxygen for as long as six days. They don’t hold a breath the way humans do—they don’t need to. Instead, they reduce their oxygen use to nearly nothing.

No movement. No heartbeat spike. Just a quiet pause.

This helps them survive heat waves, dry spells, and even chemical exposure.

Pesticides? They’ve Got a Move for That

When hit with airborne toxins, most insects take it straight to the lungs—or the spiracle, in their case. Not scorpions.

They just close up and wait. It’s not a perfect defense, but it buys them time. Enough time to outlast the danger in some cases.

In Captivity, This Looks Like... Nothing

If you keep a scorpion in a tank and it suddenly stops moving for a day or two, don’t panic. It’s probably fine.

It may be molting, digesting, or just lying low to save energy. These aren’t animals that fidget or pace. They don’t make small talk. Stillness is normal.

They Don’t Need to Move Much Anyway

Scorpions can go weeks without eating. One fat insect might keep them going for a month. They don’t burn calories fast, and they don’t waste them, either.

Their breath-holding trick fits right in with that lifestyle.

Why rush when you’ve got all day?

Other Bugs Try This—But Not Like Scorpions

Some arthropods—like ticks or mites—can pause breathing for a short time. But scorpions are better at it. Their design makes it easier to stretch those oxygen-free periods way longer.

It’s one of the reasons they’ve lasted so long.

Scorpions have been around since before the dinosaurs. They’ve watched ice ages come and go. Climate change? They've already seen it a few times.

Their ability to survive tough times is no accident. It’s built into every part of them.

The Bottom Line

Scorpions holding their breath for six days isn’t an exaggeration—it’s a survival skill. It helps them beat the heat, dodge predators, ride out poison, and waste zero energy.

It’s not fancy. It’s not flashy.

But it works.

So if you ever spot a scorpion sitting motionless under a rock or in a tank, remember: that’s not laziness—it’s strategy. And it’s worked for hundreds of millions of years.