My scorpion thread

[MassExodus]

Well, I was planning on doing this when I had photos of all my species, but I had a pleasant little surprise today. I went to check on my C gracilis colony (5 adults, 3 females 2 males) and found one of my females with something on her back I'm having fun now Muhahahahaaaa!

 

[Kymura]

Awwwwww! Mass that's epic! Huge grats!

 

[MassExodus]

Thanks I've had them like two weeks, 3 from one dealer, 2 from another. What an excellent surprise Two of the babies fell off, and i put them in a separate enclosure with the mom. One looks dead, the other is just sitting next to her. The rest are on her back...a bunch of them

 

[Hisserdude]

Congrats man, that's pretty cool! I hope the little scorplings do well for you!

 

[MassExodus]

Congrats man, that's pretty cool! I hope the little scorplings do well for you!

Thanks Dude. I'll make sure they do

 

[MassExodus]

Found two more babies in the adult enclosure, so I removed the other adults, searched it thoroughly, and transfered them to moms enclosure, but I don't know how they'll do..I have no experience with newborns falling off moms back, they could be the sick ones or there might have been just too many to fit? I know they just ride around on her til they molt, then eventually come down, and then you separate them from mom. So far i can't find a thread that addresses this problem specifically. They are still very soft, moving them was a delicate affair. But even if they don't make it, mom has a whole bunch on her back. Pics and updates will follow.

 

[kormath]

from what i've been reading sometimes they'll eat the ones that fall off as they're the weak and maybe sick. IF you're quick and smooth enough to replace them you can do that. There's 2 schools of thought on this, some say use tongs so you don't scent the scorplings, others say it doesn't matter. I'm with the use tongs side on that one, with all the sensitive chemosensors they have they may reject and kill/eat the young that you touch and replace. Plus tongs keep you out of reach of being stung by a pissed off momma thinking you're messing with her babies

What i have found is that the newborns need to stay moist, really most, but not wet. That's the main reason they're on the mom's back, to stay off the dirt and absorb moisture from her until they molt. Once they molt they can move into their own habitat.

A rubber scorp can be used in place of the mother, very lightly mist it I'm guessing for the moisture to transfer, then the normal condensation from their bodies on the rubber should create moisture also to continue keeping them hydrated.

There's a thread in the American Tarantula Society about this,
http://atshq.org/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11333

pretty good read.

Also has a link to another website on raising the scorplings from first instar from The Venom List - http://venomlist.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13146&st=0&gopid=156427&#entry156427

 

[MassExodus]

Nice! Thanks kormath. I've seen the venomlist thread, but the other is new to me. I ended up placing them right next to their mom. This morning, no sign of them. Either they crawled back on or..she ate them. I have many more though When they crawl off her back, they'll be kept communally, like the group of 6 3i gracilis I already have. Interestingly enough, All of my communal scorpions are molting and doing well. No sign of cannibalism at all, not even with the Heterometrus cyaneus Which I expected to end up separating..

 

[kormath]

Nice! Thanks kormath. I've seen the venomlist thread, but the other is new to me. I ended up placing them right next to their mom. This morning, no sign of them. Either they crawled back on or..she ate them. I have many more though When they crawl off her back, they'll be kept communally, like the group of 6 3i gracilis I already have. Interestingly enough, All of my communal scorpions are molting and doing well. No sign of cannibalism at all, not even with the Heterometrus cyaneus Which I expected to end up separating..

Sweet! I found another link for this on the scorpion-forum.com but that website doesn't exist anymore. I think it'd be interesting to see the pictures in the thread on The Venom List but their account creation is messed up and i can't register there

 

[MassExodus]

Yeah I think they're cleaning up the forum right now, but I'll let a mod know tonight. What's it doing so I can describe it?

 

[Entity]

@MassExodus thats cool as hell man! congrats!

 

[kormath]

Yeah I think they're cleaning up the forum right now, but I'll let a mod know tonight. What's it doing so I can describe it?

Click button to create account, fill out the form, submit and then a page comes up saying venomlist.com page isnt' working, venomlist.com is currently unable to handle this request, HTTP Error 500.

I can sign in but i can't see anything. I did the resend validation and get this same error again. same username as here.

 

[MassExodus]

Click button to create account, fill out the form, submit and then a page comes up saying venomlist.com page isnt' working, venomlist.com is currently unable to handle this request, HTTP Error 500.

I can sign in but i can't see anything. I did the resend validation and get this same error again. same username as here.

Ok I'll report it. Reading back through old threads, that site has been through a lot, lol.

 

[kormath]

Thanks!

Still trying to decide on my first i see posts on AB saying Vaejovis or Hoffimanius are better starters than the H. arizonensis. But they all look like they take the same care - moist substrate as a sand and coco fiber or sand and clay mix. Guess it will come down to availability and price

 

[MassExodus]

The S mesaensis is a looker, but I really like the short, stout fat tailed little Vaejovis. I'll get a few of those eventually. The H.a is a great looking scorpion too. I rehoused one of mine into proper sub, have to do the other today. I like the sand/clay/coco peat mix, it dries very fast and ends up being light, brittle and very good for burrowing. I didn't use much sand, but I did use a whole lot of clay. The old substrate was collapsing everywhere, poor guys couldn't dig proper tunnels.

 

[MassExodus]

Something interesting..The scorpion i seethe most is my H paucidens female. She actually sits right at the glass sometimes, i can walk around or whatever, she seems unafraid. I tried to pick her up last night and she pinched me. So i stood there while she held my finger and decided her next course of action. She let go and just sat there. Lol. She doesnt run from me at all unless i startle her. You might look into them, if you dont mind the tiny tail, they're really good looking too. If this scorp had a fat tail, it would be king in the hobby..

 

[kormath]

Something interesting..The scorpion i seethe most is my H paucidens female. She actually sits right at the glass sometimes, i can walk around or whatever, she seems unafraid. I tried to pick her up last night and she pinched me. So i stood there while she held my finger and decided her next course of action. She let go and just sat there. Lol. She doesnt run from me at all unless i startle her. You might look into them, if you dont mind the tiny tail, they're really good looking too. If this scorp had a fat tail, it would be king in the hobby..

awesome! i want the arizonensis for the size, but looking at the paucidens i might do that as a second one. Luckily the floors are being done in the next 2 weeks at my place so after that i'll be able to move the critters into my room. bad thing is it pushes my purchase back a couple weeks so it won't be until may 13 that i can order one. But that will give me time to get the enclosures setup up and ready for them, and maybe i'll be able to get a couple then

 

[Arachnid dude]

Very cool. I'm about to get 1.2 group of these guys.

 

[MassExodus]

Hottentotta jayakari. Very lovely little scorps.

Next up is the infamous roach headed scorpion:

LOL

 

[MassExodus]