Emperor Scorpions - Babies 10/11

[wodesorel]

Castra is obviously preggo again. I'm going to have to tear apart the tank in the next couple of weeks and get the currant babies out of there in preparation.

I TRIED to trap them instead of disturbing the tunnels and plants, but NOOO. Mom and/or dad keep RESCUING THEM. Seriously. I know I had babies trapped in that cup when I checked it on a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night. There was no way they could have climbed out. But come morning, nothing was in the cup! So now I get to stand on a ladder, tearing apart a 30 gallon tank WITH A SPOON while dodging a dozen or more stingers. YAY. *grumble*

Preggy scorp:


And one of the first litter they had, from 2013:



I am going to be putting all the babies I have up for sale, since I've run out of room for more tanks. Should be able to start shipping next month if anyone is interested. They are all CBB (captive bred and born), and these are true CITES listed Emperor Scorpions. The first litter will be two years old around August and are at 5th and 6th instar, and the second litter will be a year old around October and is around 3rd instar. (Instar are molts, males molt a total of 6 times and females 7 times before they reach maturity at around 2 years of age and then they never molt again.) I can attempt to sex the first litter and will probably get it right, but can't guarantee it. Until they are adults it can be hard to tell, although I did get ten genders right out of eleven with Femscorp's litter. The only place I've seen them for sale lately is LLL Reptile, and they were asking a hundred dollars each since they're so hard to come by. For HCA peeps I'm asking $50 in the hopes it prevents reselling, plus overnight shipping. PM me if you're interested.

[soilentgringa]

Oh wow they are awesome. What sort of care/conditions do they need?
Also I found this "Asian Forest Scorpion" on CL earlier in my city. Do you know anything about them? Someone else posted a sale ad with like a dozen gravid scorps in a tub near me as well. They looked like yours, though.
I am seriously interested in the scorpions but would need to save and budget for one.

[wodesorel]

They're almost exactly like hermits - 80 degrees and 80% humidity, deep moist organic substrate they can tunnel into (no sand, so cocofiber or peat moss - I like peat moss), freshwater dish they can fit into that will allow them to cover half of their height because they can drown, some sort of hide so they feel secure until the tunnels and burrow are built. Dinner is live insects only, once or twice a week and adjusting for their weight so they don't get too tubby. One roach per week, or 4-6 crickets. They'll do mealworms, but since the worms dig they don't always get dinner that way. Some scorp species are dessert and some are forest, and each has their own unique care. Emps are a forest species.

Asian forest scorps are what the pet trade replaced Emps with when they were no longer allowed to import. Different family, though they look similar, and they come from Thailand and that area of the world - tropical forest, and same care actually. They tend to be smaller with a worse temper, and stronger venom. If you're not going to want to handle them (I have never touched mine with bare hands) then I believe it may be almost the same as an Emp. They should be selling for under $20.

I'm betting the bucket you saw were native Texas Burrowing Scorpions. They have the same basic shape. The ID for scorps are all in the claws, and it can be extremely hard to spot the differences. I'm no good at it. But if it's a bucket of scorps on CL, they're bound to be native and that species looks really close.

I also realized I have have two 'subsets' of Emp! The two broods I have available are Savannah type, but there'll be Forest type next summer with luck. I just saw the last female that molted into adulthood, and she is HUGE. Like, three or four times Castra's size. She's as big as her mommy. I have to move them into a bigger tank within the next few weeks, so I will share pictures as soon as I have some!

This is the difference between the two types:

[StarWarsHermitCrab]

What happens when the scorpion stings you?

[CallaLily]

What happens when the scorpion stings you?

Wodesorel actually answered a similar question earlier in the thread.

Unless you're allergic to bees, their sting is only about as bad as a wasp. If you are allergic to bees, then yeah, immediate hospital trip as it will cause anaphylaxis. They also very rarely actually sting - when they get ticked off the adults will pinch rather than use their stinger since their claws are so powerful. Babies are much more trigger happy, but that's just because they're so tiny and vulnerable so they go straight for the sting.

I read up on all the envenomation reports I could find before I decided to get them, and the worst case I found was a guy who had one get out while feeding and who then ran up inside his jean pant leg to hide. Because of the tightness and the movement of the fabric as he was trying to get it back out the scorp panicked and started stinging his leg like crazy. I think he reported like 7 or 8 stings. He should have gone to the hospital or even just a doctor for treatment for that much venom, but instead he stayed home and dealt with it himself. Reported his leg swelling up twice it's normal size and like two days of serious hallucinations, but in the end he was okay. I could live with that. I would be in the hospital, but it wouldn't be life threatening. All of the other stories ranged from - it hurt like a hornet sting for a week, to it hurt for five minutes and then nothing. It really depends on how much they pump into you and how you react to it. So far I'm okay with bees, so while I don't purposely handle my scorps or put myself at risk, an accidental sting probably won't be a problem.

_______________________________________

Castra is obviously preggo again. I'm going to have to tear apart the tank in the next couple of weeks and get the currant babies out of there in preparation.

Congrats! I recently learned my youngest son is terrified of them! My husband picked up a bin of plastic dinos, bugs, snakes, etc from an auction for him and in it was a pretty realistic looking scorpion. We had to get rid of it - he couldn't even be in the same room with it, even knowing it wasn't real! Poor kid. They're not really a pet for me anyway, but I do think they're neat to watch.

[soilentgringa]

I think they're fascinating. I was always labeled as the "weird" kid because I loved all insects and reptiles.

[wodesorel]

I found someone who wants to buy the scorpions in bulk. Should have a deal worked out by next week. If anyone is interested in getting some but wants to wait, let me know now and I'll hold those back.

What happens when the scorpion stings you?

Still haven't been tagged. I use spoons and spatulas and long-handled scissors and tongs anytime I need to do something in the tank.

I recently learned my youngest son is terrified of them!

That's actually really interesting, because normally it's people who grow up in areas where they're found that develop a fear of them, or it crosses over from spider or other insect fears.

I think they're fascinating. I was always labeled as the "weird" kid because I loved all insects and reptiles.

They really are, and they surprise me more over time. I never pictured a bug being a dutiful parent, but they take such good care of the babies for well over a year after they're born, not just protecting them but feeding them and coming to their rescue. Especially dad, he'll starve himself for months on end because the babies are more important than himself. They are more like birds then bugs in that aspect. Not something I ever would have known.

I was always interested in bugs, but I wasn't allowed pets as a child past a hamster and one cat when I was 9. My mom is really OCD about messes, and I while I know she's afraid of spiders, I wonder how many more things she's actually afraid of but won't admit to. I had to sneak in my first fish tank in the middle of the night, and she stopped talking to me completely for a month solid because of it. I could only do care on the tank when she was gone or asleep or she would freak out because there was a dribble of water on the floor. She would have kicked me out immediately if I had tried to bring home a bug or reptile, so it wasn't until the last few years with my husband being supportive that I learned I really like them. I'm sure I would have gone into veterinary sciences if I had been able to be around them at a younger age.

[wodesorel]

I didn't realize it was so long since the last update!

Okay, lets see...

I sent the babies out to Ken the Bug Guy not long after the last posting. They all arrived alive and he resold them all in about a month. There were 11 in each batch:


(The money from them went entirely to vet bills. It's been an insanely bad year with the cats.)

I tore down the tanks two months ago and resorted everyone. Hubby built me a new scorpion love hotel so the females could get separated out to give birth in their own private birthing suits. All those tanks plus the breeding tanks and the hermit iso now all fit on that one wall!


Best I can tell four of the females are preggos, two should be due within the next two months. (This is Brunhilde.)


I have seen both Castra and Pollux at the same time, but only claws. I have no idea if she's given birth and I don't see any signs of little ones. Fingers crossed everything is okay and they're in there somewhere! If it's anything like the last two years, I should be seeing signs of them in the next couple of weeks.

Abaddon, the giant female, went nutso after the tank cleanings and ate her mate/brother. :crybaby:

It took her over 24 hours and she munched down everything but his claws and a couple legs. I'm hoping this means she's pregnant. She also digested him in about a week, which is insane for that large of a meal.

I think there's something wrong with her. Aside from being ENORMOUS, she's also extremely aggressive and chocolate instead of black.

I'll give her until spring and if she's not having his babies I'm probably going to rehome her. She actually scares me.

They really do remind me of hermits. Every night you can walk in to at least one doing the lid walk. (This is Orchid.)


So yeah, things are going well and I'm looking forward to lots of babies!

[CallaLily]

Yay for babies!

Is it common for them to eat each other?

[wodesorel]

Not so common with Emps, but it can happen when one is bigger or with females who are pregnant. In this case the change of substrate probably got rid of all their scent and when I put them back together she got defensive and attacked. They had been together since they were born three and a half years ago. It really shouldn't have happened, so I think it also has to do with how huge she is and her temperament. Calyx and Orchid got put back together the same way at he same time and they've been fine with each other. I plan on moving the gals back in with their sisters and mate once their babies are old enough. I very much doubt there will be problems. Usually things like this happen with new, unrelated Emps of differing ages.

(I'm really bummed that I'm down to two movable males. Adults are impossible to find right now so if something goes wrong.... I had planned for four males as backup but Abaddon turned out to be female.)

[StarWarsHermitCrab]

(The money from them went entirely to vet bills. It's been an insanely bad year with the cats.)

I've been having cat problems too.
One of the cats I have got cancer and died.

My mom was the most upset. The cat was hers.

[soilentgringa]

I've been having cat problems too.
One of the cats I have got cancer and died.

My mom was the most upset. The cat was hers.

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that

Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

[wodesorel]

I've been having cat problems too.
One of the cats I have got cancer and died.

My mom was the most upset. The cat was hers.

I'm so sorry. That's what happened here, too. We lost one to GI cancer and one to pancreatic cancer. The only good thing that came out of the latter was that we found the vet's office we want to always work with going forward.

[StarWarsHermitCrab]

Oh no, poor kittys.
Well let's wish each other's cats good health.

[wodesorel]

Brunhilde is a mom!!! She must have had them sometime last night- I can see teeny white babies on her back.