Emperor Scorpions - Babies 10/11

[wodesorel]

Higher than hermit crabs, in the 80%-90% range. They seem to be okay at lower humidity levels so long as they can burrow into moist substrate and/or have a big enough bowl they can completely soak in when needed - not deep enough to drown in, but about 1/3 to 1/2 up their bodies, and they'll flatten themselves as needed. (They give themselves baths in the water, too. It's really neat to see! I've only caught mine doing it a couple of times now.)

[TheLilMommaB]

I could never own a scorpion cuz they really creep me out but I do love to watch them thru the glass and hate to see any animal in poor conditions so I'll also be watching that my local pet stores have good set ups...I learn something new on here everyday

[wodesorel]

OMG Castra looks like she's going to POP! I don't know if we're a go for babies any day now, or if she managed to catch both the roaches I put in for dinner! Gah!

[Sunndannce]

Just now reading this thread... and I got a cold chill down my back seeing the "family photo". Kudos to you -for sure. I don't know that I could ever keep those..

I can't even let the crabs "walk" on my hands. I just.. move them around when I have to otherwise I like to observe them being "au-natural". I couldn't imagine scorps 0.0


I enjoy watching YOUR posts about them though

[wodesorel]

BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!!



I counted 9, I'm sure there are more hiding in the tank and underneath her. I think they're only about 3 weeks old! It was pure luck that she was feeding them at the front of the tank when I went to turn the lights on today.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[ViiT]

Congratulations

You're making me want more animals xD

[YYWW]

OMG! How intriguing, this nurturing behavior. How is she feeding them? Is she just killing isopods and leaving them out? Does that one baby to the left of her tail have a short tail, or is it just the angle of the pic?
Thank you for sharing! So cool!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wodesorel]

I'm happy but it's also bittersweet since I have no choice but to get rid of the older ones now to make more room. These little ones can stay with mum and dad until next summer, but then I'll need to move them out to give them enough time to rebuild the tunnels for her next brood. My critter room is packed with scorps right now. There's at least 36 total, with the extras being however many more babies were hiding. They can have up to 2 dozen babies at a time. Castra had 11 in the last batch and I only ever counted 5 at once, so if there are 9 out and about now it makes me wonder how many there really are!

And if anyone is wondering why I'm breeding so many, there's a chance they'll be declared endangered due to overharvesting from the wild which means the import bans will become permanent. They are under review by CITES right now and no new ones have been brought into the US in over a year. My goal is to have a permanent captive breeding program because it is the right thing to do, and also because don't ever want to not be able to afford them. I waited too long on Giant Millipedes when the same thing happened, and now it's around $300 for a breeding pair!

And yes - she is feeding them. The adult will tear up prey into tiny meals with their claws so the babies can run off with it. She's actually being greedy and eating this one herself, which is why the babies are all clammering around her mouth, trying to make off with whatever soft part they can grab before she swallows. Castra is like that, she does not do well with the little ones. It's their dad, Pollux, who really takes care of them and will starve himself before he lets them go hungry. Last time I had to keep pulling him out and feeding him separately about once a month so he would eat enough, because the babies would come over and he would immediately hand it all out to them even though they were more than big enough to be hunting on their own!

The baby's tail looks okay, but there's always the possibility of deformities. (Usually the mom will eat them as she's giving birth if there's something wrong with them though.) The angle is really bad on the photos. That was my original crab tank and the sand trashed the glass.

[YYWW]

A responsible scorpion daddy, how touching! I never knew scorps made good baby daddies!
So you're stacking up on babies because you want to sell them to people that cant afford to buy them in the future?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wodesorel]

I want to try to keep them available. With these scorps, it takes a lot of space to house multiple partners and then litters of babies, but it also takes a lot of time since females start reproducing between the ages of 2 and 4 years and it's one relatively small brood every 12-18 months until the females die of old age at around 8 years old. People do get babies by accident when they buy already pregnant females or house multiples together, but not a lot people find them interesting enough to breed them on purpose or give them the space the need so that they all thrive.

[YYWW]

Sounds like a mission you still need to commit to. Tis a big undertaking if so, in order to keep up with demands. You might also just end up with a scorpion mansion all up in your home!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[soilentgringa]

They're amazing.

[wodesorel]

The scorpion mansion thing is right! I have two 30 gallons, a 20 gallon, a 15 gallon and a 10 gallon, along with four more plastic tubs at the moment all with scorps. (Each tank has 8+ inches of substrate, clay pipes, live plants, and branches - they get set up naturally, not like a breeding assembly line.) There's room to expand with another six 10 gallons (or a few 20 gallons) if all the ladies give me babies at the same time.

[YYWW]

WOW! That is a lot of scorps! Do relatives get apprehensive of visiting you? I bet kids get a rise out of your "ranch"!


Crabbers unite!!!

[Drakezilla]

That's amazing! I never knew Scorpions were so sweet to their babies! Awe.

I swear animal parents have a sixth sense about their babies -- they just KNOW how they're going to do and they make the choice for the baby's survival. I think that's amazing, God knows I couldn't!

I don't think I could keep scorpions, I'd be too afraid of their escaping the tank! I'd love to look at them and see them for sure that doesn't bother me, I'm just not sure I could keep them.

I'd actually love a corn snake. I've wanted one for YEARS and YEARS, but my dad's afraid of snakes unfortunately. Maybe one day when I move out...they're just so darn cool looking!

Sorry off topic. XDD congratulations on your new additions though! I wish crab breeding was so easy!!