Inducing Captive Breeding

[youngcrawler]

Hey hows it going .Great webboard
Well i guess ill start by letting you know im a first time poster and a fairly new owner which is wanting to get more involved with these interseting Species.

I currently own
-Two(2),Pandinus imperator(sex unknown)
-One(1),Heterometrus spinifer(sex unknown)
All three(3) species are currently housed together in a 20gal tank.The Substrate used is all potting soil 3-4 inchs thick.Theres plenty of places to hide and also a smooth flat rock 2times larger then the scorpions.What i am using to heat the tank is a Under tank heater-and 1 red heat lamp above the tank both used 24hours daily.

Temperature in the cooler side of the cage reads 25c-77f

Ill get to my question.-How would i induce them to start breeding.
-what kind of an environment would i need to provide.
-should there be a temp drop if so.what temperature should be provided when should the change be introduced.How long should these changes take before a succseful breeding will occour.

That is if there is a proper female/male ratio.I never had the chance to learn to sex them as a lack of knowledge of scorpions in this small city.I have seen pictures of the comb like pectines of a male/female thailand forest scorpion(Hetrometrus Spinifer) And notice the difference in size and curvage. Yet i still cannot seperate mine.

Any Basics on breeding and instructions that are easy to follow and plainly put would be really helpful

Thanks ---YoungCrawler---

 

[SpaceHawk]

Go here for the info you need. It helps a lot. Breeding the species you have is very easy, after you make sure the temps and humidity is right. It takes practice. This site is a good one.



http://members.tripod.com/~c_kianwee/sex.htm

 

[youngcrawler]

nothing there

I went to the web address posted and the information i had viewed mostly stated information on how to sex the scorpions but not how to produce the proper climate for them too start looking for a cage mate.

thanks anyway


Any additional information from experienced scorpion keepers on breeding would be helpful

 

[SpaceHawk]

There is a highlighted link on one of the paragraphs called "Mating". Click on it and it will explain a little. Inducing them to mate. Just put a smooth flat rock in the cage, turn up the heat to about 90-95, humidity to about 60-70% and don't bug them. This should do it. Emp's are really easy to breed. They can be gravid for up to 9 months. The page listed above is a good one for seeing how to sex them and identify the little things. It can be tricky with some species, but not with pandinus scorps.

 

[youngcrawler]

Rasing or decreasing cage temp

Are you sure I would crank the heat to 90f.I have read that a cooling period is needed and a drop in regular temps. Thanks for the help

 

[youngcrawler]

Also if i bother them and uncover them from hiding to sex them could i put them back in the cage with the temps raised and still be succesful or would they be too stressed?

 

[G. Carnell]

hi, for scorpionids (emps and forest scorpions) only drastic temperature differences will affect them, if there is a non-gravid female and a male, they will almost certainly try to mate, YOU dont have to do anything special to make them mate, they do that bit themselves
the flat rock is good, try to put your "undertank heater" ont he side of the tank, this will raise both the temp and humidity, but make sure the temp doesnt rise above 35C or so, this way you might nto even need the bulb

also: make sure your lid is about 90-95% closed off, this will increase humidity which leads to a shinier and healthier scorp

 

[SpaceHawk]

Also if i bother them and uncover them from hiding to sex them could i put them back in the cage with the temps raised and still be succesful or would they be too stressed?

I am talking about after you know what you have. I leave my breeders alone after I am sure they are for breeding. Breeding these guys is too simple to mess up, just make sure the temps and the humidity is good and you have a flat smooth rock. You can cool them if you want to, but not to cool, just around 80 or so. A 15 degree boost is a lot and will trigger them to breed. Cooling the animals will make them less active for a while, but as soon as you bring the temps up they should mate. G. Carnell has some good ideas that work too (covering the top to create humidity), this species needs a lot of humidity when giving birth and molting.

 

[NoS]

Anyone using a ceramic bulb heater to raise the temps?
This may help to get it up there past 90.
I was struggling at 74 till I started using a 15watt ceramic bulb inside the container. It holds at 80 now and the humidity is not having any problems either.
I would like to up the Wattage to get it up to 90.
The bulb is about 15 inches away from the substrate.
They love it. All of them come out now at night and walk around. A couple of them even like to hang out for a bit right below the bulb.

I have a 29 gal tank with 6 Imperators.