Suddenly gave birth

[DerekG4]

My H. Petersii just gave birth yesterday to a fair amount of babies.

I went to check on her as usual, she was hiding but her tail was sticking out of her log and I saw this big white spot, i didn’t get a good look at what it was and I was about to remove it with my tongs, then I saw it at a different angle that it wasn’t just one white spot but multiple and I then noticed they all had little legs and tails.

I wasn’t really expecting this at all, not sure what to do once they get off her. How long does it take for them to get off? Once they do and house them in a different enclosure, should I put all the babies in 1 enclosure or all in separate enclosures? Is there anything extra I should do, like feed her more or raise the humidity or temperature more?

I bought her around April 21, when I bought her she looked fairly fat and was housed with another female and a male. I just assumed she was fat because they were all kind of fat, even the male had a bit of fat in him, just not as much as the females. Once I realized there was a male in there (I only realized it after about a week) I believed she may have been pregnant, but it’s been almost 2 months now and I kinda thought that wasn’t the case anymore since it’s been so long (I never really knew how long it takes for them to give birth, I just assumed it wasn’t that long)

Once they are on their own, how much is a normal price for a scorpling? $5?

Also, bit of an off topic question, but yesterday I also noticed 2 very small white bugs crawling on the wall of the enclosure. I couldn’t get a good pic because of how small it was and my phone’s camera couldn’t focus on it. It literally looked like a moving white dot, I couldn’t see any legs. Out of the times I’ve looked at her closeup, I never seen any thing on her near her joints or anything. Could this be a mite or some other kind of insect/arachnid? If it’s a mite or something that can harm/stress her out, how should I remove it?

 

[Beedrill]

I'm not a huge expert by any means but I know a thing or two.

I'm not really sure how long it will take them to get off or her, but I would guess that they will molt 2-3 times before leaving. Just keep checking up every day. They do not require additional food until after they leave mom. Mother scorpions actually produce a secretion that the scorplings get their nourishment from.
Once they have left mom, they can either be placed in individual deli cups (or similar containers) or left together if given enough space. Your best bet would be to keep them separate so that there is no threat of cannibalism and to ensure that each of them has eaten.
As for temperature and humidity, I believe keeping the temp and humidity the same as the adults would be fine. I believe their temp range is 80-90 and their humidity range is fairly high too I think.
(70-80%)

Yes I have heard that a lot of Heterometrus females are bought and end up giving birth months later. Scorpions have very long gestation periods. I'm fairly certain that 9-11 months is not uncommon in most genera. So yeah, If you had bought her on the first month you would have been in for a big surprise next year! XD

Most Heterometrus scorplings are pretty darn cheap, so don't expect to make a fortune. That being said, I've seen them locally for as much as $20. However, unless you're 100% sure they are H. petersii,
(a bit rarer than the other Hetero species) I wouldn't post them for more than $10-$15 a piece. Although if you're just trying to get them off your hands, $5 is fine too.

As for your "white bugs" I'd say it was probably mites, yes. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are feeding off of your scorpions. Many mites are detritivores, feeding off of waste material and mold. Just keep a sharp eye on the situation. If their numbers start to grow out of control or you DO notice them feeding on your scorps, action may be necessary.

 

[Beedrill]

Also I'd be willing to buy some of those from you once they leave their mom or whenever you are willing/able to sell.

 

[pannaking22]

It'll be a week or two before they molt and hop off mom's back.

White bugs are probably either mites or springtails.

 

[DerekG4]

Yes I have heard that a lot of Heterometrus females are bought and end up giving birth months later. Scorpions have very long gestation periods. I'm fairly certain that 9-11 months is not uncommon in most genera. So yeah, If you had bought her on the first month you would have been in for a big surprise next year! XD

Most Heterometrus scorplings are pretty darn cheap, so don't expect to make a fortune. That being said, I've seen them locally for as much as $20. However, unless you're 100% sure they are H. petersii,
(a bit rarer than the other Hetero species) I wouldn't post them for more than $10-$15 a piece. Although if you're just trying to get them off your hands, $5 is fine too.

As for your "white bugs" I'd say it was probably mites, yes. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are feeding off of your scorpions. Many mites are detritivores, feeding off of waste material and mold. Just keep a sharp eye on the situation. If their numbers start to grow out of control or you DO notice them feeding on your scorps, action may be necessary.

If I would’ve had her for a year and then find out she gave birth after that I would be surprised and pretty amazed lol.

For now, depending how many I end up with I’ll probably put them around $5-$10. I can’t say I’m 100% sure she was a H. Petersii, I had posted a picture of her and a tank mate of hers and everyone told me it was a H. Petersii.

As long as the bugs don’t do any harm to her or the babies, I won’t stress about it.

I’ve never really shipped out anything, let alone a live animal, but once they’re of age I’ll start looking for the best methods of shipping them. I’ll definitely let you know, Beedrill.

I’ll be looking everyday to see if they’ll detach.

I’m sort of stumped on what to use. I want to keep them all separated in their own deli cups, but I don’t think I have space for 20-30 separate scorpling setups. How high is the chance of them eating each other in a 10 gallon tank? At least temporarily?

 

[Beedrill]

I would say the chances are relatively low as long as you keep them well fed. And truthfully, the most common occurrences of cannibalism in captivity occur after a molt when the scorpion is weak. As long as you provide lots of different hiding spots for them to give each other some space and maybe keep some isopods in there for them to munch on or just dump in crickets once a week, you should be good to go. 10 gallons is a lot of space for a 1cm or less scorpling after all. Also a recommendation for the hiding spots, make sure there are a few vertical spaces for them to hide in. Almost all forest or bark scorpions prefer to have at least some access to vertical spaces since trees and rocks are common in their natural environment even if the species is a burrower.

As for shipping, the method for shipping scorpions is very similar to that of shipping T's. You would want to place the scorpling in a small vial or deli cup filled with slightly moistened paper towel or tissue paper so that the scorpion really cant move all that much. This will keep them feeling secure similar to if they were hidden away in a rock crevice, as well as serve as a cushion during travel. Next put the vial or deli cup in the smallest box you can find and fill the rest of the box up with packing material. Enough to make sure that the container doesn't move at all if possible. Then take it to your desired mail service center and ship it out. Overnight is a must though. There are very few inverts that can tolerate more than 24 hours in those conditions. Overnight usually runs anywhere from $25-$40 depending on where you are shipping to and the size of the box. Naturally, you should get this cost covered by your buyers so that you actually make a little money on the deal in stead of spend it. I think that's about it. Maybe write "handle with care" on the outside. Though I'm not sure how seriously anyone takes those warnings in the mail services.

 

[InvertAddiction]

You can house the babies together for a short period of time but make sure you offer them PLENTY of food and places to hide to help reduce the risk of eating each other.

 

[DerekG4]

One of the babies fell off. Should I attempt to put it back on her back or should I house it in a little deli cup?

Just worried if I put it back on her I may spook her. To get to her I’d have to remove her log.

 

[InvertAddiction]

I wouldn't suggest doing anything. If they still look like white grubs,you disturbing the mother can cause her to eat the babies. The scorpling may climb back on her back.

 

[Beedrill]

I agree. It may seem cruel to leave it to its fate, but at that age, there is likely very little you could do to keep it alive anyway. Scorpions are dependent on their mothers until they leave on their own. As far as I know they can't hunt their own prey until then either. Nature can suck....

 

[Brian S]

In case you havent read it, here is a link you should read. Do it like this and you will be successful.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/raising-pandinus-heterometrus-babies.69385/

 

[InvertAddiction]

I agree. It may seem cruel to leave it to its fate, but at that age, there is likely very little you could do to keep it alive anyway. Scorpions are dependent on their mothers until they leave on their own. As far as I know they can't hunt their own prey until then either. Nature can suck....

Actually, if they've already hit first instar, there's a chance of survival off the mother's back. I currently have a C. gracilis at first instar. It ended up getting stuck in it's molt and was dangling off the mom's back. It took me 5 minutes to get needle nose tongs and get the molt off it's tail (she already rejected 1 of her babies and ate it so I only had 2 survivors left) Anywho, I took little lone scorpling and put it in a vial of moist substrate and this is going on day 8? and it's still alive and well. That's why I asked OP if they had molted yet since it was off it's mom's back.

 

[Beedrill]

Actually, if they've already hit first instar, there's a chance of survival off the mother's back. I currently have a C. gracilis at first instar. It ended up getting stuck in it's molt and was dangling off the mom's back. It took me 5 minutes to get needle nose tongs and get the molt off it's tail (she already rejected 1 of her babies and ate it so I only had 2 survivors left) Anywho, I took little lone scorpling and put it in a vial of moist substrate and this is going on day 8? and it's still alive and well. That's why I asked OP if they had molted yet since it was off it's mom's back.

Oh interesting! I never would have guessed honestly. Thanks for the info! I'm looking to try and breed my C. vittatus pair eventually so that's very helpful info.

 

[Scorpionluva]

Actually, if they've already hit first instar, there's a chance of survival off the mother's back. I currently have a C. gracilis at first instar. It ended up getting stuck in it's molt and was dangling off the mom's back. It took me 5 minutes to get needle nose tongs and get the molt off it's tail (she already rejected 1 of her babies and ate it so I only had 2 survivors left) Anywho, I took little lone scorpling and put it in a vial of moist substrate and this is going on day 8? and it's still alive and well. That's why I asked OP if they had molted yet since it was off it's mom's back.

They are born at 1st instar and once they molt the 1st time - they are considered 2nd instar and Will still take between 4 -10 days before they harden up enough to be on their own. That can vary even further depending on how warm and humid they're kept also.

 

[InvertAddiction]

They are born at 1st instar and once they molt the 1st time - they are considered 2nd instar and Will still take between 4 -10 days before they harden up enough to be on their own. That can vary even further depending on how warm and humid they're kept also.

Thanks for correcting me.

 

[Scorpionluva]

Thanks for correcting me.

You're welcome its a little confusing if you've dealt with other inverts that are counted differently and I have no clue how the others work since i only keep scorpions lol

 

[DerekG4]

So far, they seem to be doing good. Just saw the mother out of her log, counted roughly 20 babies. They’re starting to get a bit of grey on their head. I’m assuming they’re near molting.

She was walking over her water bowl, not sure if she was trying to drink or trying to get humidity.

 

[DerekG4]

What do the babies look like when they’re molting? There’s 3 babies next to her feet that aren’t moving all, 2 of the 3 are upside down. How do I know they’re not dead? Is it the same as tarantulas that they’ll curl their legs? Because one of them have their legs curled.

 

[InvertAddiction]

Can you add some pictures?

 

[DerekG4]

Here’s the first one I found that fell off the mother a while back, it’s currently molting. I found the other one on the right this morning under some moss. I can’t tell if it molted already or is about to Molt.

So far there’s only 1 scorpion left on her back I don’t know if there’s some under her log, but everywhere else in the enclosure there’s none left that I see.

I picked one up yesterday that had fell off and put it in another deli cup. It was already barely moving so I assumed it was either dying or about to Molt. Next day (today) and I saw it hasn’t molted and isn’t moving so I assumed it was dead. I picked it up very gently with a piece of thick paper to make sure I don’t accidentally squish it.

The others that I mentioned yesterday either got eaten or they molted, since I don’t see them anywhere near her. They were right by her feet yesterday, she was stepping on one of them as well.

By the way, how many molts does it take for them to turn completely black and how many molts do they have in total? I heard they have a limit as to how many molts theyll have, unlike a tarantula.