# Mother Scorpion eating babies.



## Maggotskin (Mar 23, 2006)

My Emperor Scopion just had babies and had about 26 of them, but now theres only 14 left cause she ate the rest of them. I don't understand is this normal because I have crickets that she can eat and she just ate the babies.:?


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## Raan_Jodus (Mar 23, 2006)

crickets in the tank while she has babies? 
not good, since that will stress her out and cause her to eat the babies.  It might be a loss this round.  Whether or not you should go and remove the crickets, I'm not sure, someone with more experience will hopefully give you a better answer.


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## 1/2 (Mar 23, 2006)

Maggotskin said:
			
		

> My Emperor Scopion just had babies and had about 26 of them, but now theres only 14 left cause she ate the rest of them. I don't understand is this normal because I have crickets that she can eat and she just ate the babies.:?



It is fairly common for scorpions to eat their yong (not the most common thing but still happens every so often) , they tend to eat everything that is smaller than them and moves. The best thing is to separate the remaining scorplings from the mother when they start to wonder away from her. (Most animals kill theyr young if they can't handle the burden of parenting or if the young have some defects... Scorps tend to eat them....)

Best of luck with your new scorplings, and let us know how it works out.


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## Bigboy (Mar 23, 2006)

Bad luck mate, I lost my first clutch of scorplings to a stressed out mother too.  All you can really do is hope that she doesn't finish off the rest of them.  Before they get to second instar they cannot live without her.


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## Maggotskin (Mar 23, 2006)

Thanks for the advice guys. I was just worried I was maybe doing something extremely wrong. Hopefully she doesnt eat all of them and then I can seperate them when it comes time.


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## Scorpfanatic (Mar 23, 2006)

hi... i was feeding my female spinifer normally, then afetr birth i wait for the scropling to pass 1st instar then i feed the mum , she takes the food because she knows that her babies are stillon her back, when the babies is OFF the back the problems will start because the mum has to differentiate the scorpling and crickets. usually they do. so in your case its either maybe you put more then one cricket and the mum is pretty stressout? thinking that those are babies that fall off the back ? or some other predator that wans her babies. so she will eat the babies  ... its the way of nature.. we can only TRY to prevent..


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## ajay (May 15, 2021)

My dictator scorpion had babies yesterday but I have only seen 3 since she I noticed checked again this morning she has 2 on her back there was one on her abdomen yesterday but now it is laying in the substrate by her water dish she is in her hide what should I do with the one that fell off and shouldn’t she of had more than 3 she was huge is it possible she ate the rest before I noticed she was birthing or could she have more in her


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## Beetles (May 15, 2021)

The one that has fallen off if it's still alive then if you have styrofoam or a similar you can place it on that in a warm and moist setup. For the amount of babies was her sides very large? One reason is she could've eaten babies before you noticed. If you dont mind could you post pics of her and the setup to help.


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## Tleilaxu (May 15, 2021)

Maggotskin said:


> Thanks for the advice guys. I was just worried I was maybe doing something extremely wrong. Hopefully she doesnt eat all of them and then I can seperate them when it comes time.


Also first time mother's often fail, I see it all the time with fish, and even birds. That said emperor scorpions have prolonged parental care of their babies, you will have the greatest chance if you can leave the babies with her as long as possible.

Good luck.

Edit: Holy necromancy batman!


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## ajay (May 16, 2021)

Beetles said:


> The one that has fallen off if it's still alive then if you have styrofoam or a similar you can place it on that in a warm and moist setup. For the amount of babies was her sides very large? One reason is she could've eaten babies before you noticed. If you dont mind could you post pics of her and the setup to help.


This is her with the 2 that stayed on her back and a previous pic of mom and dad they were separated about a month before she gave birth i will get a better pic of her setup when I get home she is in a 5 gallon aquarium heat pad attached to 1 side about 4 to 6 inches of substrate so she can regulate how warm she stays by burrowing closer I try to keep temps around 80-84 around 75 at night and humidity between 65 and 85% I have 3 quarters of her lid covered with plastic wrap to help keep humidity from escaping I did move the one that fell off into a beta cup with moist substrate seemed to be doing ok this morning she still appears to be very Gracie however it’s been about 3 days since she birthed I check on her periodically not to much as I don’t want to stress her out is it possible she will have more scorplings or do you think she is fat because she ate the others I have offerd her food but she will not take it I tried crickets super worms (she very rarely will eat super worms) and a blue horn worm she has not ate since a week before she started birthing any advice if I’m doing something wrong these are  my first scorpions definitely first time caring for scorplings


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## Scorpiobsession (May 16, 2021)

ajay said:


> This is her with the 2 that stayed on her back and a previous pic of mom and dad they were separated about a month before she gave birth i will get a better pic of her setup when I get home she is in a 5 gallon aquarium heat pad attached to 1 side about 4 to 6 inches of substrate so she can regulate how warm she stays by burrowing closer I try to keep temps around 80-84 around 75 at night and humidity between 65 and 85% I have 3 quarters of her lid covered with plastic wrap to help keep humidity from escaping I did move the one that fell off into a beta cup with moist substrate seemed to be doing ok this morning she still appears to be very Gracie however it’s been about 3 days since she birthed I check on her periodically not to much as I don’t want to stress her out is it possible she will have more scorplings or do you think she is fat because she ate the others I have offerd her food but she will not take it I tried crickets super worms (she very rarely will eat super worms) and a blue horn worm she has not ate since a week before she started birthing any advice if I’m doing something wrong these are  my first scorpions definitely first time caring for scorplings


She is likely stressed out from you checking on her so often. Only peek into her tub and don't open the lid, offer her food, or bother her.


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## ajay (May 16, 2021)

Only time I open the lid is to water her or offer food or remove the food I injure crickets and super worms and leave them at entrance of her hide and remove them if not eaten in 24 hours she only comes out of her hide once in awhile mostly to drink or inspect food that I dropped that’s how I got the picture her the hide is angled so I can see in through the tank since before she birthed I only interact with them when they willingly come out and when I separated them just unsure as to why I only got 3 babies and she is still so gravid looking after so many days

Reactions: Thinking 1


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## Dr SkyTower (May 17, 2021)

best thing to do is leave her alone, and like Scorpiobsession said, don't offer her food or open her lid to check on her. If she's still so fat after that many days, she could still be pregnant and stressed.


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## krenemetcalfe (May 19, 2021)

Maggotskin said:


> My Emperor Scopion just had babies and had about 26 of them, but now theres only 14 left cause she ate the rest of them. I don't understand is this normal because I have crickets that she can eat and she just ate the babies.:?


I believe there isn’t a solid “norm.” However, Emperors are Maternal. 26 is a large brood, so she may have been culling them down to a manageable size. 14 sounds about right, and I wonder if she may be done, and will raise them? Although, that would be a big if not all emperors make good mothers, just like any species. My female happens to be amazing and loves being a Mom. She has had her babies with her still since Last June. I am more afraid to separate them all at this point. They cuddle and seem to be content together. She is protective and nurturing still of them and will even still let them climb on her and randomly hitch a ride despite their large size.


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## krenemetcalfe (May 19, 2021)

Maggotskin said:


> My Emperor Scopion just had babies and had about 26 of them, but now theres only 14 left cause she ate the rest of them. I don't understand is this normal because I have crickets that she can eat and she just ate the babies.:?


 I believe there isn’t a solid “norm.” However, Emperors are Maternal. 26 is a large brood, so she may have been culling them down to a manageable size. 14 sounds about right, and I wonder if she may be done, and will raise them? Although, that would be a big if not all emperors make good mothers, just like any species. My female happens to be amazing and loves being a Mom. She has had her babies with her still since Last June. I am more afraid to separate them all at this point. They cuddle and seem to be content together. She is protective and nurturing still of them and will even still let them climb on her and randomly hitch a ride despite their large size.


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## Dr SkyTower (May 19, 2021)

krenemetcalfe's comment: (the quote wouldn't paste!)

lol, those kids need to start getting some independence! I'd probably separate them at the point the scorplings are so big, the enclosure gets too small to fit them all. Its very fascinating that the mother is still so nurturing of them at a year old plus.


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## krenemetcalfe (May 19, 2021)

Dr SkyTower said:


> krenemetcalfe's comment: (the quote wouldn't paste!)
> 
> lol, those kids need to start getting some independence! I'd probably separate them at the point the scorplings are so big, the enclosure gets too small to fit them all. Its very fascinating that the mother is still so nurturing of them at a year old plus.


 it has almost been a year! June on Father’s day will be their birthday. It’s interesting, because any time I tried to separate any of her babies is when she became noticeably stressed. They seem to prefer to be where each other are in the enclosure, and most prefer to be with Mom. She still walks around the enclosure and does this tapping thing with her pincers open gently and it appears she keeps some sort of accountability. She did Seem to intentionally cull three in the first month and a half or two of their life. She did  NOT eat them and actually protected their little bodies. It was strange. One of them, she actually nudged a few times after. She is very maternal and still shares food. She does not hoard. I drop lives crickets in and they all free eat. It’s like a truly communal situation. I guess in the wild they live communally, but I wholeheartedly agree this is already tight quarters. They just seem to almost prefer it. We had the good fortune of accidentally adopting her gravid. I have to find some homes to adopt them to that I feel will be good emperor homes. They are somewhat feisty babies. Need handling and patient owners. The bigger babies will sting. The two smaller runts are pretty Chill. Mama has always been a gem, except when I took her babies away.they are amazing to watch grow and it’s been truly awesome to see her be a Momma. She is better than many humans I know!

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Tleilaxu (May 19, 2021)

Dr SkyTower said:


> krenemetcalfe's comment: (the quote wouldn't paste!)
> 
> lol, those kids need to start getting some independence! I'd probably separate them at the point the scorplings are so big, the enclosure gets too small to fit them all. Its very fascinating that the mother is still so nurturing of them at a year old plus.


That's normal with p imperator they will often keep babies for an extended period of time(two even three years) and in the wild having family groups seems to increase the survival rate dramatically.


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