Asian Forest Scorpling Care

[Volcarona]

Hey, guys. So, it turned out the first ever arachnid I got was gravid. I had no idea until she gave birth back in November. After a few weeks, the scorplings were off the mother's back, so I went ahead and placed them in a separate container. After a few months, the babies are darker and chubbier, but I don't think any of them have molted. Currently, eight out of eleven have survived; the last three died from unknown causes, but not cannibalism or anything as far as I can tell. I'm mainly concerned that they're still very skittish - I try my best to only feed them small crickets, but more often than not, they run instead of trying to grab it. Are scorplings mainly scavengers at this age? I know they're eating, as if I leave a twitching cricket in their cage or am persistent enough, they eventually accept it, but I'm worried I'm doing something wrong. All eight are currently being kept on moist cocofiber in the same large sterillite container with holes drilled into it for ventilation. They're kept at room temp, typically around 72 degrees F. When exactly can they be sexed? When do they become sexually mature? When should I place them in separate containers? How often exactly should I be offering them food (right now, I usually offer a cricket 1-2 times per week)? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Poonjab]

@Lubed Tweezer this ones for you.

 

[Dr SkyTower]

you could try feeding them pre-killed crickets. They may scavenge them.

 

[FrankiePinchinatti]

Keeping them too cold will definitely stunt their growth, if they are a few months old they should have molted at least once by now. I would bump the temp into the 80s and you'll see a huge difference.

 

[Volcarona]

Keeping them too cold will definitely stunt their growth, if they are a few months old they should have molted at least once by now. I would bump the temp into the 80s and you'll see a huge difference.

Thanks for the tip. How would you recommend warming up a plastic sterillite container? I've thought of using a weak cage heater you see in stores before, but I read those are only for glass.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

So you bought a scorpion and it turned out to be gravid ? I bet no fortune cookie warned you about that !
They grow at average speed, it takes about 4 years to reach adulthood (depending on the exact species), but if you keep them at 72°F/22°C it will take longer.
Their metabolism isn't fully up to speed at that temperature, a bit warmer is recommended to have scorpions that are hungry and active.
It's recommended that their enclosure has a hot and a cold zone/side, the hot side should be close to 90°F/32°C but certainly no hotter.
The colder zone is where your enclosure would have the ventilation ports/holes and it should be around 80°F/26°C.
72°F won't kill them, they also experience that in certain times of the year in their wild habitat. Even a bit colder.
But when that relatively colder time comes all the critters (their food) will also hide, so no wonder the scorpions also become less active.
It also decreases grow rate, they are more vulnerable at young age.
The relative humidity should be kept somewhere around 60-90%, that means watering the substrate and possibly limit ventilation.
Offering food once per week is enough. They are supposed to be skittish, better hide immediately at the slightest sign of danger.
When you rip the lid off the enclosure they are in 'what the hell just happened' mode, and don't think about eating but rather seek cover.
I tend to leave the small crickets in there for a few hours and leave the enclosure alone, no rocking, no footsteps felt from big scary animals (humans).
Also wind/draft startles them so put the food in and the lid back on.
Usually only after a few minutes of leaving the enclosure alone the scorpions return to business as usual.
I think you might be able to sex them at i5 at the earliest, however sexing too soon has a lower rate of accuracy so i6 would be best.

 

[Volcarona]

So you bought a scorpion and it turned out to be gravid ? I bet no fortune cookie warned you about that !
They grow at average speed, it takes about 4 years to reach adulthood (depending on the exact species), but if you keep them at 72°F/22°C it will take longer.
Their metabolism isn't fully up to speed at that temperature, a bit warmer is recommended to have scorpions that are hungry and active.
It's recommended that their enclosure has a hot and a cold zone/side, the hot side should be close to 90°F/32°C but certainly no hotter.
The colder zone is where your enclosure would have the ventilation ports/holes and it should be around 80°F/26°C.
72°F won't kill them, they also experience that in certain times of the year in their wild habitat. Even a bit colder.
But when that relatively colder time comes all the critters (their food) will also hide, so no wonder the scorpions also become less active.
It also decreases grow rate, they are more vulnerable at young age.
The relative humidity should be kept somewhere around 60-90%, that means watering the substrate and possibly limit ventilation.
Offering food once per week is enough. They are supposed to be skittish, better hide immediately at the slightest sign of danger.
When you rip the lid off the enclosure they are in 'what the hell just happened' mode, and don't think about eating but rather seek cover.
I tend to leave the small crickets in there for a few hours and leave the enclosure alone, no rocking, no footsteps felt from big scary animals (humans).
Also wind/draft startles them so put the food in and the lid back on.
Usually only after a few minutes of leaving the enclosure alone the scorpions return to business as usual.
I think you might be able to sex them at i5 at the earliest, however sexing too soon has a lower rate of accuracy so i6 would be best.

Thanks a bunch! How should I go about warming them when they're in a sterillite container? And how do I tell what instar they are? Sorry, I'm new to all of this.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

The temperature delta is only a few degrees so I think a heat mat would do fine. Always heat from the side or top, not under the enclosure. There are also heat lamps available if you need more power/heat energy. It also depends on the size of the enclosure. Whatever you choose make sure it is controlled by a thermostat. Putting in 1 or 2 thermometers helps you fine tune the setup and since your scorpion require a somewhat higher humidity you could go for hygrometer+thermometer combo's.

 

[Volcarona]

The temperature delta is only a few degrees so I think a heat mat would do fine. Always heat from the side or top, not under the enclosure. There are also heat lamps available if you need more power/heat energy. It also depends on the size of the enclosure. Whatever you choose make sure it is controlled by a thermostat. Putting in 1 or 2 thermometers helps you fine tune the setup and since your scorpion require a somewhat higher humidity you could go for hygrometer+thermometer combo's.

On your advice, I got a small heater (the pad kind you stick to the side of the tank). It's one only meant for 1-5 gallon tanks, so thankfully it hasn't damaged the plastic tub yet. I don't think anyone's molted yet, but the scorplings seem to really like the heater. Sometimes I'll see one nestled up near it (but they can't directly touch it). Awww! And most of them are super chubby, so I'm hoping they'll molt eventually. If one starts to molt, should I move them away from the others? I have them in one cage under one large hide since they tend to cluster together anyway.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

It depends on the exact species (you didn't mention that yet), but most from the heterometrus genus will be fine.
If you don't know what species you have, or you want 100% certainty that the juveniles won't be harmed then every molted scorpion needs to be separated for 1-2 weeks until it's new exoskeleton is hardened out.

 

[GabrieleT]

You can also try to offer them mealworm pieces with tweezers, You cut a mealworm in 2 or 3 pieces then you put the piece near their mouth and very often at least mine start eating it if they are hungry. Feeding once a week is fine for instar 2, then for instar 3-4 even less often, but if you keep them communally you can try to feed them every 7-8 days to avoid them getting too hungry and maybe attack each other. If you raise them in a group you need a larger enclosure with plenty of hides. I realised raising P imperator, H swammerdami and H spinifer that increased mortality can result from feeding young scorplings too much and too often.

 

[Volcarona]

You can also try to offer them mealworm pieces with tweezers, You cut a mealworm in 2 or 3 pieces then you put the piece near their mouth and very often at least mine start eating it if they are hungry. Feeding once a week is fine for instar 2, then for instar 3-4 even less often, but if you keep them communally you can try to feed them every 7-8 days to avoid them getting too hungry and maybe attack each other. If you raise them in a group you need a larger enclosure with plenty of hides. I realised raising P imperator, H swammerdami and H spinifer that increased mortality can result from feeding young scorplings too much and too often.

Thanks! Would I be able to tell by looking at them if I'm feeding them too much/too little? How many typically make it to adulthood (half a litter, more, etc.)? And would anyone be able to do a species ID by looking at one of the babies? Sadly, the mother passed away a couple weeks ago, but I do still have her in the freezer (I was hoping to eventually try to preserve her) if you can only ID adults. I know they're Heterometrus (I think I spelled that right), but Pepper's (the mom) exact species wasn't listed when I bought her at a Repticon last January. I admit she was a bit of an impulse buy (I know, I know), so I didn't think to ask about the species when I first got her. I've been doing a lot of research since then and don't regret getting into the hobby, though. Sorry for the rambling, it's a bad habit of mine.