Babycurus Jacksoni in a communal setup – How to do it right?

Henry1975

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Apr 17, 2016
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Finally I have decided to start keeping Babycurus Jacksonis in a communal terrarium. The new enclosure is 23 x 15 x 15 inches or 60 x 40 x 40 cm (25 gallons). The biggest scorps available are i5. Some questions:

1. Would it be safer to start with only females, as the males seem to be more territorial? (I want to get used to caring for these in a communal setup, before perhaps trying to get babies later on.)

2. How many Jacksonis can be kept in this enclosure?

3. How to minimize the risk of cannibalism?

4. Any important things to consider when introducing new ones to a setup where there are already some? (I will probably buy from two different dealers to get what I want; only females.)

Any advice from experienced keepers would be much appreciated, and beneficial for the scorpions of course.

Many thanks in advance
 

G. Carnell

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Hey

I used to keep B. jacksoni, but ended up separating mine before moults and at adulthood

IMO, don't keep them communally until adult (its just a risk!)

minimizing cannibalism has always been down to more space and more food availability
 

pannaking22

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Agreed with G. Carnell. If they have lots and lots of space filled with plenty of hiding places, you have less cannibalism, but there will probably still be at least a little bit with this species. Once they reach adulthood they seem to do better. Almost always having food in there will help too.
 

Henry1975

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G. Carnell & pannaking22: Big thanks for sharing Your experiences!

Cannibalism is a risk here, I respect that.So less scorps, plenty of food and more hiding places is the way to go if one still wants to keep them communally.

Let´s say that 4 females, or perhaps 5, with at least twice as many hiding places cross the whole area, will be living in that 25 Gallon terrarium. - Shall I go for it?
 

WeightedAbyss75

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G. Carnell & pannaking22: Big thanks for sharing Your experiences!

Cannibalism is a risk here, I respect that.So less scorps, plenty of food and more hiding places is the way to go if one still wants to keep them communally.

Let´s say that 4 females, or perhaps 5, with at least twice as many hiding places cross the whole area, will be living in that 25 Gallon terrarium. - Shall I go for it?
I would do it, just to see what will happen. If you see cannibalism, then seperate them afterward. It's risky, but if you want to try you can.
 

Henry1975

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WeightedAbyss75: Thanks for Your support! I will go for a communal set up. Will try to get some adults, if I cannot get adults, there will be subadults.
 

WeightedAbyss75

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WeightedAbyss75: Thanks for Your support! I will go for a communal set up. Will try to get some adults, if I cannot get adults, there will be subadults.
Sounds awesome! Post some pics if you can, always love to see communal setups :D
 

Pipa

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yes I agree with some folks here ... even ' bark ' scorpion species ... I never do communal because of cannibalism, even in adults.... I've kept both B gigas and B jacksonii in communal and it always seems males kill other males .... I've had a couple of brutal females that love to eat their boyfriends as well....I even had many pieces of cork bark in the communal setups and there was still some causalities. If you really want a communal species, its best to go with C. vittatus, still some cannibalism but not as bad as Babycurus species. Good Luck !
 

Henry1975

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Sounds awesome! Post some pics if you can, always love to see communal setups :D
I will, in a week or two! I have the enclosure. The rest of the stuff and the first scorps are ordered and will at best arrive at the end of next week.
 

Henry1975

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yes I agree with some folks here ... even ' bark ' scorpion species ... I never do communal because of cannibalism, even in adults.... I've kept both B gigas and B jacksonii in communal and it always seems males kill other males .... I've had a couple of brutal females that love to eat their boyfriends as well....I even had many pieces of cork bark in the communal setups and there was still some causalities. If you really want a communal species, its best to go with C. vittatus, still some cannibalism but not as bad as Babycurus species. Good Luck !
I do respect Your knowledge and experience.

I have done a lot of searches online and am aware of the risk of cannibalism. My aim is to avoid it if possible. Will go for only females to reduce the risk. And 3 to maximum 5 scorps in the 25 Gallon terrarium with plenty of hideouts. But there will be Jacksonis, mainly since they was what I originally wanted in my return to the hobby this spring. All things considered (appearance, venom potency, behavior, demands, possibility of group housing, price, availability, possibility of future breeding) this is the right specie for me.

The Jacksoni setup will be ready in the end of next week and hopefully the first scorps have arrived then. I will update on how it goes, even if it turns out bad.

I am very grateful for each answer so far. Thank You all!
 

gromgrom

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I've kept jacksoni since 2010, and I have the following observations and experience to lend

  • Minimize the number of males per setup. Even regardless of males, you need to keep a good eye on all of your specimen for any cannibalism, even as adults. Males are just more prone to do so.
  • Many, many hides. Provide wet and dryer hides. They come from a semi arid region, or so I'm told. I do 1.5x the number of specimen in hides. I keep one end moist, one end dry.
  • Provide plenty of food items. Mature males eat once every two weeks usually. Gravid females will consume 1-2 prey items a week on average.
  • I dont recommend keeping them communally before adulthood. They aren't even sexable prior to adulthood (until the final two molts), but females I've kept together tend to do well, even without hides and in a small deli cup together.
  • They're incredibly easy to get big, healthy broods from. Just keep up on cleaning, misting, and feeding.
 

Henry1975

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I've kept jacksoni since 2010, and I have the following observations and experience to lend

  • Minimize the number of males per setup. Even regardless of males, you need to keep a good eye on all of your specimen for any cannibalism, even as adults. Males are just more prone to do so.
  • Many, many hides. Provide wet and dryer hides. They come from a semi arid region, or so I'm told. I do 1.5x the number of specimen in hides. I keep one end moist, one end dry.
  • Provide plenty of food items. Mature males eat once every two weeks usually. Gravid females will consume 1-2 prey items a week on average.
  • I dont recommend keeping them communally before adulthood. They aren't even sexable prior to adulthood (until the final two molts), but females I've kept together tend to do well, even without hides and in a small deli cup together.
  • They're incredibly easy to get big, healthy broods from. Just keep up on cleaning, misting, and feeding.
I have taken to me that you and others have written. There will be only females in my terrarium. Now the shipment has arrived. Finally I have got Babycurus Jacksoni! Two adult females, to start with. Do You think I can add one or two females i6? It is a 25 gallon tank.
 

gromgrom

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I have taken to me that you and others have written. There will be only females in my terrarium. Now the shipment has arrived. Finally I have got Babycurus Jacksoni! Two adult females, to start with. Do You think I can add one or two females i6? It is a 25 gallon tank.
I recommend waiting until they're all adults just in case. In my experiences, I've only kept broodmates together, and they will fare better together when being raised from a younger age
 

Henry1975

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I recommend waiting until they're all adults just in case. In my experiences, I've only kept broodmates together, and they will fare better together when being raised from a younger age
Hm... Now the two adult females were what I could get right now.
I recommend waiting until they're all adults just in case. In my experiences, I've only kept broodmates together, and they will fare better together when being raised from a younger age
The next best thing is female i6, I thought. But a greater tolerance against brood mates actually makes sense; perhaps it is the scents that say it is a sibling and not an enemy. This is new, and very valuable, information. Grateful as I am for that, things are starting to get a bit complicated. I really thought I got this; by going for adult or sub adult females only, “Bug Wars” could be avoided.

Another option would be to start with only these two and later on add an adult male and try to start a new brood. But, there is always a but, I have no experience at all with regard to breed scorpions. A communal setup with 3 - 5 individuals was all I wanted.
 
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Henry1975

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Sounds awesome! Post some pics if you can, always love to see communal setups :D
This is the fresh terrarium. The darker substrate is damp humus/coco fiber and the brighter is aquarium sand.

The sand side is slightly warmer and drier (74 F / 60% or 23,5 C / 60 %). The humus side is a bit cooler and more humid (72 F / 70% or 22 C / 70 %). I will shortly raise the temperature to about 77 - 80 F / 25 - 27 C. A background (poster?) will be added at the back and at the right side so that the terrarium looks better. At least one scorpion is under the single cork piece in front of the “wall”. There is a heat mat on the left side.

Please feel free to criticize the new Jacksoni Residence! Any input is appreciated.
 

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WeightedAbyss75

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This is the fresh terrarium. The darker substrate is damp humus/coco fiber and the brighter is aquarium sand.

The sand side is slightly warmer and drier (74 F / 60% or 23,5 C / 60 %). The humus side is a bit cooler and more humid (72 F / 70% or 22 C / 70 %). I will shortly raise the temperature to about 77 - 80 F / 25 - 27 C. A background (poster?) will be added at the back and at the right side so that the terrarium looks better. At least one scorpion is under the single cork piece in front of the “wall”. There is a heat mat on the left side.

Please feel free to criticize the new Jacksoni Residence! Any input is appreciated.
Raising the temp, trying for babies? Looks really cool, hope it all goes well with all of them.
 

Henry1975

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Raising the temp, trying for babies? Looks really cool, hope it all goes well with all of them.
Big thanks! Yes, I know the temperature is on the low side. The heat mat is not giving as much warmth as I thought, so something must be done, will be figuring out a way to do that.

Thank You all that have been reading and especially for all answers! They are Priceless. Finally a picture of the first Jacksoni ever about to put her feet on one the ground of one of my terrariums. - Finally! :) Take care.
 

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lobocoelho

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Hi everyone.
Would someone know if Babycurus is strictly a climber like Tityus or can they also be found wondering in the ground litter in nature?
Thanks!
 

WeightedAbyss75

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Hi everyone.
Would someone know if Babycurus is strictly a climber like Tityus or can they also be found wondering in the ground litter in nature?
Thanks!
I believe they CAN be both, but they prefer to be on the backs or cork bark. As long as they have some type of bark to climb or sit under, they should be fine with either terrestrial or arboreal
 

Henry1975

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Update: The seller of these first two female Jacksonis warned me for having two females in the same terrarium. The females are so territorial that it will not work he told me. And the seller is not an amateur, rather a pro. (BTW there has not been as easy as I thought to find adult or subadult Jacksonis in Europe. These 4 are the ones that has been available.)

A bit confusion at first, but I chose to trust the information from You guys here. And look at the picture. Pardon the poor cell phone quality, but I think You get the point. It is not the first time I saw this. And there are 9 hideouts to choose from.

At the end of the next week two more females are about to arrive. 3 – 4 more hideouts will be added and there will be crickets available for the scorps. If there is anything important to consider when adding new members to the two already there, please let me know. Your opinions are much appreciated.
 

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