C Gracilis babies

[Wolvie56X]

how long can i keep them in the communal tank? they are still on their mothers back, but have just shedded since being born, i read that the babies can stay in there for how ever long you want, just as long as the adults are being fed properly, but then i heard its best to seperate the babies into their own tank so they can grow together and so forth

whats the best idea? any info is much appreciated

Wolvie

 

[Scorpie]

i would wait untill second or third instar before seperating. you dont have to seperate them just yet. it depends on the size of the tank and how many babys you have aswell.

 

[Wolvie56X]

6 adults in a 10 gallon hex tanks, plenty of hides and cover, babies just molted their first time, still on mommys back, just dunno if the other adults will bother them? i feed them very well and rip the big legs off the crickets so they all get a meal

Wolvie

 

[G. Carnell]

Careful with this method, i have 17 baby forest scorp in one big tank, and i thought that they were all fat, as the only ones i ever saw (the adventurous ones) were fat, but when i dug them all up, the other scorps were all relatively thin (not fat) and so i had to feed them all V quickly to prevent cannibalism.

just to say- make sure you put in Extra crickets, and if in 3-4 days they are not eaten, they are ALL fat or fed

 

[Wolvie56X]

i have yet to see my baby spinfers eat, i put in crushed crickets and feed mommy 2 or 3 crickets a day, shes real hungry, but i dont know if shes feeding the babies or what, i see the dead crickets in there and remove them, but they all seem to be very heathy and running around, hiding under the water dish or in mommys burrow, but they are all alive, still 32 when i counted last night, any other way to make sure they are eating? i also put in a couple wounded crickets, thinking that may want live prey, but found them dead the next day

Wolvie

 

[G. Carnell]

Hey wolvie,
i did the same thing as you- but this was succeseful, i would pile up about 10-15 dead jumbo crickets infront of the burrow and by the next day there were non left.

otherwise, (may seem cruel) but get small tweezers and crush the crickets mouth parts- so they are very active and cant kill scorps..
this worked 100%
32 is a very nice count, i only got 18

 

[Critterfarm]

I'd pull them. IMO in a community tank you'll lose about 50% of the brood from starvation or cannabilism.

 

[Deadly1]

My L.Q. had babies the other day, right now they are going through the first molt......I had a problem she had so many that clumps of babies were being left around the enclosure. so i scooped them all out huddled together and placed them in a deli cup with high humidity and temp. looks like it paid off, the majority of them are molted already and cruising around the cup, I think I am going to separate them into smaller groups "Feed groups" today maybe 15 or so per cup.....she had about hundred kids! I havent seen the ones that are still on her back, Im going to check them today as well.

 

[Eurypterid]

My biggest problem with keeping 2nd instar C. gracilis together is that they don't all get a fair share of food. Some get more and some less. The ones that get more develop faster, molt to 3rd instar sooner, but then get eaten while vulnerable by their less developed siblings who have not been getting their share of the food. Justice I guess, but I hate the mortality.

Gary

 

[Wolvie56X]

with my H Spinifer and C Gracilis babies, i crush a cricket and put it in there, but they dont eat it, what do i do with the C Gracilis? my H Spinifer mommy is in the burrow with the babies, so i think they are all eating cause they are getting big, but with the C Gracilis should i put in alternative food? like wingless fruit flies?

Wolvie

 

[Eurypterid]

The young usually won't eat until they disperse. I keep some of my 2nd instars communally (not with adults) and some I've separated. Those that are communal I feed in just the way you described, and they readily feed this way. In fact, if the adult cricket is still mobile, they will tackle it and take it down (very impressive given the huge size difference). They are quite voracious. I have 3 litters of over 50 individuals I feed this way.

Gary

 

[Critterfarm]

Considering the brood size that C gracillis is capable of, sometimes cannabalism/starvation can be your friend

I've got 5 kritter keepers full of lil ones, and not nearly enough maggots,pinheads or fruit flies to keep them happy

 

[Critterfarm]

I have 3 litters of over 50 individuals I feed this way.

Gary

What's your approximate mortality rate keeping the babies communaly, feeding them split adult crickets?
I tend to lose ~25% when using pinheads/maggots/termites, but procuring the food is a pain. If your losses are acceptable I may switch to your method

 

[Eurypterid]

What's your approximate mortality rate keeping the babies communaly, feeding them split adult crickets?
I tend to lose ~25% when using pinheads/maggots/termites, but procuring the food is a pain. If your losses are acceptable I may switch to your method

I'd say 20-25%. I haven't been tracking these guys too closely, as I have so many right now. These are just my communal litters of C. gracilis, not counting those I separated, and all my litters of other species. Losses appear to be mostly due to cannibalism, which happens right after molting.

My losses among those I keep separarted are less than 10%, but with more than one litter I think the increased mortality is worth the reduced effort. Feeding hundreds of babies individually gets to be too time-intensive, and you risk losing more to starvation.

Gary

 

[Critterfarm]

I'd say 20-25%. I haven't been tracking these guys too closely, as I have so many right now. These are just my communal litters of C. gracilis, not counting those I separated, and all my litters of other species. Losses appear to be mostly due to cannibalism, which happens right after molting.

Well your loss rate is as good or better than mine. I'll try the >big dead cricket< method with my groups. Thanks again for another heads-up.

My losses among those I keep separarted are less than 10%, but with more than one litter I think the increased mortality is worth the reduced effort. Feeding hundreds of babies individually gets to be too time-intensive, and you risk losing more to starvation.

Gary

I have 114 second instars seperated 3 to a cup, with the hopes of raising 1/3 of them. The feeding is getting to be a time problem. What are your thoughts on manipulating tempature/humidity so that the mothers don't all pop at once? Mine were late this year, yet they still all popped in the span of a single week. Last year I had the same situation. I love seeing the babies, but I sure wish they could be spaced apart a bit, even 2 weeks would help.
I apologize in advance for the theoretical question

 

[Eurypterid]

The dead cricket method has been working well for me. I usually put 2 or 3 in at a time, or else competition gets fierce, and I sometime dismember them first in order to spread them around a bit.

I'm sure you could space out your litters a bit by manipulating temps. I keep mine all in a temp controlled room, so they all see the same conditions, and 3 of the females were in the same enclosure as well. Even then they were spaced out over 3 weeks or so, so I think basic biological differences between the females plays a significant role. Since that part might be difficult if not impossible to guage, you may not get great results with temperature changes alone, though. For example, if you had two females, one that was predisposed to birthing early, and the second to birhting late, but then you tried to keep the first one cool to delay her giving birth, you might end up with them giving birth closer together than they would have on their own. It's worth tying though. I'm sure that if you kept some of them below 80 until after the others had given birth, you could space them out at least a little.

Gary

 

[Critterfarm]

As always Gary, you're a wealth of knowledge and ideas. I moved some tanks around in the hopes I can regulate any second clutching to a small degree. Thanks

 

[eksong]

On a side note, how much do C gracilis adults go for? The local store here is selling a pair at $30 each.

They do look amazing, all I have are baby emps and I'd really like to expand.

 

[Eurypterid]

$30 apiece seems really high. I'd expect something more like half that, unless they're Central American.

Gary