Calling all Hadrurus arizonensis keepers or better yet... experts

[parabuthus]

Lucky window...

I can observe what is going on in the burrow.

 

[parabuthus]

Ok, well the time had come...

I decided to infiltrate the burrow after -alarmingly- noticing the mother grab one of the scorplings with a pincer, so I quickly scraped on the substrate and she released the baby immediately.

I then removed a large piece of substrate which I had cut with a blade, however I never cut all the way to the main chamber of the burrow. Instead I used a pen and pushed it through, to create a small passageway. Obviously she got real mad at this. I then herded a small hopper through and she devoured it, then a second... now a third. She badly needed fed, and I think this could be the difference between getting a shot at raising the scorplings or the mother eating them all... I didn't want to interfere, but it has been a month now and I think she was getting hungry to the point of eating her young. Maybe the "window" was confusing her? As she has sat with her pincers open at the window for weeks now, as if it is a burrow opening? Who knows... this is what prompted me to act.

They have all molted and are looking healthy. They have a lovely gold coming through now as their exoskeleton develops. And now the mother is getting fed, while remaining in the burrow with them, which I think is a good thing. And the scorplings can now get out of the burrow through the tiny passage I've made if they want.

As always, I'll keep updating this thread with any new developments...

 

[Jmadson13]

Congratulations, this is definitely much more progress than most have made.

 

[parabuthus]

5th (small) hopper is currently being eaten... nothing big is being pushed through though, incase she didn't take it, the scorplings would have to be able to handle it.

The mother is "freaking out" while she eats them, pincers shaking, front legs shaking like mad. Normally they twitch a little when eating, but she is REALLY starved, you can tell by her behaviour... poor girl.

 

[parabuthus]

I seperated the mother last night, otherwise I think there would have been no scorplings left this morning.

That said, they have burrowed into the substrate much further than the original chamber the mother had dug out. Some of the scorplings came out last night for a walk around, they look awesome, and have grown quite a bit already. I never got a chance to seperate any of them though. I put in a hopper last night, and disabled it a little. It is gone this morning, so they must have ate it.

I also got some good pictures of the mother last night (in the defensive posture after tailing her from the original tank to a secondary one), although I am worried she has a tiny bit of mycosis on the joints of a leg or two, due to higher humidity for the youngsters over the past week or two. Which sucks...

More soon...

 

[parabuthus]

Well, the scorplings are scuttling around, very active. I am crushing up small hoppers and tossing them in, as soon as I turn my back they have been dragged into the network of burrows...

I can't count how many are still alive and kicking, because they have re-dug all the passages that the mother blocked up to give birth, so they are all over the tank! Suffice to say, several are alive and well, I am hoping 10.

I think keeping them in the larger tank for the meantime, well fed, is possibly the best idea to try and achieve the first 3 molts. The reason being that more complex moisture gradients can be achieved with more substrate in a bigger set up, with more places for the scorplings to choose to sit.

 

[parabuthus]

As far as the mycosis goes, I never noticed the marks on the scorp when I first got it, but they were there...

Is that mycosis in the joints of that leg (more prominent black)?

 

[Prymal]

Congrats on the new scorplings and your achievement thus far. From all I've read, you've definitely gotten further than many and from your updates, looks like you've been doing everything right so far. Best wishes for continued success!

 

[parabuthus]

Thanks, I've been keeping a close eye on everything. I really wanted the mother out of there asap, but had to wait quite sometime until her metasoma was sticking out of the burrow; tailed her real quick. She didn't like that. I took these pics right after seperating her...

I am going to try and get some pics of the scorplings over the weekend. Wish me luck, I need it...

 

[Prymal]

Greets-

Quite the beautiful fem (nice photos). Good luck!

 

[parabuthus]

I apologise for all these pics, but I feel you could be interested... my H. arizonensis predating a hopper. I actually got video footage of the initial catch and sting, I'll see how it turns out and post a link if it is any use. It was taken on a whim, so I had no time to prepare lighting like I did with these images and it was taken from outside the tank, so there is glare.

In the meantime...

 

[parabuthus]

Very poor quality. But you can see what is going on... check out the noisy budgie in the background... if it doesn't shut up, I am going to feed it to my Emp...

Ofcourse, I am joking.

www.pitofhorror.com/Scorpions/Video/HAvideo.avi - It will play with Windows Media Player. Comparable in size to a typical MP3 file (about 4.57mb), so give it a few minutes to download.

Next video will be prepared properly and longer in duration. I am compiling all these images and video for the website I am building, incase you are wondering. So you get first look...

 

[parabuthus]

Ok... I misted the tank HEAVILY in one corner earlier today, and gradually lessened as I misted from one side of the tank to the other, to create a moisture gradient.

As soon as they felt the "rain", five scorplings emmerged from the tunnel networks. Two of them being larger and having more developed exo-skeletons than the others. Possibly 2nd instar.

As soon as they immerged almost all of them moved for the heavily misted corner of the tank or nearby.

Most of the scorplings pulled back their pincers and used their chelicerae to attain water from the substrate. Meanwhile one scorpling, definitely still 1st instar, went to the side of the tank and actually drank from droplets on the side of the tank. They really need alot of water, outside of prey eaten. This is obvious.

Now there could be more than five scorplings, however that is all I saw at any one time. Only time will tell and it is likely that some of the bigger ones will eat the smaller ones. I am willing to take that chance and don't mind as long as I can try and raise some past 3rd instar and from there on out.

I have been pre-killing small hoppers for them and cutting up little slices for them from the locust's abdomen. Not a very nice task (of which I take no satisfaction at all), but the scorplings can't get enough. They eat the lot... legs, head... one minute the food is there on the substrate, the next it is gone... dragged into the burrow!

So far so good. Here are a couple of pics of the scorplings themselves, the first I've taken... as you can see, in the firs pic one of the scorplings is pulling back it's pincers fromthe substrate to use it's chelicerae for water, as I mentioned above. The second pic has one of the other scorplings in the mouth of the main burrow entrance, consuming a chunk of hopper abdomen.

 

[GQ.]

Thanks for posting the updates. I'm hoping to try my hand with them in the near future. Good luck with all of them. I'm rootin' for you.

 

[TheNothing]

awesome pictures
can definately see they're H.a.'s at 2nd instar

 

[parabuthus]

A few more pictures of the scorplings...

Plus a failed predation by the mother on the hopper. She grabbed it successfully, but it jumped away with such force that it's leg was ripped off. My scorp still had a hold of the leg and proceeded to try and grab the hopper for several minutes, even though it was on the other side of the tank. Pretty funny... she made a great lunge though; very accurate.

www.pitofhorror.com/Scorpions/Video/HAvideo2.avi

She got it second time, and I missed it .

Again I apologise for the poor quality of the video footage, but it was taken quickly with next to no lighting. I'll work on something special over the coming months...

 

[parabuthus]

I also really like this picture, even though the glare from the flash is obvious...

 

[parabuthus]

I counted 7 scorplings today, possibly 8. So I am happy with that, since I don't think there were much more than 12 originally. I want to try and get them through the next molt or two and then think about splitting them into two groups (of atleast four hopefully!). I'll have a tank ready -of the same size- with exactly the same substrate. I don't want to put them into little tubs (like I had planned originally, I've got a feeling they will just die if I do that).

In the meantime, here are some more pictures of the scorplings ...

This was a nice suprise, approx. 6 or 7 scorplings around the back of the tank in the burrow! Note: you can only see five here, but there were more deeper into the burrow.

The smallest scorpling... I tossed it a hopper leg and gave it some water, which it drank up!

The same scorpling, very beautiful.

This scorpling -in the above three pics- was out and about while I took the photo of the others in the burrow. It seems to be the same one that comes out each time to the most moist part of the tank, it also appears to be much smaller than the others.

I'll keep everybody posted. I hope they all get through a third molt easily when the time comes... :?

 

[DHunter]

That first picture of the scorpion drinking is just too cool! :clap:

 

[final-sting]

As far as the mycosis goes, I never noticed the marks on the scorp when I first got it, but they were there...

Is that mycosis in the joints of that leg (more prominent black)?

hmm i think its mycosis, mine have the same black spot on exactly the same leg.
i hope this will not grow more.
what say the experts? when a scorp have littel mycosis it grow more and more or its possible the mycosis stop?