Can someone sex this imperator

[Athlon2k2]

I have looked at all of the pictures on this site but I still can't tell the difference by looking underneath. My AZ barks are noticebly different. I thought this one was a girl but I want to know for sure. Any help would be appreciated.

-Dustin

 

[Cyris69]

Looks to be a female, could be a male due to the genital operculum. a closer look would be much better.
Thaedion sexing pic
http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/...rator/?action=view&current=sexingPandinus.jpg

My sexing pics
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/cyris69/Sexing.jpg?t=1199344253

 

[GartenSpinnen]

Im thinking female but its kinda hard to tell from that pic.
-Nate

 

[jeroenkooijman]

I would say female, but a better picture of the pectines and genital opperculum would be nice.

 

[NrthCstInverts]

Man its really hard to say for certain without a better straight on pic...... but im gonna go against the norm and say BOY.
The pectinal teeth are actually pretty big, and if you look close at the comb on the left, it looks as though it is long enough to stick out the side from underneath... making it pretty big and long.
I see where the operculum is kinda pointing up, but i believe that is just because of the position of the scorp in the pic....

just my .02 though.....

.................ive been staring at this pick for a bit now, and im changing my stance. i think its a girl after all.... i dont think the angle in the pic is actually causing that much distortion....

 

[Athlon2k2]

Yeah sorry for the bad pic. It is really hard to take close pictures with my camera. That is the best one I could seem to get. I will try again and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the fast replies

 

[Vaughan69]

I know its a bit awkward but when i want a picture of the underside i put my scorp on sheet of plexi glass and get someone to snap a shot of it from underneath while i keep her occupied. What lid to your tank do you have? if its a glass one use that.

 

[Athlon2k2]

The lid is a metal mesh. I am using seran wrap on the top to hold humidity levels. So far they have been about 60%. I still am going to do the false bottom but haven't had a chance to get anything yet. I just got her last night. I was at Petco and she was sitting there looking all fat. When I looked underneath I thought she was a girl. I guess I was hoping for a prego. But I'm afraid I just got an old fat male.

 

[Vaughan69]

Haha thats not such a bad thing either (if it is a male it just gives you an excuse to get a female as well ) Try improvising, pop down to your local hardware store/ garden centre and see if you can see anything clear that would work for cheap. if not, get a friend to hold it up by its tail with some tongs (be very gentle they are fragile things) and snap a shot under it.... make sure they dont drop it on you though haha!

 

[Athlon2k2]

That's true. I am going to have a pair. I just don't think I will buy another scorp from a chain pet store. I hear bad things about them. Mostly that they are old and a lot don't live very long. I can't tell how old she is. She is kind of greyish. I don't know if that is because she is getting ready to molt, she has a pretty big gap between slates or if she is just that old.

 

[Vaughan69]

The usual way to have a guess of the age of an emp is the coloys of the stinger, if it is redish or very dark, then its a mature adult and your guess is as good as mine on the age. if however the telson is still creamy coloured, then it still has more moulting to do and you know it is at least not mature yet.

As for the reson most pet store sold scorpions live shorter lives, its not because the pet store has necessarily treated them bad (although this may be the case sometimes) its usually that they are wild caught fully mature adults and as i say, there is no telling how long a scorpion has left if you dont know when it became mature.

But a pair sounds like a good idea, try and get them roughly the same size otherwise one will pick on the other one lol

 

[Galapoheros]

I "think" that is a female. But, to take a better pic, I've found that a good way to sex your scorps from underneath is to put them in a Ziplock freezer bag (the plastic on those is a little thicker) and turn them over. The telson "should" slip over the thick plastic if it tries to sting but watch out for the edges of the bag, maybe it could find a place to puncture there. I confess that I'm not real careful and accept the consequences. I ran out of Zips so I put a male and female in some Reynolds Wrap. The first is female, the second is a male (longer teeth on the pectines). It actually seems like they are comfy in there, maybe they are just running out of air, haha. no, just comfy. I've got another question. Are adult female emps generally a little smaller than the males? I mean it's obviously not an indicator but if you had 100 females separated from 100 males, would the females look a little smaller than the males ...in general? You can do this with big pedes too if you want to take a closer look at them ...not Reynolds Wrap ....freezer bags for those!!

 

[Vaughan69]

Females are genrally larger than males. And that looks like a female mate.

Good idea with the bag though... wouldnt keep her in there too long, i know i wouldnt like being trapped in a giant condom lol

 

[Cyris69]

That doesn't look the least bit stressful

 

[InfestedGoat]

That doesn't look the least bit stressful

My thoughts exactly

 

[Xaranx]

How I do it, put them in an empty glass/plastic container (old window, aquarium or KK) and use a deli cup+ paper towel over the scorpion with gentle pressure to keep it still if needed.

 

[jeroenkooijman]

At least the pictures are clear, it's a male

Genital opperculum is oval-shaped, pectines are long and narrow with long "hairs". Also the pectines are relatively close to each other.

 

[Galapoheros]

Haha, dang! I'm seeing it just the opposite you are. It looks female to me. Pectines look shortish, short teeth, a broad gap between the pectines. Do a baggy drop, shake and take ....a pic.

 

[jeroenkooijman]

short teeth? They don't look that short to me.

Male:


Female:

 

[Thaedion]

I "think" that is a female. But, to take a better pic, I've found that a good way to sex your scorps from underneath is to put them in a Ziplock freezer bag (the plastic on those is a little thicker) and turn them over.

At least the pictures are clear, it's a male

short teeth? They don't look that short to me.

I think what is happening is that 'Athlon2K' has never put up a new pic and that the "clear" pics were 'Galapoheros' and then 'jeroenkooijman' commented on those.

@ Athlon2K- copy how 'Galapoheros' took his pics and put up a clear unangled pic of the pectin.

And my 2 cents worth is the pic from 'Athlon2k' (from that angle) looks female, short teeth and heart shaped opperculum