About two months ago I captured one of these scoprions from lower Oregon.
I have been keeping her in a small aquarium where she made a burrow and after a period of initial activity and feeding, she sealed herself inside of her burrow.
Well, I hadn't expected in my wildest dreams to have a pregnant scorpion, so I had don't no research on how to recognize the signs. Thinking that maybe she was dead as she hadn't come up in more than a month, I dug up her burrow and discovered a much skinnier looking scorpion with about 25 babies on her back. This was needless to say a suprise.
She panicked and ran, in the process dropping her babies in one corner of the tank. For a while, she tried to get them back on her back, but then she apparently gave up and started running around the tank.
This may or may not go against some law of scorpion keeping and breeding, but I used a long pair of forcepts to very gently place the babies back on her, upon which time she started to walk noticiably slower and became more defensive than when she had no babies on her back. I figured the replacement was a success if she was exhibiting mothering behavior again.
I smoothed her tank again, and knowing that she wouldn't be able to dig a decent burrow without knocking the offspring from her back, I took a flower pots water dish, cut an entrance in it, and placed it upside down in her enclosure with the entrace facing her.
As I had heard that disturbed scorpions will sometimes eat their brood, I gave her a smashed dampwood termite reproductive to keep her appetite fully satiated.
This was two days ago, since then I have just left her alone.
My question is, is there anything special I need to know about caring for young members of this species? Any other comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
I have been keeping her in a small aquarium where she made a burrow and after a period of initial activity and feeding, she sealed herself inside of her burrow.
Well, I hadn't expected in my wildest dreams to have a pregnant scorpion, so I had don't no research on how to recognize the signs. Thinking that maybe she was dead as she hadn't come up in more than a month, I dug up her burrow and discovered a much skinnier looking scorpion with about 25 babies on her back. This was needless to say a suprise.
She panicked and ran, in the process dropping her babies in one corner of the tank. For a while, she tried to get them back on her back, but then she apparently gave up and started running around the tank.
This may or may not go against some law of scorpion keeping and breeding, but I used a long pair of forcepts to very gently place the babies back on her, upon which time she started to walk noticiably slower and became more defensive than when she had no babies on her back. I figured the replacement was a success if she was exhibiting mothering behavior again.
I smoothed her tank again, and knowing that she wouldn't be able to dig a decent burrow without knocking the offspring from her back, I took a flower pots water dish, cut an entrance in it, and placed it upside down in her enclosure with the entrace facing her.
As I had heard that disturbed scorpions will sometimes eat their brood, I gave her a smashed dampwood termite reproductive to keep her appetite fully satiated.
This was two days ago, since then I have just left her alone.
My question is, is there anything special I need to know about caring for young members of this species? Any other comments or suggestions would be appreciated.