Communal living

[skinheaddave]

I've just shacked up another pair of scorpions. Encouraged by the numorous reports of succesful cohabitations of canabalistic scorpions as well as the general belief that sexual canabalism may not be as common as was once thought, I have decided to let some of my breeding pairs live in some largish enclosures.


I already have one pair of O.rugiceps living together. They've been doing fine for a couple weeks now.

I have just placed my P.transvaalicus together. In supervised encounters they have always been very civil and given fair warning when they didn't want to be disturbed. I have had the female established in a 10 gallon setup for a couple weeks now and have just added the male. So far he seems to have taken up residence on the other side of the enclosure.

I'll let you know how they all turn out.

Cheers,
Dave

P.S. Before anyone scolds me, I am fully aware of the risks. I have lost two H.spinnifer (of all scorpions) and a few C.exilicauda to canabalism so I am going into this one with eyes wide open.

 

[Reitz]

Can't wait to hear the results. As I've said, I'm very interested in Parabuthus sp., specifically P. trans. I don't see getting any in the near future, but studying them is almost as rewarding!

Would you mind giving us some description of the enviroment? How many hides, how many water dishes, substrate depth, temp, etc?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[skinheaddave]

Originally posted by Reitz
Would you mind giving us some description of the enviroment? How many hides, how many water dishes, substrate depth, temp, etc?

My pleasure. Firstly, pics of the P.transvaalicus and O.rugiceps enclosures can be seen here.

The two O.rugiceps are in a small aquarium (maybe 3 or so gallons) with a custom-made lid that restricts ventelation to some degree. The bottom is filled with pebbles. On top of this is placed a large piece of broken ceramic tile (mating surface). Around the marble, wood chips are placed over the gravel. There is a little log type thing for decoration and some pieces of bark propped against the wall. I will be adding some more pieces of bark soon, though. The bottom is completely filled with water. There is a place in the corner that gives the scorps access to it for drinking. There are no discreet hides, but this species is quite happy hanging out on the bark or wedged underneath the log.

The P.transvaalicus enclosure is a 10 gallon with a big piece of ceramic tile on one end, a live cactus and a water dish. I have also added two peat cup hides since the picture was taken. There is a flourescent light on a 12/12 light cycle (same timer as my room light). The lid is a custom-built locking jobbie. The substrate is just play sand, soaked, packed in and then left to dry. It is about 4" at the deepest point.

Both enclosures are kept in a heated area of my basement which is generaly around 80 degrees. Both receive the occasional spraying, though the O.rugiceps get a lot more spraying and water top-offs.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[XOskeletonRED]

I don't know if I would try pair setups in a ten gal. I lost a male Parabuthus liosoma recently from an attempt (good thing I get them for 4 bucks each, huh?). They lasted three weeks together. I'm going to attempt the same with liosoma in a 20 gal long and see what comes out of it. They are easy to breed though, surprisingly. Odd enough, the only female that is not gravid, is the one that ate my poor little male. Definitely keep me informed as well, Dave.


adios,
edw.

 

[skinheaddave]

So far so good. The O.rugiceps still seem happy hanging out together. I don't think my P.transvaalicus are interacting much, but they seem fine. The male hides out on the opposite side from the female during the day but hangs out on top of the ceramic tile during the night. In fact, she has dug out almost entirely under the one corner (so it is just tile projecting off the sand to the corner of the tank) and he usualy sits right above her. It is quite an impressive sight to light up two P.trans with a blacklight.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[skinheaddave]

Okay, update time. The O.rugiceps are still living happily together. Nothing really to report there. I've never caught them doing anything more than just sitting still ... that is what they do best, I suppose.

I seperated my male P.transvaalicus today. The female had sealed up her burrow, which I took as a sign that she didn't want to play. The male had never really settled in well to any particular hide or started a burrow ... so I figured I'd send him back to his familiar digs.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[XOskeletonRED]

Interesting... I was speaking with Paul (Exopets) the other day and he had successfully been keeping quite a number of Parabuthus transvaalicus (or at least, some were of the species, others may prove to be Androctonus or other Parabuthus sp.) in a rather small enclosure and had been having quite a bit of success. If I recall, he said they each had their own hides made. Perhaps I'll try to same with three females and one male in a large enclosure, to see what kind of reactions I get from them. I'll vary with scorp numbers.

Good news on the O. rugiceps, Dave.


adios,
edw.

 

[skinheaddave]

Well, my observations of conflict with this species is that they aren't very prone to stinging. Their habit of keeping their metasoma tilted to the side actualy lends itself quite well to flicking at other scorpions and this seems to be their prefered method of keeping safe. They aren't really ones for the "mexican standoff," though I'm sure things could change if they were cornered or really had to fight over some resource (one trying to overtake another's burrow, for example).

Cheers,
Dave

 

[XOskeletonRED]

Well, I'm going to have to speak with Paul on the burrow thought he had given me. If I recall, he had said that he just put them in an enclosure with peat substrate with stones/wood hides and they all burrowed on their own, none even attempting to overtake another's burrow. That would be very uncommon for scorpions of aggressive nature though. I could be wrong, so don't quote me on that. *lol* Someone's gonna quote me cause I said that, I know it. I do remember, for fact that he had mentioned that they only seemed to show aggressiveness upon running into each other. Which that part would, or should, be obvious. Well, time to go send Paul an E-mail. Will find out more details...


adios,
edw. :?