Gravid Arizona Giant Hairy Scorpion?

Grace18

Arachnopeon
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Hello,
This is my very first post on Arachnoboards. I am new and I have a Giant Hairy Scorpion. She is definitely a female but I don't know if she's fat or gravid! She has been plump for some months now (I'd say since last June). I always fed her at least one cricket a week and no more than that. Now recently I've been feeding her one about every two weeks and yet she still hasn't slimmed down. She is a lot less active and almost never comes out of her hiding place to dig and walk around her tank anymore. I can't tell if she is expecting or not. If she is, what steps can I take? I don't think I need a heat lamp for her because I live in Arizona where it's hot. (especially by the time it's March or April.) Also, should I give her extra food since she might need more fuel if she is gravid? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
 

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Dr SkyTower

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its actually quite hard to tell in the pics. You can tell a scorpion is gravid if you can see little embryos through her pleural membrane, but here I can't see anything. Is she an adult or a juvenile? Is she captive bred or wild caught? If juvenile, could be due for a molt, if she's been this size for months, again it could be pre-molt. You could offer her a water dish to drink from, when in pre-molt they need to have plenty of hydration. The other thing desert hairies do is go into hibernation for part of the year. That's when you don't see them for months.
 

Grace18

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She's a female and she's a full grown one. I bought her at an exotic pet shop but I'm pretty sure that they caught her in the wild because she is native here. She's not in hibernation because it is warmer now and it is now springtime weather.
 

darkness975

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She's a female and she's a full grown one. I bought her at an exotic pet shop but I'm pretty sure that they caught her in the wild because she is native here. She's not in hibernation because it is warmer now and it is now springtime weather.
Use a flashlight and shine it on the body and see if you can see embryos inside.
 

Grace18

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Does anyone know when the usual time for scorpions to give birth is? My scorpion is now out and about a lot, even during daytime. I only feed her about 1-2 crickets a week and she is still ravenous. I have the tank of feeder crickets and she is literally pressing against the glass to look at them! It's funny to see her do that, but I concealed them from her later so not to confuse or stress her out. I'm pretty sure that she is pregnant because she is getting plumper and plumper even though her feeding is still the same. When scorpions are pregnant, when do you start seeing the embryos? Is it a few days, hours or a week before she is ready to give birth? Or do they start showing up as soon as she is pregnant for a few weeks or so? I know that Giant Hairy Scorpions have a long gestation period so do you think that she will be ready soon?
 

ignithium

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Does anyone know when the usual time for scorpions to give birth is? My scorpion is now out and about a lot, even during daytime. I only feed her about 1-2 crickets a week and she is still ravenous. I have the tank of feeder crickets and she is literally pressing against the glass to look at them! It's funny to see her do that, but I concealed them from her later so not to confuse or stress her out. I'm pretty sure that she is pregnant because she is getting plumper and plumper even though her feeding is still the same. When scorpions are pregnant, when do you start seeing the embryos? Is it a few days, hours or a week before she is ready to give birth? Or do they start showing up as soon as she is pregnant for a few weeks or so? I know that Giant Hairy Scorpions have a long gestation period so do you think that she will be ready soon?
You can see the embryos pretty much once the scorpion starts to look fat
 

Dr SkyTower

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You may be able to see little white things through her pleural membrane, little scorpion embryos. She will look very very T H I C C
 

Chebe6886

Arachnobaron
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pretty sure the gestation on these is largely variable and can last a long long time. Either way feed her well, wait and see. Not much you can do about it besides make sure she well fed and has access to water.
Good luck!
 

darkness975

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Does anyone know when the usual time for scorpions to give birth is? My scorpion is now out and about a lot, even during daytime. I only feed her about 1-2 crickets a week and she is still ravenous. I have the tank of feeder crickets and she is literally pressing against the glass to look at them! It's funny to see her do that, but I concealed them from her later so not to confuse or stress her out. I'm pretty sure that she is pregnant because she is getting plumper and plumper even though her feeding is still the same. When scorpions are pregnant, when do you start seeing the embryos? Is it a few days, hours or a week before she is ready to give birth? Or do they start showing up as soon as she is pregnant for a few weeks or so? I know that Giant Hairy Scorpions have a long gestation period so do you think that she will be ready soon?
Keep it well fed and hydrated to minimize the chance of complications if she is indeed gravid.

Did you try candle-lighting (using a flashlight) to determine if you see any embryos inside?
 

Grace18

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I didn't use candle-lighting, but I did use a black light. I didn't see anything.
 

Grace18

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Keep it well fed and hydrated to minimize the chance of complications if she is indeed gravid.

Did you try candle-lighting (using a flashlight) to determine if you see any embryos inside?
I didn't try candle-lighting, but I did use a black light. I didn't see anything.
 

Ferrachi

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Here's a thread on UV lights:

 

GordoOldman

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Also, understand that embryos and 1i individuals do not flouresce. So using a blacklight to look would be an excersize in futility.
 
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