Help! surprise scorp babies! Heterometrus cf. spinifer

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
help! what do i do?
i dropped a crik in and a baby scorp flew out and grabbed it, surprised the hell out of me. the scorpling is about 1", tail-claws. the mother was bought 10 months ago as a 4" wild caught specimen.
how many are generally born at once? should i separate them? what about care for them? is it the same as adults??
@YagerManJennsen i know this happened to you too, what did you do?
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
gonna leave a few prekilled mealworms by the hide entrance and mist the cage..
would appreciate any help.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
they seem to be doing well, eating and moving around. i dont know how many there are but im separating them all today and i guess i'll find out. will post pics soon.
 

sr20det510

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
167
What species?

If the scorplings are off the mother's back you should be able to separate them.

1" is pretty big for a scorpling, so probably molted already?

I have a dozen AFS babies (4-5 months in a shoebox container), and no cannibalism so far.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
What species?

If the scorplings are off the mother's back you should be able to separate them.

1" is pretty big for a scorpling, so probably molted already?

I have a dozen AFS babies (4-5 months in a shoebox container), and no cannibalism so far.
its in the title, H spinifer. yeah, i think theyve been together for a while as there were only 14 when i removed them all. theyre in separate containers as im a little scared of cannibalism. maybe in the future though.
can they drown in water bowls? say like little bottle caps? what about feeding? does every other day sound good.?
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
Pics IMG_20161230_162155131.jpg IMG_20161230_161446864.jpg
pissed off but proud mama.:) \
IMG_20161230_175302828.jpg
All set up in their various cage s.
 
Last edited:

brolloks

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 6, 2016
Messages
348
I doubt they will eat each other as long as they are well fed and the enclosure is not to cramped. Heterometrus species are kept communal by many individuals on this forum without to much fuss. I myself have kept a few communal without any issues.
 

sr20det510

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
167
its in the title, H spinifer. yeah, i think theyve been together for a while as there were only 14 when i removed them all. theyre in separate containers as im a little scared of cannibalism. maybe in the future though.
can they drown in water bowls? say like little bottle caps? what about feeding? does every other day sound good.?
Noticed the species name in title after I posted a response to you. I have 4 bottle caps in my container and never had a scorpling drown.
I've only seen a single pling drink once.

These little guys love to eat, they look like they are going to explode after eating. I'm feeding them every 10 days, up from 7, and may move on to once every 14 days.

Good luck, and a small piece of wood helps them feel very secure. Mine all shelter under a single piece together.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
Noticed the species name in title after I posted a response to you. I have 4 bottle caps in my container and never had a scorpling drown.
I've only seen a single pling drink once.

These little guys love to eat, they look like they are going to explode after eating. I'm feeding them every 10 days, up from 7, and may move on to once every 14 days.

Good luck, and a small piece of wood helps them feel very secure. Mine all shelter under a single piece together.
thanks, i think i'll bump feedings up to once a week.
 

Collin Clary

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
490
Just wanted to point out that your scorpions are Heterometrus petersii, not H. spinifer.

You can keep the young together if you want, or you can separate them. This species seems to be slightly less communal than some other Heterometrus species, so cannibalism does occasionally happen.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
Just wanted to point out that your scorpions are Heterometrus petersii, not H. spinifer.

You can keep the young together if you want, or you can separate them. This species seems to be slightly less communal than some other Heterometrus species, so cannibalism does occasionally happen.
That's good to know, how can you tell?
 

Collin Clary

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
490
Dark telson, rounded chela, amount of granulation on the carapace and tergites, etc.

If you wanted, you could post clear pictures of the carapace, chela, 5th metasomal segment (lateral view), and pectines, and I could make sure, but I'm fairly certain it's a H. petersii.

Almost nobody has real H. spinifer.
 

BobBarley

Arachnoprince
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
1,486
Dark telson, rounded chela, amount of granulation on the carapace and tergites, etc.

If you wanted, you could post clear pictures of the carapace, chela, 5th metasomal segment (lateral view), and pectines, and I could make sure, but I'm fairly certain it's a H. petersii.

Almost nobody has real H. spinifer.
Ah, I think I found the paper...
chrome-extension://ecnphlgnajanjnkcmbpancdjoidceilk/content/web/viewer.html?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.science.marshall.edu%2Ffet%2Feuscorpius%2Fp2004_15.pdf
 

Collin Clary

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
490
Ah, I think I found the paper...
chrome-extension://ecnphlgnajanjnkcmbpancdjoidceilk/content/web/viewer.html?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.science.marshall.edu%2Ffet%2Feuscorpius%2Fp2004_15.pdf
Yes, that's an older one though. The most recent ID key is in the book Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions by František Kovařík.
 

Collin Clary

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
490
Hmm.

It's hard to see because of the light reflecting off of the carapace, but I do think I can make out some granulation, which indicates H. petersii. The only other possible (described) species it could be is H. laoticus, however in that species the carapace and tergites are completely smooth.
 
Top