- Joined
- Aug 16, 2002
- Messages
- 2,929
Dear Scorpion Forum-
I never thought the letters I read here were real, but then it happened to me...
(Sorry, that's a joke, couldn't resist! ;P )
Anyway, I was raising a big batch of emperor (P. imperator) babies communally, but when it was time for their ultimate molt, I decided to split them up because the cage was getting a little cramped and I was afraid of canibalism during the vunerable molting period. Normally, this isn't a problem, these scorps had been together from birth, but they had grown so much that the cage didn't seem to offer the molting privacy it once did.
I split them up individually into plastic shoe boxes to take them through the molting period. They molted successfully, into some of the biggest emps I've ever seen (great argument for buying captive bred!). All were increadibly voracious afterwards, so I fed them large cockroaches until their appatites seemed to level off. I decided it was time to pair them off for breeding.
I know emperors can be kept in large groups, but I don't like to push it if I don't have to, so I usually go with pairs. I sexed the scorpions, and I had the makings of 4 breeding pairs. I set up four 32 quart "blanket" boxes with deep, moist peat moss, plastic drainage pipe hides and water bowls. I also included flat pieces of slate as a surface of spermataphore deposit.
I knew, of course, the scorpions would probably mate, this was the plan. What I did not expect, was that ALL of the scorpions would go into courtship behaivior immedeately upon being introduced! It happened so rapidly that at first I assumed that they were attemting to eat each other, but as I watched I bagan to see the signs of courtship, in all four pairs. The males siezed the females' pedipalps and led them in a "dance" around the cages. Some (possibly all) the males stung their parters at some point (a normal part of scorpion courtship). I know it's anthopomorphising to say that they were kissing when they brought their chelicerae together, but that's what it looked like. Hell, they were making out! Two males out of the four made use of the slate to deposit spermataphores, the other two used other locations in the cage. They then guided the females over them, who presumably recieved them (couldn't see that part). Now, all seems back to normal.
I wish I had a digital camera.
Just wanted to share this. It's intersting, If I haden's split them up before, the likleyhood of me actually seeing this would have been slim.
Wade
I never thought the letters I read here were real, but then it happened to me...
(Sorry, that's a joke, couldn't resist! ;P )
Anyway, I was raising a big batch of emperor (P. imperator) babies communally, but when it was time for their ultimate molt, I decided to split them up because the cage was getting a little cramped and I was afraid of canibalism during the vunerable molting period. Normally, this isn't a problem, these scorps had been together from birth, but they had grown so much that the cage didn't seem to offer the molting privacy it once did.
I split them up individually into plastic shoe boxes to take them through the molting period. They molted successfully, into some of the biggest emps I've ever seen (great argument for buying captive bred!). All were increadibly voracious afterwards, so I fed them large cockroaches until their appatites seemed to level off. I decided it was time to pair them off for breeding.
I know emperors can be kept in large groups, but I don't like to push it if I don't have to, so I usually go with pairs. I sexed the scorpions, and I had the makings of 4 breeding pairs. I set up four 32 quart "blanket" boxes with deep, moist peat moss, plastic drainage pipe hides and water bowls. I also included flat pieces of slate as a surface of spermataphore deposit.
I knew, of course, the scorpions would probably mate, this was the plan. What I did not expect, was that ALL of the scorpions would go into courtship behaivior immedeately upon being introduced! It happened so rapidly that at first I assumed that they were attemting to eat each other, but as I watched I bagan to see the signs of courtship, in all four pairs. The males siezed the females' pedipalps and led them in a "dance" around the cages. Some (possibly all) the males stung their parters at some point (a normal part of scorpion courtship). I know it's anthopomorphising to say that they were kissing when they brought their chelicerae together, but that's what it looked like. Hell, they were making out! Two males out of the four made use of the slate to deposit spermataphores, the other two used other locations in the cage. They then guided the females over them, who presumably recieved them (couldn't see that part). Now, all seems back to normal.
I wish I had a digital camera.
Just wanted to share this. It's intersting, If I haden's split them up before, the likleyhood of me actually seeing this would have been slim.
Wade
