Jen Vegas C. Sculpturatus Progression Thread

[JenVegas]

So I'm one of those annoying people who are constantly taking pictures of my kid and my pets.

Now that I've added C. Sculpturatus to my list of pets, the poor things have to suffer my incessant snapping away as well.

It's their own fault. If they don't like it, they shouldn't be so cute.

I mean...



Come on, that's a cute face. Sandy has the cutest face.

But Angry Girl, the biggest and baddest of all of them, is adorable too. Just look at her delicately cleaning her claw. Such sweetness:


Angry Girl and Nala love to cuddle:



And Pineapple, the one who started it all:



The boys are harder to tell apart and MUCH harder to get good pictures of. Especially Benjamin, the smallest of the group. He's completely neurotic and psycho, randomly sprinting around the tank.

I did manage to get one decent picture of him, though.



Felix is also easy to tell apart, because he's got something on his right claw that holds it shut. Doesn't seem to bother him, though. I don't know when their breeding season is, but Felix likes to harass any female within reach, grabbing her leg with his good pincher, until she gets annoyed and chases him away.

He hasn't gotten lucky yet (that I've seen), but he certainly gives it his all.



I think the boys look so funny, compared to the girls. The size of their pincers and tails always reminds me of a little kid wearing his dad's shoes and baseball cap.

Alfredo and Max definitely have that look. It's so cute to watch them scurry around.

 

[JenVegas]

Oh, and I fed them today. The entire city is out of crickets, because the shipping delays and 110 degree heat mean that they're all dead by the time they're delivered.

One store had dubia roaches, though. I'd heard that sculpturatus usually don't like dubias, and are unlikely to eat them, but it had already been two weeks since I'd fed them last, and I figured it was worth a try.

The girls were definitely more eager than the boys.

Pineapple was the first to catch one and start chowing down.



She even carried it across the tank to get a drink before finishing the other half.



Sandy took a little convincing, but eventually she took it when I held the roach in front of her with tongs. But she was so delicate and dainty about it. Everything about her is just beyond cute.



Nala grabbed one and started eating it butt first. Like a lady.



Felix is the only male so far that I've seen take a roach. And he proceeded to eat it like he was holding a bowl of soup. But I was glad to see it, since he can't open his right claw. I'm glad he was still able to catch one and eat it.



But not to be outdone, Angry Girl had to show just how extra she is by slurping the thing like spaghetti, while Benjamin could only watch in horror, disgust, and maybe a little bit of admiration.



And this is the first time I've been able to get Angry Girl and Benjamin side by side like this. She's the biggest of all eight, and he's the smallest. The size difference is wild.

I'm still checking to make sure he eats, though. Those were the smallest roaches I could find, but I'm worried they might still be too big for him.

But I'm glad that most of them were willing to eat the roaches. Hopefully I don't have any overly picky eaters. We'll have to see how the rest of the boys do.

 

[Dr SkyTower]

Love the names you've given them... Pineapple and Angry Girl! Just adorable!

 

[JenVegas]

Love the names you've given them... Pineapple and Angry Girl! Just adorable!

Lol, thanks! Though my 9yo daughter named most of them. Angry Girl is the only one I named, she came up with the rest. And she's in a weird phase with naming things, which is why half of them have normal human names and half have food names. We've got another male in quarantine now that she's named Ramen and a big female, maybe even bigger than Angry Girl, that she's named Potato.

 

[Dr SkyTower]

Ramen and Potato! Those are just the cutest scorpion names! I'm fascinated by their behaviour... it's very interesting to learn they have their own personalities.

 

[JenVegas]

Oh I agree! I've dealt with these things my whole life and never realized they were so interesting.

Like, most of the boys are usually kind of wimps. Which, I mean, it makes sense. They're so freaking fast, I imagine it's more efficient for them to run and hide, rather than fight. The girls are just so much bigger and slower, they're probably far less successful at surviving the run-and-hide method, so they fight instead.

But as I was cleaning up the dead roaches yesterday, Max decided that he was just deeply offended by my very existence.

And he actually went after my tongs, and then my phone, a couple of times.

Mr. Sassy Pants is extra sassy.



I've seen the girls try to go after me before, especially Angry Girl, but this is the first time I've seen a boy do it.

 

[ScorpFreakKing666]

Awesome thread and amazing pictures!!!

 

[JenVegas]

I tossed in fresh roaches yesterday. I've really got to find some crickets, the scorps are less than enthusiastic with the roaches. Only one of them would eat at all. Just Alfredo.



But it was actually kind of funny to watch him. Usually, none of them have really cared about the others being nearby while they eat. They spend most of their time piled up on top of each other anyway, and I haven't seen any of them take issue with eating communally.

Alfredo though...

He grabbed his roach and started eating. But any time one of the others moved remotely near him, he'd do this crazy whipping motion with his tail, smacking them with it and moving them away.

Of course, this was in the most awkward corner of the tank, so I couldn't get a decent picture, and I didn't want to move the decoration and risk disturbing him, so the quality isn't that great. I still thought it was funny, though.



Poor Pineapple, just walking by, minding her own business. It didn't matter though, he still whacked her and made sure she gave him a wide berth.

Maybe I've been underestimating the boys' sassiness. So far, both Max and Alfredo have shown some sass, when before that, all the sass I'd seen was from the girls. I'd read that girls are more likely to sting than boys, and I've definitely seen more sass from the girls (I don't have an "Angry Boy"), so I just assumed that girls are more aggressive.

Maybe there's a little more to it than that.

But Alfredo got his way. None of the others got near him, and he was able to eat in peace.



Until he decided he wanted to be closer to the heater.

But you see, that's Angry Girl's spot. Almost every day, that's where she is. Not in the carton with the others, not climbing on the tank decorations, she's there in that spot, pressed up against the heater.

And actually, I was curious about how it would play out. Alfredo is my biggest male, bigger than Nala and Pineapple, probably bigger than Sandy. He's possibly even longer than Angry Girl if you include their tails.

But when it comes to weight, Angry Girl has him licked. And she's been the queen of the tank ever since the first night. She's the biggest and the meanest of all of them. Even the night I caught her, she was just furiously trying to attack my tongs, as well as everything else in sight.

She has exactly zero chill.

As he moved up to her, I was curious if he'd try to whack her like he did Pineapple. And I was curious to see if she'd move away for him.

Sure enough, he whacked her. But unlike Pineapple (and all the others that I wasn't able to get pictures of), Angry Girl didn't move. She just smacked him back.

There was a bit of a standoff. I think Alfredo was trying to figure out whether or not challenging her for the spot was a good idea.

But then he decided that it's better not to chance it. He crawled over her, chased Felix away, then settled down practically on top of her to eat his food.




Nala walked up at one point. And she hadn't even touched him, she'd barely even touched Angry Girl, and Alfredo whipped his tail at her, too, chasing her off.



I thought that was hilarious. Even lying there on top of Angry Girl, he still chased everyone else away and wouldn't let anyone else come near him and his dinner. She was the only one he couldn't chase off. And he decided it was better to just accept the fact that she wasn't taking any of his crap.

 

[JenVegas]

I heard some scraping and scuttling around, so I went to check the tank, and one of the girls had finally caught a roach and was in the process of showing it who's boss.



I actually don't know for sure who this is. I know it's not Nala or Pineapple. I'm pretty sure it's Angry Girl. She's a little darker than Sandy, but the colors show up weird in different light, and sometimes, Angry Girl and Sandy look the same. Sandy is also almost as big as Angry Girl, while Pineapple and Nala are significantly smaller. Angry Girl has a distinguishing mark on her right side, but I couldn't really see from that angle (and it doesn't always show up on camera for some reason). And I didn't want to spend too long trying to figure out who it was, and make her decide to drop her food.

I do think the size difference in tails is funny, though. When they're just lying around, the boys' tails and pedipalps look ridiculously big on them. Like, too big for their bodies.

But I look at pictures of Alfredo with his food, and his tail looks like the perfect length for him. He can easily extend it to reach his food.

The girls' tails, though, almost look too short.

She's got to really curl her body and reach forward with her tail. And in a previous picture of Sandy, she actually curled hers around to the side to reach her food (and that's another reason why I think this is Angry Girl. Sandy curled her body to the side, while this is straight up).

Obviously the short tail doesn't bother them, though. They can sting just fine, which Angry Girl was happy to demonstrate.

 

[JenVegas]

So I added a few more friends to the tank. I'm up to 12 now, and I think that's a good number. I don't want so many that I can't tell them apart, and even now, it can be tough.

But my favorite of the new ones is Potato, who I think is very aptly named.



And if you're struggling to see the potato-ness, here's another picture, of Potato and our other new female, B.A. (short for Bad A**. My 9yo begged me to call her that because she was so calm and chill when we caught her, but that's a "grown-up word," so we compromised and named her B.A. for short).

See if you can pick out which one Potato is. Look closely, it might be tough to see at first.



I mean, she's just laughably huge. Maybe even bigger than Angry Girl, but I haven't been able to really compare them yet.

Here's her with Spruce, one of our new males (and Benjamin hiding in the corner).





Nala decided she wanted her picture taken, too. She's on the edge of the box, and Ramen, our other new male, is lying flat on it. While poor Potato is dragging her giant butt across the edge.



Spruce didn't love the camera so he ran and hid, but I was able to get a decent shot of B.A., Potato, and Ramen, all lined up and posing for me.



Ramen might be my new biggest male, too. I actually thought he was a female at first, until I got a look at his pectines. And he's just a chunky, well-fed boy.

 

[Dr SkyTower]

This is soooo cute! I love the photos!

 

[GordoOldman]

Looks like Potatoe will be giving you lots of little spuds soon!

 

[JenVegas]

This is soooo cute! I love the photos!

Thank you! I'm completely in love with them. They're so irritated with me constantly taking pictures. Some of them are more tolerant of the camera than others, so I try to stick with the ones that don't mind as much.

Looks like Potatoe will be giving you lots of little spuds soon!

I was wondering if that's why she's so big. I figured it couldn't be moulting, since she already looks full grown, and she just ate.

But crap, now I'm going to have to figure out how to keep the babies alive. I'd caught a 2i or 3i a few weeks back, and it died after about a week (I dropped a pre-killed cricket in with it and saw it eating). I wondered if babies need more humidity, so when I caught 2 more, I misted one side of their little jar every day, and dropped a pre-killed dubia in with them, but they both died within a few days.

Any tips for how to take care of the babies?

 

[GordoOldman]

Young instars need considerably more humidity and drinking water. I raise mine in with the adults. In one corner of each colony I have sphagnum moss underneath layers of eggcrate, which I keep damp...and I put prekilled mealworm pieces and prekilled crickets in that corner on a small lid.

 

[JenVegas]

Oh thank you, you're a lifesaver! I'll pick up some sphagnum today so I'm ready when the time comes.

What about temp? Even though I have 4 hides scattered in my tank, all 12 of them pile up on top of each other in the egg crate closest to the heater.



I mean, I swear they've got a ton of space. They just really like that heater.

But it's just an old, small UTH that I'd used with my snake when she was smaller (I moved it from the bottom to the side of the tank because I'd read that they burrow if they're too hot). So I ordered a new, larger one, and it should be here in a couple of days.

Hopefully that'll encourage them to spread out a bit.

But which corner would you recommend for the moss? Next to the heater or farther away?

 

[GordoOldman]

I expect you will find that most of your females are gravid, and gravid females love to bask...for gestation, breeding and faster growth temps in the mid to high 80's suffice (females will bask in temps of 100 and thwrmoregulate by moving vertically up or down through strata if given the ability to)

In the winter I shut mine down to temps of 40 degrees and do not feed them.

Depending on your set up...perhaps instead of a corner you can create your humid hide somewhere along a side...in the middle of a non heated end and a heated end.

 

[JenVegas]

I expect you will find that most of your females are gravid, and gravid females love to bask...for gestation, breeding and faster growth temps in the mid to high 80's suffice (females will bask in temps of 100 and thwrmoregulate by moving vertically up or down through strata if given the ability to)

In the winter I shut mine down to temps of 40 degrees and do not feed them.

Depending on your set up...perhaps instead of a corner you can create your humid hide somewhere along a side...in the middle of a non heated end and a heated end.

HOLY CRAP, THANK YOU!

I have been looking for specific temp/humidity information on these things for weeks. And I've been wondering what to do for winter, whether to simulate their hibernation period or not. 40 degrees? So (and this is probably a very, very stupid question, but I've never dealt with hibernation or brumation before) could I just toss them in my fridge, which I've got at 36?

That would be so cool if the females are gravid. With the hubs being laid off, I'd be thrilled to have adorable little babies I could sell. I already sold an adult male, and shipped him off, and he got there safe and sound (which was actually kind of exciting).

I figured most of the females would've just had babies, since I've seen so many ridiculously tiny babies running around my patio and yard in the last few weeks (I still have no idea when their natural breeding season is, and when they usually have babies).

Angry Girl and Pineapple in particular are always, always pressed right up against the glass at the heater. But I'll see all of the females do that. So far, haven't seen a single male do it.



I mean, even now, at 9am, Sandy and Pineapple are out of the hide, sleeping with their bellies pressed against the glass (Angry Girl wedges herself in the same spot under the crate, in the exact same position, her belly pressed up against the glass). So I was wondering if it's because they're gravid.

Thanks for the suggestion! I love the idea of a humid hide. But, and this is probably another stupid question, are they smart enough to know to use it? I mean, my ball python uses hers when she needs it, like when she's about to shed. Do scorpions do the same? Sorry, I just don't really know how smart these things are, and how that might affect how I adjust their setup.

Could I make 2 separate ones? Like for the heated side and in the middle? I mean, they're in an 18x18x12 tank, so it's not like I don't have room for more hides.

 

[GordoOldman]

You could offer as many hides as you want...as far as scorpions go...the more options the better.

As far as utilizing areas of moisture...they seek out the moisture, it is a requirement for life and is intrinsically built in, so to be a tad Costneresque...if you build it, they will come...

I would not refridgerate them...no need. You could house them outdoors in a shed for the winter that was protected from being too cold (for those nights below freezing)...or move them into a closet in an unused room with a windo open and simply not heat them in the winter...or keep them up year round and feed and breed away....really, it is all up to you.

 

[GordoOldman]

Lots of food being available to the youngsters is also important...so prekilled crickets and chopped up mealworms a plenty...but remove the uneaten and left overs the next day.

 

[JenVegas]

BABIES!!!!!

We have lots of adorable babies! Look at all the adorable babies! Look at them!!





And the proud mama wasn't even Potato! It was Nala, of all of them.

She's our smallest female. I didn't even think she was gravid.

I wanted to count the babies, but didn't want to spend too long shining the light on her. I took a couple of pictures, let the 9yo kid look at her (and now she's asking me if she can call all her friends and her 4th grade teacher to tell them that one of our scorpions had babies), then put the egg crate back in the humid hide and closed it up.

Potato is the only female who didn't eat, and she still looks ready to pop. She's the only other female in the humid hide. The rest are either pressed up against the glass (Angry Girl is still in her spot), or in the original egg crate they all like so much.


I mean, Angry Girl just really, really, really likes this spot. This is her spot.

Spruce was in the humid hide, too. And he hasn't eaten at all since I got him, so he might be ready to moult soon.

I'm annoyed, though. Since the city is still out of crickets, I ordered some from Flukers. And all of them arrived dead. Even though there were no shipping delays and I went and grabbed them from the mailbox as soon as I got the delivery notification.

Thankfully it seems like they died very recently, like today, and most of the scorpions eagerly took them from tongs and stung them to make sure they were super extra dead, then started chowing down.

They like crickets way more than dubias. Only Potato and Spruce refused (I didn't try to feed Nala. I'd read that you're not supposed to try and feed mothers while they have the babies on their backs).

So at least they took the dead crickets, that makes me happy.

And of course, babies! I'm really, really happy about the babies.