Mating Desert scorpions

[Momo79]

Hi all,

Recently i tried to mate my A.Australis pair. Everything was good with the juddering and mating dance.. and all these went on for about 15mins. I provided a slate but the male choose to mate the female on top of a coconut hide

Just after the male has deposited his spermatophore, a small fight broke out in nowhere with the male running away from the female. The female gave chase alittle and i separate them immediately..

After inspecting the slate, i notice the spermatophore was not in the usual 45degrees position but kinda hanging nowhere... like a fallen tree trunk..

Here are some of my questions, and i hope can get some ideas/advice.. any help would be greatly appreciated.

1) How long does the a desert scorp like A.Australis takes to "regenerate" his spermatophore? so that i can try to mate them again?
Anyone tested?

2) do you guys think the improper placing of spermatophore is the cause of the failed mating?

3) Is it advisable to provide different types of "platforms" (e.g. a piece of bark, a smooth slate and a rough slate) in the mating tank or do you just provide a single slate in the middle of the tank will do? Is there an optimal platform which is highly advisable to use? I'm thinking that the surface of the coconut hide that the male has chosen to use might not be an ideal place to fix his spermatophore as the surface is kinda sandy as compared to a solid slate nearby.. most likely i'll remove the hide next time round...

Well, so far these are the three questions i had in mind, hope i can get some response here.

Thanks for viewing..
-Ice

 

[nics]

After inspecting the slate, i notice the spermatophore was not in the usual 45degrees position but kinda hanging nowhere... like a fallen tree trunk..

That's why they fought

 

[Michiel]

Hi all,

Recently i tried to mate my A.Australis pair. Everything was good with the juddering and mating dance.. and all these went on for about 15mins. I provided a slate but the male choose to mate the female on top of a coconut hide

Just after the male has deposited his spermatophore, a small fight broke out in nowhere with the male running away from the female. The female gave chase alittle and i separate them immediately..

After inspecting the slate, i notice the spermatophore was not in the usual 45degrees position but kinda hanging nowhere... like a fallen tree trunk..

Here are some of my questions, and i hope can get some ideas/advice.. any help would be greatly appreciated.

1) How long does the a desert scorp like A.Australis takes to "regenerate" his spermatophore? so that i can try to mate them again?
Anyone tested?

2) do you guys think the improper placing of spermatophore is the cause of the failed mating?

3) Is it advisable to provide different types of "platforms" (e.g. a piece of bark, a smooth slate and a rough slate) in the mating tank or do you just provide a single slate in the middle of the tank will do? Is there an optimal platform which is highly advisable to use? I'm thinking that the surface of the coconut hide that the male has chosen to use might not be an ideal place to fix his spermatophore as the surface is kinda sandy as compared to a solid slate nearby.. most likely i'll remove the hide next time round...

Well, so far these are the three questions i had in mind, hope i can get some response here.

Thanks for viewing..
-Ice

1. that depends on the species of scorpion, from 24 H (in i.e. Tityus magnimanus) to maybe 72 hours, you can remate them in a week, than they have had some rest too....
2. Who says the spermatophore is improper placed? Only because in your mind it seems wrong, because it is not exaclty at a 45 degree angle? I think the scorpion knows best how to position it and it went well. Btw,
the deposition of the spermatophore did not went wrong, because the mating went wrong, the mating went wrong because the spermatophore was not positioned correct, that would be more logic, if this was the case of course..

It is also normal for scorpions to break up and run for cover after they did their mating (that's why I think nothing went wrong)...

3. cork bark, stones, sticks. They can use all those for deposition of the spermatophores. Unless EXO TERRA has a special "Moonlight UltraRay spermatohpore deposition slate" for ONLY USD 99, 99 .- LMAO

Regards,


Michiel

 

[psychofox]

Just to add to what Michiel said: From what you've described, everything went as it's supposed to. But since we can't know for sure whether a mating was successful or not (=that the female was fertilized), I advise you to mate each female several times just in case.

 

[Momo79]

Hi Michiel and psychofox,
Thanks for your replies. It helps.

I agree with "mating each female several times just in case"

From Michiel's explanation, males usually take 1-3 days to regenerate their spermatophore and i understand they need time to rest..

Some questions:

1) Let say if i have multiple adult males on standby, is it advisable for me to mate the same female with different males, one at each night?

2) How many mating session (estimate) would you recommend for the female to go through before letting her go on "a long holiday of rest" without sex (to prepare her brood hopefully)

3) If during one of the mating session, the female has indeed received insemination successfully, will she firmly reject advances from another/same male who is trying to mate her again?

Thanks guys.. your insights has been helpful

 

[Michiel]

Hi Michiel and psychofox,
Thanks for your replies. It helps.

I agree with "mating each female several times just in case"

From Michiel's explanation, males usually take 1-3 days to regenerate their spermatophore and i understand they need time to rest..

Some questions:

1) Let say if i have multiple adult males on standby, is it advisable for me to mate the same female with different males, one at each night?

2) How many mating session (estimate) would you recommend for the female to go through before letting her go on "a long holiday of rest" without sex (to prepare her brood hopefully)

3) If during one of the mating session, the female has indeed received insemination successfully, will she firmly reject advances from another/same male who is trying to mate her again?

Thanks guys.. your insights has been helpful

Usually one succesfull mating is enough but you could retry. I would not try too much times to prevent stress for the female. It is handy that you have multipile males

 

[neubii18]

How long does it usually take after placing the male with the female for them to start?And do you remove the female from under her rock or hide when placing the male,or just leave her and let the male get her out?

I don't want to be a thread jacker,so please PM me the answer.Thanks!

 

[Momo79]

Usually one succesfull mating is enough but you could retry. I would not try too much times to prevent stress for the female. It is handy that you have multipile males

Noted. Thanks for the reminder Michiel

How long does it usually take after placing the male with the female for them to start?And do you remove the female from under her rock or hide when placing the male,or just leave her and let the male get her out?
I don't want to be a thread jacker,so please PM me the answer.Thanks!

If i'm not wrong, when "both parties" are sexually ready, they'll engage in the mating dance almost immediately. There might be better ways of introducing the male.. but for me, i removed the hide of the female and then introduced the male at the other side of the tank.
Upon detecting the pheromones' trail left by the female, most likely the male will locate the female and start their "love-making"

Imho, when my female is in her hide, she is extremely territorial. Any movement detected at the opening of the caves might get a death grip from her and buttered-up with a sting....(of cos, my worries might be fruitless as the male will most likely do the juddering as a signal for a mating attempt)

Btw, pse feel free to ask questions and discuss here.
I did not named the thread after me... We are all out to learn from the pros

 

[psychofox]

If I understand you right here Michiel, I would have t disagree with you. (But of course, since you breed Tityus species which reproduce faster than the crickets you feed them with, you might not have encountered any trouble with the breeding)

After having waited in vain one time too many for a brood from females which seemingly has been mated successfully; I would recommend to mate each female several times as a rule. If the female is no longer receptive to the male, then you can assume that she's already fertilized and do nothing more. If she's receptive however, I would mate her 2-3 times over a period of just as many weeks. I've tried to mate one of my Parabuthus females with two males immediately after one another, but the female was extremely unreceptive after the first mating. A week later however, she accepted the male as normal.

I always introduce the male to the females' tank, and let him find her himself. There's no need to dig out the female, this will only cause unnecessary stress.

 

[neubii18]

Noted. Thanks for the reminder Michiel


If i'm not wrong, when "both parties" are sexually ready, they'll engage in the mating dance almost immediately. There might be better ways of introducing the male.. but for me, i removed the hide of the female and then introduced the male at the other side of the tank.
Upon detecting the pheromones' trail left by the female, most likely the male will locate the female and start their "love-making"

Imho, when my female is in her hide, she is extremely territorial. Any movement detected at the opening of the caves might get a death grip from her and buttered-up with a sting....(of cos, my worries might be fruitless as the male will most likely do the juddering as a signal for a mating attempt)

Btw, pse feel free to ask questions and discuss here.
I did not named the thread after me... We are all out to learn from the pros

Thanks!

Another question: What time of day is best mate,if any?Probably at night,right?

 

[Momo79]

After having waited in vain one time too many for a brood from females which seemingly has been mated successfully; I would recommend to mate each female several times as a rule. If the female is no longer receptive to the male, then you can assume that she's already fertilized and do nothing more. If she's receptive however, I would mate her 2-3 times over a period of just as many weeks. I've tried to mate one of my Parabuthus females with two males immediately after one another, but the female was extremely unreceptive after the first mating. A week later however, she accepted the male as normal.

I always introduce the male to the females' tank, and let him find her himself. There's no need to dig out the female, this will only cause unnecessary stress.

Thats very helpful insights psychofox.

So am i right to say its a fact that if during one of the mating session, the female has indeed received insemination successfully, she will firmly reject advances from another/same male?

 

[Michiel]

If I understand you right here Michiel, I would have t disagree with you. (But of course, since you breed Tityus species which reproduce faster than the crickets you feed them with, you might not have encountered any trouble with the breeding)

After having waited in vain one time too many for a brood from females which seemingly has been mated successfully; I would recommend to mate each female several times as a rule. If the female is no longer receptive to the male, then you can assume that she's already fertilized and do nothing more. If she's receptive however, I would mate her 2-3 times over a period of just as many weeks. I've tried to mate one of my Parabuthus females with two males immediately after one another, but the female was extremely unreceptive after the first mating. A week later however, she accepted the male as normal.

I always introduce the male to the females' tank, and let him find her himself. There's no need to dig out the female, this will only cause unnecessary stress.

Hi Psycho,


I think we mean the same thing, but maybe I didn't not explain myself clearly...
What I meant was, do not try to mate the female multipile times (3,4 ,5 times) at the same night, as this is stressfull. No means no in women, you do know that don't you? LOL Even when breeding prolific scorpions like Tityus, I always leave a male with a female for minimal two weeks, so the chance that they have mated increases....

 

[psychofox]

Icecub: Yes, that would be a sensible conclusion.

Michiel: Ah, we're obviously on the same page after all. I must have misunderstood your first post. Regarding women, a no might just mean that she wants a bit more attention first

 

[Michiel]

Icecub: Yes, that would be a sensible conclusion.

Michiel: Ah, we're obviously on the same page after all. I must have misunderstood your first post. Regarding women, a no might just mean that she wants a bit more attention first

LOL! I guess your right about that!