P. boreus pics and update

[Bry]

Here's some pics of the Paruroctonus boreus and the surprise babies she had a few weeks ago.

Mom without the babies on her back

Scorpling setup
I use 3 hides is to provide a variety of humidity levels to choose from. The clay pot on top is dry, the one on the bottom is rather moist, and the middle one is a little less moist. They do venture into the moist ones every now and then, but spend most of their time in the dry pot or among the rocks (I added those after the pic was taken).

Here's one of the scorplings...the rest are hidden further inside the pots to avoid the sunlight. You can just barely see the one in front of the arrow. They have been through 2 molts, and are turning a yellowish/brown color. To give you an idea of size, the diameter of the pot at its opening is 1 1/2", and the scorps are around 1/4" in length. They have all taken 2 meals and seem to be feeding well. Ok, enough of that, on with the pic:

Bry

 

[neveragain]

Nice pics. That is a very good idea with the claypots. I will have to try it one of these days.

 

[Fausta]

My P. boreus has babies a wekk old. I like your ideas for kepping the babies. WHen did they drop off her back and when did you separate them into the pot enclosure?
Kelly

 

[Kugellager]

Hey Bry, the pics came out nice...you'll have to post close-up pics of the babies when they darken up all the way.

John
];')

 

[Bry]

Fausta, the babies left their mother 12-13 days after their birthdate. John and I transferred them to their own enclosure 1 or 2 days after the last one left the mother. Due to the small size and color of the scorplings, they blended in with the substrate so well we had to rely on black light to find them all. We also needed to use black light to fish the scorps out of the holes in the cork bark hide I use for the mother. Word of advice: don't ever use cork bark in the mother's cage, way too many places for them to hide. For the next 4-5 days, I would check the cork bark for more, and there were always 2 or 3 more each day. I haven't seen any new ones since Wednesday.

Bry

 

[Fausta]

P. boreus babies

Bry,
I have separated the mother from the babies and have a set-up similar to the three pot system you had posted. I gave them a few tiny pinheads, some slowed a bit. I can't get them to eat them, at least I don't see it. There is over 20 over them and they run everywhere and seem very healthy. There are sheds everywhere and they are started to get coloration. To think of it, I had cut a mealworm in half and placed inside and I don't see any of it anymore. I will place in another. Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated. I have a very gravid P. leiosoma as well as an A. australis that could explode any second. I want to get this down so I can handle the next loads more efficiently.
Thanks!
Kelly

Good pictures of your scorps!

 

[Reitz]

Fausta,

My advice on the mother A. australis and P. leiosoma is that you make sure the walls of their enclosures are clear of any water spots. My C. gracilis babies had no trouble climbing up the calcium deposits on the glass walls of their tank. Luckily the enclosure had vasiline coating the top inch for just such an occasion. I realize that bark scorps are much better climbers than are your burrowers, but it's just a precaution that I now take with my gravid scorps. Also, have you considered raising each baby seperately in individual deli cups? This has worked well for me in the past because 1) you can make sure each scorpion has enough it eat, 2) you can prevent cannibalism, and 3) you can be sure that you know where all the babies are! The lasting think you want is a baby A. australis growing up in your pillow case!

Just some ideas to consider,
Chris