scorpion miracle

[SwingBlade]

Okay so I'm just baffled right now.

I posted a few weeks ago about my fat boi. I've cut back on his feedings as advised.

Anyway, when I bought it at a reptile show, from someone purported to be knowledgeable about scorpions, I was told it was male. So imagine my surprise when I notice it's burrowed near the front of the tank under its favorite hide. I notice little white spots and figure it found a stray mealworm.

Babies.

I have babies.

No idea how many. And I won't be home until about 8 tomorrow morning. Hopefully plenty of time to get info. I've had this scorp (Asian forest scorpion) since the beginning of January. HOW did it get pregnant?? Do they gestate that long? And what do I do, they're burrowed and I don't think I could extract without collapsing the burrow. She'd already done a lot of burrowing, which collapsed under the weight of a hide and water dish above it.

I'm kinda worried she'll have eaten them before I when get home. :/

 

[Thomas Dixon]

Okay so I'm just baffled right now.

I posted a few weeks ago about my fat boi. I've cut back on his feedings as advised.

Anyway, when I bought it at a reptile show, from someone purported to be knowledgeable about scorpions, I was told it was male. So imagine my surprise when I notice it's burrowed near the front of the tank under its favorite hide. I notice little white spots and figure it found a stray mealworm.

Babies.

I have babies.

No idea how many. And I won't be home until about 8 tomorrow morning. Hopefully plenty of time to get info. I've had this scorp (Asian forest scorpion) since the beginning of January. HOW did it get pregnant?? Do they gestate that long? And what do I do, they're burrowed and I don't think I could extract without collapsing the burrow. She'd already done a lot of burrowing, which collapsed under the weight of a hide and water dish above it.

I'm kinda worried she'll have eaten them before I when get home. :/

The way you sex scorps is from relative pincer size and the shape/size of their pectines (sensory organs on the bottom, comb shaped), so there's a margin for error there. If that's the case and your scorp is pregnant it may have been housed communally, or more likely be WC. Either way, she won't eat the babies until they've moulted, if at all, so just wait for them to moult, grow then pot them up safely, you've probably got weeks, depending on when she had them.

 

[Thomas Dixon]

The way you sex scorps is from relative pincer size and the shape/size of their pectines (sensory organs on the bottom, comb shaped), so there's a margin for error there. If that's the case and your scorp is pregnant it may have been housed communally, or more likely be WC. Either way, she won't eat the babies until they've moulted, if at all, so just wait for them to moult, grow then pot them up safely, you've probably got weeks, depending on when she had them.

As far as reaching them, they'll come off her back in due course and leave the hide most likely, so just wait till then

 

[SwingBlade]

The way you sex scorps is from relative pincer size and the shape/size of their pectines (sensory organs on the bottom, comb shaped), so there's a margin for error there. If that's the case and your scorp is pregnant it may have been housed communally, or more likely be WC. Either way, she won't eat the babies until they've moulted, if at all, so just wait for them to moult, grow then pot them up safely, you've probably got weeks, depending on when she had them.

What does WC mean?

 

[Thomas Dixon]

What does WC mean?

Wild caught

 

[SwingBlade]

Wild caught

Thanks!

So how long is their gestation period? I am fairly sure the woman said that they were wild caught, though I have no frame of reference for how long she had them prior, if they were kept communally, etc. As far as I can tell, they were only born in the last few days.

Also how does this affect feeding? She's never taken food from me when offered, though has been pretty grabby at least on mealworms, when left outside her hide. Currently she is just burrowed down beneath the favored hide.

 

[Thomas Dixon]

What does WC mean?

Wild caught

Thanks!

So how long is their gestation period? I am fairly sure the woman said that they were wild caught, though I have no frame of reference for how long she had them prior, if they were kept communally, etc. As far as I can tell, they were only born in the last few days.

Also how does this affect feeding? She's never taken food from me when offered, though has been pretty grabby at least on mealworms, when left outside her hide. Currently she is just burrowed down beneath the favored hide.

The longest I've heard is 7 months for Heterometrus spinifer , but I wouldn't worry about her not eating, you could always put a cricket or 2 in, in a week or so.

 

[Ncshooter]

Dude, my AFS just gave birth unexpectedly today as well!

 

[Chebe6886]

They have a wide range of gestation times even among the same species. I’ve read as long as 12 months

 

[SwingBlade]

So the babies are off mama's back. They are chilling in the burrow under the Favorite Hide (tm) which is a hollowed 'log' hide, which mom seems to have burrowed out from underneath. Mom has taken to guarding the hide entrance all snippy-like, but when I so much as shine light underneath, she dashes back down to GUARD SO GOOD.

To my understanding, this is about the time I should start separating mom from the babies lest they start looking like the pale superworms I've been feeding lately.

So like, questions. The biggest being, separating mom. She will dart underneath if I get near when the overhead (room) light is on.

The way she's burrowed, I *might* can remove the hide device, but I'm not sure it won't collapse the substrate beneath? It kinda looks like it's either collapsed a bit (I was gone for most of the week), or she brought it down (she seems earnest but dumb because she let the entire back half of of the tank's burrows collapse under the weight of the secondary hide and water dish).

Basically, the babies are acting like scorpions, near as I can tell? I feel very lucky to have any kind of window into the burrow that the babies are stashed into, and that is super happenstance. I shined light in when I got home this morning and I saw lil white babies presenting claws and tails (maybe two?) like big bois. I clocked at least 10 on mama's back a week ago.

What do I do now? It is my understanding that I should separate mom from babies? But I don't know for suuuure how many babies, and the entire den situation seems kinda tenuous, gravity-wise.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

AFS? You can keep momma with babies for a while longer. Keep her well-fed and she'll share with them. I know Heterometrus petersii at least can be kept in family groups with no problems as long as plenty of hiding spots and food are available - I'm not sure how long other Heterometrus will tolerate this.

When the babies are ready to separate from mom, they'll start wandering, and it'll be easy to catch them.