Starting a Breeding Program for H. longimanus, P. Dictator, P. Imperator and others

Jason Brantley

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
170
I thought about breeding Emperors also to help re-populate the species for a while now...ugh and to replace all the ones I had back in the day...man, I had a lot of Emps...I'll join you on your quest. I'll be on the look out for Emperors too. I won't be full speed ahead like you, I'll treat this as a side project. I have Leiurus and Androctonus species to focus on...but yeah count me in.
 

Tleilaxu

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 7, 2006
Messages
1,272
All I can really say for myself was back in these glorious days as well, I managed to breed my p. imperator and as a result managed to hopefully save 20 scorpions from being plucked from the wild.(Not bad for a first timer eh?) But still sadly not even a drop in the bucket.

Sadly I'm not in a position to help, hopefully there will still be p imperator and dictator when I settle down and am able to rebuild my collection.
 

Daniel Edwards

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
164
Since I was a child, I have seen a major shift in the way that governments view wildlife. I remember spending my days, turning over rocks, and bringing home what I found. I learned to care for and breed many fascinating species: newts, salamanders, snakes, water beetles, frogs, spiders, Praying Mantids, and many others. Today, in Upstate New York, my entire childhood would be illegal. Like many state governments, New York has decided that all wild life in New York, must stay wild. The parents of a curious child who collects a garter snake from the back yard can be fined or imprisoned. The DEC rigidly enforces the prohibition on collecting all but a very few species that can be used as bait while fishing. It seems strange, but it is alright to catch a frog, and pierce it with a hook for sports fishing, but not alright to gather tad poles from a local puddle and raise them until they turn into frogs.

My state is not the only state to do this. In fact the trend of outlawing wild collection of species is growing both in the US and abroad. We can look at the example of P Imperator, Dictator, and Gambiensis. These animals where once common in the pet trade. Easy to get, and inexpensive, these marvelous animals provided a gateway for many inquisitive young people to embark on a life long passion collecting and caring for Arachnids and Arthropods. Sadly, as a result of irresponsible over collection, and rigid legal structures that ban instead of regulate, these species are on the brink of being lost to the hobby. Unless you are willing to spend over a hundred dollars, this animal is beyond your means.

It is a terrible shame that the next generation of Arachnophiles will have an ever shrinking number of species to choose from. The time to act is now. I am proposing that those of us who feel passionately about the hobby of keeping invertebrates start working to ensure that captive breeding keeps as many species as possible in the hobby. Of course many species take years to mate, gestate, mature, and mate again. Large numbers of pairs must be kept to ensure that founder effects, genetic drift, and inbreeding depression do not damage our captive stock. This means that very few single breeders and keepers are in a position to engage in the kind of breeding program needed to ensure we have a long term genetically viable supply of animals for our hobby. So, we have to work together. We have to find keepers with animals we want to preserve, and encourage them to pool specimens into mating pairs. We need to keep rigorous track of the genetics of these animals to ensure minimal inbreeding and preserve genetic diversity.

I am interested in starting sophisticated captive breeding programs for three species. I am currently awaiting the shipment of several pairs H. longimanus. I am asking anyone who keeps this species to contact me, either through this thread, or through a private message. I cannot keep enough pairs myself to ensure long term genetic diversity. I will need other keepers to outbreed my captive bred animals with. If we can find just forty keepers with single animals, or twenty keepers with pairs, we can virtually ensure the captive survival of this species indefinitely. I am willing to maintain the needed records, design a pairing schedule, and facilitate transportation of individuals. Please if you keep this species, contact me right away.

I do not currently own P Imperator, or P dictator, however I am asking keepers of these species to contact me directly, so that we can design a breeding program for both species.

I do not object to anyone profiting from this breeding program, however, I do not expect or desire any compensation for any work I do to ensure the success of this program. I intend to trade my scorpions to other keepers to preserve genetic diversity, and to provide scorpions to those interested in assisting in the breeding program. I need your help to ensure proper outbreeding. Please help keep this hobby alive. Once we have successfully started breeding programs with these species, we can begin to start programs with other important Scorpions and perhaps even T's.

Imagine how good it will be to know you will always have a supply of your beloved pets and act know. Contact me please. I need your location, gender of your animals, number of animals, contact information, and whether your animals are wild caught or captive bred.

Thank you in advance for protecting this hobby.

David
My p imperator is prego, should birth by September. H longimanus is bred by Pinchers and Pokies so they may also offer help!
 

KYguy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 31, 2018
Messages
40
I just had a though, and it may be completely undoable. But, how hard would it be for us to start a registry like they do with dog and cat breeds? Kind of like the AKC or one of the others. Seems like it would be as easy as starting a club. I am currently a member of many kennel clubs such as the GSD club, which is for German Shepard Dogs. It sounds a lot like what you are trying to do Nightrainfalls.

So basically, we can send off for paper's to certify stock that is present. To certify the current stock it must be sex-able and have good pics as proof and then it gets issued its own number "VIN #". And any of the current UN-sexed young scorps that we know came from one of these certified parents could still be given a number as well as its parents can be accounted for.

Maybe that in one generation we could have all the scorps registered and accounted for here. So that we can know %100 the genetics. I am sure many would be willing to donate a small amount to help the project. Heck, even if it's lets say $5 to certify one of your scorps. It should cover the paper to print the certification out on and to mail it. And of course it could be documented and tracked on a linkable data sheet, so you could look up a scorps history before buying. As well as be able to find breeders easier.

Maybe even have a volunteer committee to over see this kind of project. And maybe it might even be able to be run off just donations. If we could manage no cost to the owners by running off donations they would be more apt to getting them certified. And get the ball rolling, even if its just in the beginning. Until it takes off a little bit and becomes the standard as it is with pure breed dogs.

Any thoughts?
 
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Prophet

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
80
This is one of the most noble causes I've seen in awhile. I currently have 5 Imperators. 4 females with 1 I know for sure is gravid. I'll gladly send you some for free when the babies come. I'll message you when the time comes. Good luck in your breedings and plans..
 
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