Taking care of...

[SpiderFood]

Hey guys,

I have kept one Emperor for a while but recently I'm obsessed with scorpions and centipedes. I just aquired a possibly GRAVID P. emerator and GRAVID Opisthacanthus asper that I am hoping will have a really good brood. I need to know the best conditions, i.e. heat, humidity, environment, to keep them both in so they will live a long time and produce healthy offspring. Also when they do pop when and how do I remove the babies and what to put them in?

Right now I have both my emperors in the same tank(10 gal. with hides, a plant etc.). Im pretty sure both are female. I used the setup described by skinheaddave in his thread about keeping emps.
http://www.arachnopets.com/arachnoboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11336

I would appreciate any help.
thanx
dale

 

[skinheaddave]

Dale,

Humidity/heat wise, both the Pandinus and Opisthacanthus should be the same -- high heat, high humidity. The big difference, of course, is that Opisthacanthus love to climb. I rarely see mine on the ground, as they much prefer to climb on the pieces of bark in their enclosures.

They pop when they're damn well ready, but it will depend greatly on what type of cycle they are actualy on, when they bred and other such factors. You are looking at anywhere from a day to a year if you don't know any of the factors.

There are several school of thoughts on baby removal, especialy with the Pandinus. Some people leave the babies in with the mother for a long time. Others remove them as soon as they depart from her mother's back. Either way, you will have a week or so to decide what to do. If you do remove them, it is simply a matter of either driving the mother off and scooping them up or trying to work around her or whatever. Sounds easy, but it isn't. It takes some dexterity and LOTS of patience.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[chau0046]

Sounds easy, but it isn't. It takes some dexterity and LOTS of patience.

LOL!

Yeah no kidding, The fun part is when the Mom decides thats she`s had enough and starts to eat them `cause your buggin her. The minimun stress is strongly advised if you want to keep you number of young up.

Mat

 

[SpiderFood]

Thanks guys.

I have the O. asper in a medium critter keeper for the time being with about a 1/2 inch of "wet" substrate and about 2" of dry/moist to help with the humidity. I dont have anything for her to climb right now other than her hide but she seems to like the dark solitude of the hide so I am gonna leave her be for the time being. If you think of any other tips lemme know.

dale