Tityus stigmurus confluenciata observation

pandinus

Arachnoking
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this subject was brought up by me and brian recently in the tityus thread, but i believe i have more to add to it. We were discussing the lifestyles of tityus spp. and i stated that i recalled hearing that though designed for arboreal lifestyles, some tityus spp. actually prefer to dwell in the litter at the base of trees, venturing on to the trunks at night. With the recent maturing of two of my T serrulats and pending moult of the third, i decided to rennovate a new enclosure for them:




About every two days or so i shine the UV inside the enclosure to look for them, and much to my suprise i very rarely ever see them in the wall of moss or on the large pieces of bark. They have the entire tank to themselves to spread out. Instead, they all huddle together in the same space, the leaf litter. usually they are all hiding under the same magnolia leaf (the one in pic 4) though sometimes i see one resting on the base of the 1/2 round stump next to it. As night progresses, they all disperse, and i find them out and about in the tank. This may be coincidence, but it could also demonstrate the natural preferences of these animals. Perhaps instead of just bark, we should be providing them with leaf litter as well. once my colony expands, i intend to set up an experiment to see whether they prefer a more terrestrial or arboreal setup.

And here's a pic of one of the darlings... just for fun.{D

this specimen molted to maturity about 1.5 to 2 months after this picture was taken.






John
 

Arachnophilist

Arachnoprince
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Interesting info.. I incorporate ficus leaves and such into most of my tropical tanks.. I have noticed my young scorpions using them to hide and hunt under. but I am looking forward to getting a barkscorpion communal tank and trying this out.
 

Michiel

Arachnoking
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well,

I have two T.stigmurus unifasciata, one is always hanging upside down under the corkbark and the other one seems to have created a scrape under a piece of bark and likes the moist substrate...
My T.stigmurus conluenciata is always hanging upside down under cork.

so it seems it depends on the animal where they prefer to hang out.......
 

pandinus

Arachnoking
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well,

I have two T.stigmurus unifasciata, one is always hanging upside down under the corkbark and the other one seems to have created a scrape under a piece of bark and likes the moist substrate...
My T.stigmurus conluenciata is always hanging upside down under cork.

so it seems it depends on the animal where they prefer to hang out.......
That is a possibilty. in my older setups they hung under the bark as well, but have you incorporated any leaf litter into the tank? in the case of my confluenciatas, they livequite happily hanging under bark, but given the option, they seem to prefer hiding under leaves on the ground.

Right now i'm going to inquire of the people that have encountered tityus in the wild. what observations can you make?

For instance, Dave, i know that you brought back some incredible shots of T ocelote from Costa rica, most of which seem to depict them on branches. Yet i also seem to remember you stating that the main places you searched for both the tityus and the centruroides as being around the base of trees.

I'm also looking out to people with a great deal of tityus spp. Have any of you ever considered keeping them in a more terrestrial setup, rather than an arboreal one?

I am also currently running a test with centruroides. I now have 3 exilicaudas which i am keeping terrestrially. the tank is about 4" high, with a 6"x10" base. The substate is a sand-peat composite, and there are several flat slabs of cork bark laying flat on the ground. They seem to generally remain on the ground, flush against the bark, or the wall of the enclosure. This change has not altered their foeeding or drinking habits however.


John
 

SOAD

Arachnoknight
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Nov 15, 2005
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Well I caught T.stigmurus unifasciata in the wild, i've never seen them in trees, most were under rocks! And some under fallen trees and leves. But it was a rocky area and they seemed to enjoy been under rocks hanging upside down. I don't believe that Tityus stigmurs is arboreal, they are found inside sewer(does this word exist?) and this isn't an arboreal place.

Jonas
 
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