Vaejovis carolinianus babies need separation?

Mark Harmon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
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8
I've got a colony of about 20 Vaejovis carolinianus in a 10 gallon with lots of hides and vertical climbing. Three of them now have small white babies on their backs. Will the babies survive in that enclosure with the adults, or do I need to separate them? If I separate them, when should I do it, and does that mean separating them from the parent as well?

Thanks for any input!
 

Nomadinexile

Arachnoking
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Apr 8, 2009
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My suggestion would be to remove the mothers with scorplings into separate containers. I would add a bit extra humidity to their new homes as well. Give them a hide with a pre-dug scrape. (if you are not familiar with scrapes, it is a shallow hole underneath hide with an opening for entry/exit)

Leave the scorplings with mom until they have molted once into 2i and they are leaving her back to wander around.

After you separate them from mom, you can leave them in small groups or separate them completely. There is a chance of some cannibalism in small groups though. So either be willing to loose some and/or keep a close watch and separate them if you start seeing that.

I would also recommend keeping the groups/slings labeled by mother when you do this. While inbreeding seems to not be a big problem for scorpions, it can't hurt to maintain different bloodlines for future breeding.

Good luck, have fun, and show us some pictures if you can! :)
 

whitewolf

Arachnolord
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Nov 11, 2008
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Nomadinexile is right you can try it. I had horrible luck with it. 5 females gave birth to ruffly 15-20 each. I kept the babies separate from the adults but in one large group of just offspring. I ended with a couple fat ones that I later lost before 4I. :wall: Keep a close eye on them and keep them in small groups if your going to try it. If you don't want to risk it separate them. This really was a fun species to work with. :D
 

Mark Harmon

Arachnopeon
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Sep 20, 2006
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8
Pics

Thanks for the advice, and the pics suggestion.
I actually found a fourth one with babies when I went to take the photos.
I'm posting pics of all four. First pic is of one upside down on the screen lid. Last pic is of the enclosure. As a side note, the ones with babies seem less nervous than the rest. Also, the roaches in the background in the second pic are from a separate enclosure behind the scorp one, in case it's not obvious.









 

Nomadinexile

Arachnoking
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I really like your set up! Looks really nice. I would like to give a suggestion though, I hope you don't mind. My intent is constructive.

Soil is fine, but coco coir is better, for numerous reasons. Without going into too much detail, you would be better served changing it out to coco, and thinning out the chips quite a bit.

Speaking of chips, what kind are they? You can also buy coconut husk chips, which would be better than a lot of the kinds you can buy. If they are untreated hardwood, then they are fine. But I would thin them out personally.
If they are a soft wood, such as pine or fur, I would remove them all immediately.

Otherwise, it's a beautiful terrarium! Good luck with the slings. :)
 

Mark Harmon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
Messages
8
Constructive criticism is welcomed! The chips are pine bark nuggets. Can those be harmful for the scorps? I actually found several of these scorpions underneath the bark of dead pine trees. The reason for so many is that I thought they would offer more hiding spaces.
 

Nomadinexile

Arachnoking
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Constructive criticism is welcomed! The chips are pine bark nuggets. Can those be harmful for the scorps? I actually found several of these scorpions underneath the bark of dead pine trees. The reason for so many is that I thought they would offer more hiding spaces.
There is a concern, I don't know the extent or validity, that pine bark resins can harm scorpions. I am not well educated on the matter though. Maybe someone else can shine a light in on the topic?

The only thing I can say about finding them in nature like that is this:

In captivity, things are different. For example, in nature, scorpions will be found around molds, fungus, mites, parasites, etc. We don't want those in our terrariums though!

Again, I am not familiar with the argument against pines and other soft woods, I only know they are not recommended for use, even if they are found in their native habitat!

Wait for a second opinion, but I would consider using hard wood, coconut, or cork pieces instead. :)
 

Mark Harmon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
Messages
8
I've used cypress mulch in the past, after microwaving it. Cypress mulch is easy to come by and it's cheap.
 

saxman146

Arachnobaron
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Feb 6, 2008
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374
Thought I'd chime in. You really need to keep them seperate. At young instars it is more of a probability than a possiblility. Trust me. First hand experience here. Good luck!:)
 
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