Recently we got a little scorpion. She is a black rock scorpion and is at about her full size now. She will hopefully live to be around 8 but it isn't super easy to find information on them online so I''ll be learning as I go.
She lies to sit under her rocks and spends most of her time either hidden away or with just her face and pincers showing from her hide. This is also how she catches her prey as they wander past.
We only know she's female because recently when we lifted her hide to check on her after not seeing her for a few days she had some tiny little babies sitting on her back. The babies are completely white, almost transparent ride around on their mothers back for anywhere between 2 days and 2 weeks. They begin to darken after their first shed and so long as there is enough food the mother will not eat her babies.
Strangely enough she hasn't been in contact with another scorpion for at least 3 years which means she either mated and was able to keep the sperm inside her until conditions were suitable to give birth, or she's capable of parthenogenesis. Either way pretty neat to think about.
We have a couple of tanks set up ready to move the babies in when we feel they're ready. Since we don't know anything about it I don't want to remove them prematurely in case they rely on her but also need to be careful I don't leave them to long or they may be predated or killed for territorial reasons.
I'm actually a little worried at the moment because we can't locate the babies. Since they're tiny and the hide is hollow they could easily be hidden away in a crevice but I am hoping to see them in the next day or two to confirm they are still alive.
Scorpions aren't really pets you get for holding or even looking at really, they spend a majority of their time completely hidden from view, can go extremely long periods without food and water and are generally fairly skittish. She doesn't even raise her claws in an aggressive manner if I put my hand in though I'm yet to pick her up. More out of fear of her safety than mine as she is so small and I would hate to injure her in any way because it isn't really an animal you can do much first aid on.
I'll try and get some more photos of the babies at some point but I just use my phone and it isn't super great lighting in the room she's in.
Oh, P.S did you know all scorpions fluoresce under ultraviolet light, aka they glow in the dark under a black light or under moonlight. Pre cool, yet to get pics of that though.
Scorpilets! XD
Do you have a black light set up in the scorpion tank? :D
Nah, prolonged exposure causes health issues from what I read. Dries out the skin faster than they can replenish fluid and is thought to make them blind eventually because they stop reacting to natural light cycles.
Oof better stick to moonlight then x_x