[Discussion] Parabuthus spp.

Well she is about 7 cm, but but I can't remember how big the roach was.

great pics, i have p. trans at home. well i wanna know the difference between a male and a female. its probably 3-4i right now .can you help me please

hi guys, good day..  I just bought a Parabuthus Villiosus |(orange molt) and of course since i love them much. i want them to grow as enormous as they can be.. I want to learn all the factors that affect scorpion growth.. Does powerfeeding them make them grow faster and larger compared to refular feeding ( once a week). 

Any advice how to make scorpion grow bigger .. Is power feeding advisable?

Power feeding makes them grow fast, but it shortens their lifespan. I don't know if it makes them larger, but I would not do it unless you need to. I would definitely not do it if you want your very expensive species to live a long time. Also, temperature and environment along with nutrition and space influence growth.

Scorpions in captivity are usually smaller compared to wild specimens. There are a lot of things that determines how big your scorpion will get, power feeding will lead to a smaller sized scorpion as well as giving no wintertime period of decreased temperatures. For example a Parabuthus usually takes about +-2years to reach adulthood in captivity but in the wild they can take much longer, up to 3-4 years, so a lot of time to grow compared to 2 years of growing as fast as possible.

ShredderEmp wrote:Power feeding makes them grow fast, but it shortens their lifespan. I don't know if it makes them larger, but I would not do it unless you need to. I would definitely not do it if you want your very expensive species to live a long time. Also, temperature and environment along with nutrition and space influence growth. 

can you give me a feeding table for my parabuthus villosus .. i got a pair.. the male is 3 instar and the female is 2nd instar. thanks... more power on you guys.. i really love the site. . .

Shadowfoot wrote:Scorpions in captivity are usually smaller compared to wild specimens. There are a lot of things that determines how big your scorpion will get, power feeding will lead to a smaller sized scorpion as well as giving no wintertime period of decreased temperatures. For example a Parabuthus usually takes about +-2years to reach adulthood in captivity but in the wild they can take much longer, up to 3-4 years, so a lot of time to grow compared to 2 years of growing as fast as possible.

i see.. ill stop the power feeding of my scorpion for now.. thanks a lot..

For scorplings 2nd-3rd instar, I would feed every 2-3 days. When they are 4th instar on, feed once a week.

GS wrote:

Jackson_Oscillada wrote:
Hey guys, how long does it take for a P.Trans to harden its exoskeleton? I bought one today and according to the dealer,it molted last friday.

Assuming that the husbandry has been provided correctly for the scorpion, it usually takes between 4-10 days for a freshly molted specimen to have it's exo-skeleton fully hardened.

The range is huge as the number of days is dependent on which instar was the specimen at. Generally, the younger the instar, the faster it's exo-skeleton will harden.

e.g. a freshly molted 3.instar takes about 4-5 days and a freshly molted 8.instar may take up to 8-10 days.

Using black light, once you notice that the specimen is fully florescent under it, the specimen is not far from being ready to hunt.

Let us know if you have more queries.

so basically, if a scorpion does NOT glow blue under UV light then that means the post molt hardening process is yet to be finished?  This is a great new bit of information! I love observing scorpions under uv in their home made habitat

Hey guys. My 2nd instar P. transvaalicus is showing signs of the pre-molt phase, and i'm about to go back to campus. It ate a roach nymph yesterday. 

If it molts i know it wouldnt be good to have food near it until it finishes hardening up but what if it doesnt molt yet? I'll just be starving it if i do imo that's why i'm worried. I wont be gone longer than a week but still, the roach it had was really really small. like, the end of a pencil small.

bubotmcawesome wrote:

GS wrote:

Jackson_Oscillada wrote:
Hey guys, how long does it take for a P.Trans to harden its exoskeleton? I bought one today and according to the dealer,it molted last friday.

Assuming that the husbandry has been provided correctly for the scorpion, it usually takes between 4-10 days for a freshly molted specimen to have it's exo-skeleton fully hardened.

The range is huge as the number of days is dependent on which instar was the specimen at. Generally, the younger the instar, the faster it's exo-skeleton will harden.

e.g. a freshly molted 3.instar takes about 4-5 days and a freshly molted 8.instar may take up to 8-10 days.

Using black light, once you notice that the specimen is fully florescent under it, the specimen is not far from being ready to hunt.

Let us know if you have more queries.

so basically, if a scorpion does NOT glow blue under UV light then that means the post molt hardening process is yet to be finished?  This is a great new bit of information! I love observing scorpions under uv in their home made habitat

Simply by observing that the specimen "Glow blue" or florescent under black light might not a accurate indicator as there are different stages of it from the begining till it becomes fully florescent. (That is why I mentioned, "its not far from being able to hunt")

If in doubt, it'll be good to offer that extra amount of time when food is being offered. If the scorpion does not take on its prey item immediately, remove that uneaten "food" from the scorpion.. as most likely, the scorpion will need a couple of days more.

lazydonut wrote:Hey guys. My 2nd instar P. transvaalicus is showing signs of the pre-molt phase, and i'm about to go back to campus. It ate a roach nymph yesterday. 

If it molts i know it wouldnt be good to have food near it until it finishes hardening up but what if it doesnt molt yet? I'll just be starving it if i do imo that's why i'm worried. I wont be gone longer than a week but still, the roach it had was really really small. like, the end of a pencil small.

Hi,
I assume when you said "it's showing signs of pre-molt" means that it's looking pretty "fat" now yeah?

A week without food is usually fine for a scorpion entering a pre-molt phase, a greater concern is the water provisioning. However, having a 2.instar small specimen would make it risky to use a water dish.. I would suggest using dry coco fibre as the bedding and simply make sure that a corner or 1/3 of the substrate is given an appropriate amount of mist before i head out for the week.

If you have time, you may share pics of its enclosure. Evaporation.. size of enclosure.. usage of substrate matters.

GS wrote:

lazydonut wrote:Hey guys. My 2nd instar P. transvaalicus is showing signs of the pre-molt phase, and i'm about to go back to campus. It ate a roach nymph yesterday. 

If it molts i know it wouldnt be good to have food near it until it finishes hardening up but what if it doesnt molt yet? I'll just be starving it if i do imo that's why i'm worried. I wont be gone longer than a week but still, the roach it had was really really small. like, the end of a pencil small.

Hi,
I assume when you said "it's showing signs of pre-molt" means that it's looking pretty "fat" now yeah?

A week without food is usually fine for a scorpion entering a pre-molt phase, a greater concern is the water provisioning.  However, having a 2.instar small specimen would make it risky to use a water dish.. I would suggest using dry coco fibre as the bedding and simply make sure that a corner or 1/3 of the substrate is given an appropriate amount of mist before i head out for the week.

If you have time, you may share pics of its enclosure. Evaporation.. size of enclosure.. usage of substrate matters.

Hey. Well it's gotten a bit rounder and looks duller the more days pass, but it's still pretty active walking around the enclosure but doesnt take food.

It's in a deli container, with lid well holed. Right now i use sand for the substrate and mist it every while but it all dries up in one afternoon.

Seems good. It should molt for you soon

I had my laptop stolen along with my breeding records for my P. Trans. a couple of questions if I may.

1. When does the bulbous chelae first appear on the male. My memory would tell me that my two males are 6i and one has just moulted to 7i and the bulbous chelae are now apparent post moult.

2. I have two 7i females that I have kept away from males as I would desperately love to nurture through to 8i. Again if my memory serves me correctly the one has been 7i for about 18 months. I would think that she now will probably never get to 8i so should I give up the dream and mate her?

Cheers