Communal Query

hey guys, can different sp of Heterometrus be kept together in a communal setting? i'm planning to pitch in my female H.longimanus and male H.cyaneus with the trio of spinifers i now have. all are in 7i by the way.

thanks in advance!  

If they can be found close to each other I don't see why not...

Sounds like a good experiment to me... Not enough research goes into what is communal with what.

well its not exactly an experiment.. more like for practicality and space issues haha! it's fun to watch my Heterometruses acting like bark scorpions hanging upside down or chilling vertically against the backdrop

My H. petersii have been kept communally since birth and I've had 0 issues.

Please note that this may differ between other Heterometrus species, and specimen.

my spinifers and longi are actually cool with each other. it's fun to know that they can be kept together without any issues at all

I'm hoping to do the same with my T.stigmurus and T.serrulatus when their numbers increase a bit. Great way to save space

shadowfoot wrote:

I'm hoping to do the same with my T.stigmurus and T.serrulatus when their numbers increase a bit. Great way to save space

With stigmurus I've actually had 0 cases of cannibalism, even with a lack of food! They wont even eat specimen that have died of old age! However, my friend has witnessed one case of cannibalism in possibly 7+ generations, as it can always happen, and it finally did.

Serrulatus... I've had one case myself. They're not as social as stigmurus, but much more colorful!

Thanks for the info! I only just started keeping Tityus so I still have some way to go before I have enough to even try this. One breeder I know keeps about 20 specimens of stigmurus and serrulatus together and no signs of cannibalism. I think everything should go well if they are kept well fed. Of course there will be some freaks of nature who will cannabalise their siblings but that's how nature works, I guess.

No problem!

I have a mix of adults, subs, and scorplings in my stigmurus colony. It's about 30 strong since i sold off a great deal of them. Nothing is more cool than lifting up bark and seeing scorplings on each mother's back mixed in with other instars!

And oh yeah, these guys love being well fed. Same with the Heterometrus discussed above. I throw mine 6-9 dubia a week and they clean house!

but i did notice that they sense who's who inside the enclosure. the 3 spinifers would usually hang-out vertically by the false rock backdrop. while the longi and the cyaneus would usually just stay on ground level or under a hide

Yeh, well i guess i had to be that guy....

In my point of view it's people that have so little respect for the animals under their charge that shouldn't be allowed to have any...The lack of respect comes from throwing a bunch of different species together because it might be "fun" and you have space issues. In my world, if you don't have the room to keep scorpions correctly, you shouldn't have those scorpions......If those species were found together in the wild it might be a different situation....but they are not, so what you are doing is creating is a false environment and subjecting your scorpions to unknown stress factors......quite a parody of a responsible scorpion owner..............children!!

Den wrote:

Yeh, well i guess i had to be that guy....

In my point of view it's people that have so little respect for the animals under their charge that shouldn't be allowed to have any...The lack of respect comes from throwing a bunch of different species together because it might be "fun" and you have space issues. In my world, if you don't have the room to keep scorpions correctly, you shouldn't have those scorpions......If those species were found together in the wild it might be a different situation....but they are not, so what you are doing is creating is a false environment and subjecting your scorpions to unknown stress factors......quite a parody of a responsible scorpion owner..............children!!

I always valued information coming from you Den but maybe this could have been said in a more constructive way? No need for some of those comments.

Well, what can i say. I feel it's a valid comment. It's no secret i'm a bit of a purist with regards to scorpions and i genuinely feel that if you're going to keep scorpions then you should do all in your power to respect that animals environmental and biological needs as well as recreating to the best of your ability, a realistic surrounding that mimics what that animal most likely would experience in nature.......minus the natural dangers of course.
Mixing species together for such an amateur reason as lack of space exhibits in my opinion, such an obvious disregard for the natural living conditions of those animals that i wonder at the persons motives for keeping them as well as their maturity and responsibility.

I didn't expect a clap on the back from any of the participants of this thread although i'm not swinging any punches....i just don't agree with your ideas on mixing specie's......i believe i stand on the moral high ground on this although i don't expect to sway anyone......you guys will do whatever you want anyway. I'm just letting you know that there's at least one guy out there that thinks what you guys have got going on doesn't jive with the spirit of keeping scorpions.

Understandable. The comment I made about space saving was a general comment, not a comment directed at insufficient space where I keep my scorpions, I have more than enough space to keep my scorpions happy enough for them to breed and live as long as possible. I do my utmost to care for them and whatever they may need in regards to captive conditions I provide to the best of my abilities.
If you ever had the chance to visit our farm in South Africa you would see how many animals we have that were saved from the brink of death. From horses, dogs, cats to the snakes and arachnids, my respect for animals is infinite.

Also I won't try to keep the two species together after I have read what you have had to say concerning this.