[Discussion] Parabuthus spp.

Looks too dark for pallidus. I'd say Parabuthus granulatus.

Sharp stuff Dolby. I am amazed how much you know about the foreign species.

I'll send you a few babies when they have a brood.

Good luck for a big brood!
Noticed that you have yet done a self-intro (at "Introduce yourself" section)

meteor wrote:

Sharp stuff Dolby. I am amazed how much you know about the foreign species.

I'll send you a few babies when they have a brood.

Yay!
Will be my pleasure to raise them.

Nice one bro!
Is that 2 separate enclosures, or a "mating setup"?

Hey bud,

Its the same scorpion on a merged photo. Left is taken by Nikon and right was iphone.
My 8.instars are housed in individual tanks.

Apologies, as i was gonna input more info earlier but was rushing out to take some event photos for my company and i left out the comments first

Nice photoshopping skills bro!

Is there any change in size between moults or does the existing exoskeleton contain the new body 100%.

Also is there a rough approximation in % terms for size gain from instar to instar?

Finally when a scorpions size is quoted what are the two extremes used? Tip of tail to tip of snout?

DolbyR wrote:

Nice photoshopping skills bro!

Thanks bud. Still learning

@Andrew Leigh
See my reply in orange:

Is there any change in size between moults or does the existing exoskeleton contain the new body 100%?
There is definitely change in size between molts. In simple terms, a molt happens when the scorpion has outgrown her exoskeleton. Everytime when an scorpling feeds, part of the "food" is digested and defecated but part of the digested food also attributes to the increase in body mass within the exoskeleton. When the body mass builds up till its more than what the exo can hold, the scorpling will be due for a molt.

Also is there a rough approximation in % terms for size gain from instar to instar?
It differs some species and also depending on the amount of body mass gained in between the molts.
Some thoughts that i posted in "WMT (Who Molted Today)"

Click here to view:

Finally when a scorpions size is quoted what are the two extremes used? Tip of tail to tip of snout?
Usually when ppl say e.g. "Hey, this is a 5 inch scorpion, it refers to Chelicera to Telson.
Unless, they are saying "body size" (mesosoma + prosoma) alone is 2 inch

Hope it helps,
GS

Thanks mate

Cool, I just gently infurled the tail and pulled him back slowly until the Chelicera were toughing the end of the tank.

This little beauty is 95mm long perhaps even 100mm. Does this make it a 4th or 5th instar?

From being a voracious feeder he has gone off his food. I think its due to ambient temperatures that have dropped in the last couple of days, his metabolic rate has probably slowed. Fitted a infra red lamp a couple of hours ago which should help. Very much doubt if he is close to a moult based on pics and info on this site. Put a cricket in last night, it was dead and uneaten this morning.

I noticed his tail (need to learn the correct terminology) has a faint whiteish hue on the outside is this diagnostic of anything or normal. Don't recall it being there before but it may have.

Thanks

Hi Andrew,

Are you referring to the Parabuthus transvaalicus you've found?

If you meant her length of 9.5-10cm (Chelicera to Telson), it might be either an adult male or 7.instar female. I could be wrong of cos..

Are you able to post up a pic with perhaps a ruler beside it, it would then help in sexing and estimating of instar.

The same one.

[url=https://i.servimg.com/u/f47/17/17/66/43/img_0711.jpg[/url]

See what I mean about the whiteness on the tail!, hope the image helps.

Thanks for posting it up Andrew.
He's a nice handsome adult male.
Based on the pic above, his estimated length is 8cm +/- , most probably 7.instar

So that is about a big as he will get?
Is he ready for breeding, would love to get him a mate?

Thanks

Yes. Most likely he will not molt again. He is sexually mature and ready for mating.

I am worried about my PT. He has not eaten in well over a week, he is very skittish and will dash about the tank rapidly if disturbed, this behavioural pattern had not been evident before.

Considering he was a regular feeder and will not moult agains does anyone have an opinion.

Among my adult Parabuthus transvaalicus, males do explore more around the tank even though they have settled down in their new enclosure. This act might not necessarily be sometime to be alarmed about as they might be on the search for a mate, water source or just doing his "patrol" around the perimeter of his "den".

Do ensure that they have at least a substrate depth of minimum 3 inch(recommended). It's a bonus to have substrate that can hold a burrow (mixed with clay etc) but they will be just as comfortable as long they have a slate or a piece of flat bark to hide under. Size of the slate/bark should be able to provide full body length coverage so that they can find seclusion in darkness.

Provision of a water (e.g. a small bottle cap) filled once in every 1-2 weeks would help to keep him well hydrated. They do require external water source other than from regular feeders.

Last but not least, always ensure that their enclosure is well-ventilated but escaped-proof.

Post up a pic of your tank if possible, we can all chip in to offer opinions and also admire your tank display

Its normal for a ptrans. Maybe it is full and only finds a comfort spot in its enclosure.


It can also be in pre molt stage. Just try not to disturb him/her

tlb_05 bro, i think you have missed out on Andrew's previous post:

Andrew Leigh wrote:

The same one.

It's an adult male.

On a separate note, a pre-molt scorpion might be skittish to disturbance but it is unlikely to have an increase in activity e.g. "dashing across the tank rapidly" you might have missed out on that comment as well too.

Cheers

sorry bro ) haha may bad


Anyway you got pm bro GS

GS wrote:

On a separate note, a pre-molt scorpion might be skittish to disturbance but it is unlikely to have an increase in activity e.g. "dashing across the tank rapidly"

I would even say pre-molt Parabuthus will decrease its activity.
My P. villosus seem to get very lazy once they stop eating and wait for a molt.

Sorry for dragging up this old thread. I just got my P.granulatus female, just wanted to know how long I should wait for the female to settle into her enclosure before introducing the male?