First moult

My slings are busy with their first moult. I moved the first two to moult and they have died.

How long must I wait before moving them and before they start eating each other.

Are they still on Mom's back or have they dismounted? If they are still on Mom's back leave them there until they dismount.

There are a few species of scorps that will dismount to eat prey that mom has killed and then move back on Mom's back. These are not them are they???

In any event, I would leave them alone until someone with experience with these guys chimes in. I have an adult male but I don't know anything about care of the slings.

What species?

Oh wait I think I needed to reread this. Species doesnt matter you have to let them molt on their own. Once they dismount mom ON THEIR own they're ok to seperate.

This is the P.transvaalicus that abandoned her babies from another thread.
Leave them be for at least 7 days after molting and then start separating them.

Cool thanks.

Picked out 29 dead this a.m. very sad.

I'm sorry that too bad. Are there any left? I have never raised them that young but I bet it's not easy to replicate what mom is supposed to do.

did they come off mom's back? Why are they dying for those that came off moms back prematurly you can put them in an incubator.

Apologies for the late response.

Two saturdays ago I discovered that my P. Trans have given birth. I lifted the rock shelter she lives under and lo and behold she was munching on one. The slings had not mounted her and I got a bit panicky so I removed them from her lest she chomps all the slings.

The slings were perfectly OK in their incubator. Yesterday they began to moult. I removed the first four to seperate enclosures. This morning two of the 4 were dead. I checked the incubator and although 90% had moulted I noticed some dead ones. By the time I had removed them I counted some 29. So in essence the batch has almost halved in size.

As some in the incubator also died I have to assume that seperating the first 4 out had nothing to do with their deaths?

I will leave these until Sunday and will then seperate them into smaller private enclosures before their first feed.

They never got to hop onto moms back nor get off.

Ok well now it makes sense. Soon as they molted I would have dried out the incubator that's probably why they died after the molt. But at least you still have a bunch. Half a brood > than no brood.

Abyss after they molted (to I guess 2nd instar???) you would have placed them in a dry deli cup?

Correct me if I'm wrong.  Under normal circumstances after scorps are born they climb on mom's back.  They are now in their 1st instar.  When they molt on mom's back (now they are in their 2nd instar) they soon dismount into the wild (or into our enclosures).  So for incubated scorps, after their 1st molt we should put them in an enclosure that replicates their natural environment.  In this case dry for a desert scorp.

I have whacked the humidity down a bunch.

Yeah Robert I would have placed them in a container with substrate and perhaps added a moist paper towel for about a week so that they harder properly (changing it daily of course).

Ok from 80 slings down to 23 one of which has a gammy leg.

Last night they were all glowing like radioactive neon signs under the UV torch and all were mobile and moving well. I think we could be safe now and hopefully no more losses.

Well you saved 23! The one with the bad leg will hopefully grow normal as he molts.