Time to final moult for P villosus?

Hi all

How long do P villosus females take to moult from 6i to 7i?

My female has been stuck for a year and still no moult. She is still eating as well. I just received an adult male and cannot wait to get them mating

Let me know if a year is normal?

When they are adult,  they mainly molt when skin is damaged or to get rid of parasites etc...
So if the enclosure is in good conditions,  it may well be they wont molt for very long periods.
Our parabuthus is also well over year and did not molt!
I used to think the humidity is to low...but after feeding the scorpion was/is relaxed again.

I cannot answer your question shaneshac as I haven't kept this species. It does seem like a long stage between instars for a Parabuthus spp., though. However, maybe Den or shadowfoot (or some other members) have experience with this species?

Gert, I'm pretty sure scorpions only moult a set amount of times in their lifetime. It is a process they go through to grow, and that is all. I believe most Parabuthus spp. mature after 5 to 6 moults (6i - 7i) with some individuals of certain species moulting for a 7th time to 8i. After this they will never moult again.

She is smaller than my newly arrived adult male so definitely has to moult again. I was just wondering if that time was considered within normal periods

Thanks for the info

Parabuthus villosus females normally mature at 8i and this can take some time to attain. Anything from 2 to 4 years is in the norm for Parabuthus to go from 2i to 8i but it's not strange that they may take longer.

You guys know your scorpions...I am impressed and glad to have the privilege to be part to this site!

Thanks! I will try and get a picture of them side by side and hope you can tell me if she will mature at next moult or if she needs one more after that!

1 year and counting from 6 to 7i for a P. villosus female is a touch on the long side. My own female went from fresh 5i to adult in just over 17 months. Temps were optimal throughout although she (and her siblings) really enjoyed sucking up the heat as a prelude to moult......and they do like it warm!
If your male is appreciably larger i'd say she probably has a couple more moults yet. Adult females are not vaguely larger than males they are much larger....Give your male winter conditions and your female summer to slow him down and speed her up, especially if he's a mature adult male. You want him to still be around when the females ready eh

Thanks

The female has just looked ready to moult for a very long time and does not get round to doing so

I am hoping she does so soon and then I can check her size compared to the male. She is only a bit smaller at the moment so with luck she will grow quite a bit on this remaining moult.

I will look at trying to keep the male cooler as you suggest

Regards

I just hope my wife does not read this thread...I just might one day end up in our fridge 

Gert B wrote:

I just hope my wife does not read this thread...I just might one day end up in our fridge 

hahahahahahahahaha

  

If i have a scorp that doesn't want to moult i change the environment, usually to something warmer, quieter and shaded. Do you give her water? My own will drink from a water bowl every 3 or 4 weeks. Have you tried increasing the temps and then letting them drop sharply for a couple of weeks only to bring them back up again. Sudden weather and condition changes do help. How often have you received scorps only to have them moult shortly after or even while still in the package. It's happened many times for me and i put it down to a change in conditions that for some reason or another have instigated the moult.
It's got to be worth a go

May be worth a try. I will move her about see if that helps. As you say, it happens a lot with my tarantulas so scorps should be the same