Hi there!
So... I assume I have a gravid adult Heterometrus petersii female... There's no way to be certain, as she was caught in the wild (not by myself of course, I only bought her :p).
Anyway, she got quite fat these last few months, even though she didn't eat that much. I bought her in January, and it took her about a month to start eating. Afterwards, I started feeding her either 1 dubia roach every 2 weeks, or 1 cricket every week. She ate quite often, with some sporadic fasting periods lasting up to about 3 weeks.
She started behaving strangely about a month ago: getting out before her daylight lamp turned off, basking underneath it, reacting very defensively to disturbances during feeding and maintenance. Then, one day (about 3 weeks ago right now) she started burrowing like crazy, while her lamp was still on. Up to then, she had been content with her hide, occasionally digging a small scrape, or doing some minor "bulldozering" to adjust her vivarium. No large-scale burrowing had taken place prior to that day.
The day after her burrowing was a feeding day, and she accepted one last cricket. The days after that, she gradually retreated deeper into her burrow, until I couldn't observe her anymore. She hasn't emerged since. That has to be 2 weeks ago now.
So, what's your opinion? Would this female be gravid, or not? What can I expect? How long does it usually take gravid females to emerge from their burrows with their young, and will she emerge at all, or will I have to catch the babies once they start wandering around at 2nd instar?
Thanks in advance!
