So I think I've some babies on the way!

My female B. jacksoni has been fat for a while and, if I'm correct, I can see embryos through her membrane. I can see the nerve cord. She hasn't slimmed down for over a month now.

Seems gravid?

I'm pretty stoked since she'll probably pop before my Bothriurus sp. and I've never had any babies before. Also that the other two B. jacksoni died.

great! shame the other jacksoni's died.

It's possible. I thought mine was gravid for the longest time, though . . . then she molted.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

It's possible. I thought mine was gravid for the longest time, though . . . then she molted.

That's what crossed my mind as well. Another one from the same brood ( I'm pretty sure ) had molted into maturity after I had set them up communally.

I swear I saw little embryos inside of her last night, though.

What are the physical differences between premolt and being gravid?

Well, here was my female in premolt:





You can sort of see the tergites here, but not too clearly, and the nerve cord is as visible as in a gravid one.

Great pics. Good Luck Brandon! I have watched all your You Tube vids on your B. Jacksoni. I would love to chat about your communal tank setup sometime.

My shipment of B.Jacksoni should be here tomorrow. I hope they make the trip ok. I need all the info you guys have for me on these scorpions. I have little individual tupperware containers all set up for them...coco fiber and a vertical chunk of cork tile to molt on...and a small flat stone...probably more for me than them I have holes punched in the lid and sides for good ventilation (hopefully not too much). I can keep the substrate in each container moist by just dipping the bottom in a bowl of water...I thought that would be less stressful than always spraying them down. They all fit neatly in my top drawer. I'm hoping it is warm enough being next to the heater...my room is about 75 degrees...will see. I can always put a heating pad covered in a towel on the bottom of the drawer if need be.

Keep the ideas and observations coming and I really hope your female is gravid man!!!

Mr. Mordax wrote:

Well, here was my female in premolt:





You can sort of see the tergites here, but not too clearly, and the nerve cord is as visible as in a gravid one.

She seems more taller than wide. I may have to take her out for another look.

She did the dance almost as soon as I introduced them. They were going at it for a while.

Bayss wrote:

Great pics. Good Luck Brandon! I have watched all your You Tube vids on your B. Jacksoni. I would love to chat about your communal tank setup sometime.

My shipment of B.Jacksoni should be here tomorrow. I hope they make the trip ok. I need all the info you guys have for me on these scorpions. I have little individual tupperware containers all set up for them...coco fiber and a vertical chunk of cork tile to molt on...and a small flat stone...probably more for me than them I have holes punched in the lid and sides for good ventilation (hopefully not too much). I can keep the substrate in each container moist by just dipping the bottom in a bowl of water...I thought that would be less stressful than always spraying them down. They all fit neatly in my top drawer. I'm hoping it is warm enough being next to the heater...my room is about 75 degrees...will see. I can always put a heating pad covered in a towel on the bottom of the drawer if need be.

Keep the ideas and observations coming and I really hope your female is gravid man!!!

Thanks!

Your setup sounds pretty good to me. What I did with my 2i's was I used little jars, put 5 holes in the top, about 1" of coco/peat (50/50), verticle piece of cork bark, kept 1/2 of the substrate moist, kept around ~75-80F, misted once a week, fed once a week. They all did extremely well and molted within a few days of eachother; except for the runt of the litter.

If they did the dance, then she wasn't gravid, but should be able to conceive.

I've heard of this species mating, birthing, and then molting, so I think females are sexually mature before they're full-grown. The downside is she may mate, molt, and lose her brood if it was early on.*

*If you have a lot of time (and a lot of scorpions) you could try mating a female before she molts, and see if she carries her brood across the molt by not mating her again for six months post-molt.

is it just me who can see embryos?

In my pictures? Yes, it's just you. She molted shortly after those pics were taken.

did she keep the brood?

guess who is being an idiot... ME!

Hmm ... So I had a dream last night that I could see little scorps inside of her. It wasn't exactly realistic since they were moving about her insides and such, but it gives me a boost of confidence that she's gravid

I routinely have dreams where I'm catching loads of U. mordax . . . then I wake up.

Do you just have the one female now? Or do you still have three total...I reread the thread and you said you lost 2. I hope she pops soon! I'm keeping mine 85F to 90F, feeding twice a week...although I may slow up because I just gave them their first roach nymph feeding and most only ate half. Two more are looking chubby, so I hope that means they will be molting soon. Can you make a video of her or post some pics? Fingers are crossed man.