when can they be sexed?

hi guys,
so! i got 16 h. laoticus slings in 3. instar. when will i be able to tell the difference between male and female?
i also got 20 b. jacksonis in 2. or 3. instar. they are about 1 cm long now. what is the easiest way to tell if its male or female?- and when!

The laoticus you may be able to tell by the pectines, genital operculum shape, etc. However, this is dependent on your experience in sexing scorpions as to the accuracy of your own judgement. This can be as early or as late in their life cycle as your skill will allow. Some Heterometrus sp. have very defined sexual dimorphism as adults, but I'm inclined to think that laoticus does not. As for the Babycurus, there is no way short of waiting till adulthood to separate based on gender.

Since I've answered your questions, riddle me this. So, you have 16 laoticus and 20 jacksoni and your concerned with gender. Do you know it's nearly mathematically impossible for you to not have a pair from those numbers. Also, what's the rush?

I don't mean to be abrasive by any means, I'm merely curious.

Envyizm wrote:

but I'm inclined to think that laoticus does not.

Exactly! Laoticus do not show sexual dimorphism. Even PTC are the same in in males and females. Probably genital operculum and pectine shape will be the only way to tell.

Since i am pretty new to this, im not very experienced with it. When they are adults, its easy to see the difference, by the size of them, the male is much smaller than the female. Its my first time with slings, so i just would like to know if there was a "special" way to see it, or if there where some facts of what instar it would be visible in.
Its not that im in a hurry, it would just be great to know the sex of them, also some people already asked to buy from me, but they only want them when the sex is determined, which is understandable.

So yeah, i am concerned about the gender. I would like to know which ones i can sell and which ones i can keep.
Lets just say, that someone would buy, maybe 10 of the Laoticus. I dont know what sex they are, and he ends up with all the females or all the males. That would suck for me. <- Just a "what if!"
I know it would be very unlikely, BUT, it could in theory happen... especially for me

two weeks ago i gave them all new homes, and i took my three adults up in a plastic container, to see the pectines, and there where a pretty visible difference.

KLN1988 wrote:

Its my first time with slings, so i just would like to know if there was a "special" way to see it, or if there where some facts of what instar it would be visible in.

To sex young scorpions e.g. 2.instar, It depends on the species.
Species that can be sexed via pectine tooth count (e.g. Androctonus spp), can be sexed as early as 2.instar. For most bark/forest scorpions, it'll be much easier to sex them at adulthood or at least, from 5-6.instar onwards. As for H.laoticus and B.jacksoni, I'm with Envyizm and DolbyR on their views.

KLN1988 wrote:

Its not that im in a hurry, it would just be great to know the sex of them, also some people already asked to buy from me, but they only want them when the sex is determined, which is understandable.

It is understandable but not feasible. Unless they know of someone who can sex H.laoticus and B.jacksoni at 2-3.instar, and do invite them to share it here.

KLN1988 wrote:

Lets just say, that someone would buy, maybe 10 of the Laoticus. I dont know what sex they are, and he ends up with all the females or all the males. That would suck for me. <- Just a "what if!"
I know it would be very unlikely, BUT, it could in theory happen... especially for me

Usually, for such scenarios, whereby it is not feasible to sex a particular specie from 2-3.instar.
I would recommend my friend to get at least a group of 5 or 6 specimens of a particular specie. e.g. 0.0.5 or 0.0.6
This will raise the chances of getting a pair.

For a group of 10 H.laoticus scorplings. I would say that there's a good chance of getting a min of 3 pairs

1.
I know that i can sex them when they are adults, and how(ish).
Just wanted to know if some of you guys knew a smart way to tell it when they are still small, or if the pectine method could be an option. But i guess thats an No.

2.
I doubt they know any other way, they just said that they would buy if the sex could be determined. I told them that they would have to wait, because i didnt know what to do, unless they are adults. Thats why i turned to the forum.

3.
"what if!" thats what i said. Its not as much for the buyers sake, as its for mine. If the person who wants to buy from me, only want to buy males or females, then its okay with me, as long as there is enough of each sex for me, to keep breeding them. I really dont care which sex they want.

You should in theory be able to sex Heterometrus by their operculum from early instars, the problem is actually being able to see the operculum easily. Which is not all that easy, given how small 2nd instars are. . .

my h. laoticus are in 3. instar. i will try to see if i can find any difference on them this weekend then!
and thank you for your help!