# Miscellaneous Herp Interests > Invertebrates >  Desert hairy scorpions

## Potatoren

My brother went and purchased a desert scorpion from none other than petco   anyway
He got it home, I guessed it was a female due to what I've read online and how to sex them. 
He set her up, got her situated, left her alone. This is not his first scorp, we had bought him a cave clawed female at the reptile super show in Vegas earlier this month. These guys are being g taken care of as he did his homework so ill give him that 

Well her gender was confirmed because lo and behold, he came home one night and started shouting for my attention. She was apparently gravid and now has a bunch of scorplings. I did some reading online, but I want the best for these guys as it isn't fair to them if they don't get the best chance at life. 

We won't be taking them away from mum until after their first molt. Can we keep the scorplings together after that? If so, for how long? They're so tiny, will a soaked cotton ball work for hydration? I'm afraid they'll drown in anything else. What can we feed them once they're away from mum? How soon can I sex them? We aren't interested in trying to keep a ton or scorps so I might list them for cheap on morphmarket once they're established 

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## Bogertophis

Ha, that's awesome- nothing like a ready-made family!   :Very Happy:   I've kept desert scorpions, but never the offspring, so I can't help you much there.  But do they prey on each other?  I know spiderlings do (last ones standing- or "crawling" that is- "wins"!), but I'm not sure about scorpions. For that matter, I wouldn't trust "mom" not to eat the kids either.  Good luck- do update us with what you learn.

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_Homebody_ (09-19-2022)

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## plateOfFlan

From what I can tell this is at least not one of the parthenogenetic species of scorpion, so once she molts she'll likely not have any more - if they're like tarantulas she'll slough the inside of her genitals as well when she molts which will toss any remaining sperm.
Looking at care sheets, this species is said to be more cannibalistic than some - a lot of scorpion species are surprisingly peaceful in groups - so removing the offspring sooner rather than later might be a good idea. As for water I'd spray the side of the enclosure and let them drink from that - they're a desert species so they likely don't need a whole dish.

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*Bogertophis* (09-19-2022),_Homebody_ (09-19-2022)

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## plateOfFlan

Oh sorry, missed the thing about feeding them - they can eat prekilled of whatever mom's eating. If it's too big and you're not squeamish you can cut it up into smaller pieces for them. Plenty of people in the T hobby feed prekilled up to 2" or more but I'm kind of tough on mine and start offering live small mealworms or pinhead crickets around 1/2" and watch to see if they're able to hunt on their own. At first they'll run from the prey but they always figure it out eventually.

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*Bogertophis* (09-19-2022),_Homebody_ (09-19-2022)

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## YungRasputin

no, after the first molt/when you see them falling off her back remove them at once and keep them in separate sling appropriate enclosures - scorpions, particularly desert scorpions, are both individualistic and highly cannibalistic

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*Bogertophis* (09-19-2022),_Homebody_ (09-20-2022)

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