Help Baby Emps

So our two emperors at work are now obviously a male and a female. When I came into work the larger of the two has ten babies sitting on her back. I separated the mother and babies into one tank and then the dad in another, but need some info on raising babies and proper setup if its different for them.

http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Photo0219.jpg

I'm just going by what I've read here
1. Seperate mom, which you did
2. Offer her some fesh killed cricket or 2
3. When babies leave her back, move them to their own enclosure

I sure hope Jeff and the rest of the invertebrate crew are on, to chime in :)

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I'm just going by what I've read here
1. Seperate mom, which you did
2. Offer her some fesh killed cricket or 2
3. When babies leave her back, move them to their own enclosure

I sure hope Jeff and the rest of the invertebrate crew are on, to chime in :)

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How long until the babies come off her back?
Each baby on its own or can I house the babies in one tank together?

I don't know how long til the babies come off, not too long
I believe each baby should be housed seperately to prevent canabalism, but some have housed together

Does anybody know of a good website with info on this?

Actually, you can offer mom some crickets but once the babies shed, she will kill them and back away allowing them to eat before she does. Momma emps take care of their babies.

Make sure the enclosure is kept in a warm room. No lower than room temp. 75 or above is preferable. Substrate should hold humidity well. Ecoearth is best but if you only have cypress mulch, be sure to spray it down well. They are a tropical scorpion.

I'll send more info in a little bit.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Actually, you can offer mom some crickets but once the babies shed, she will kill them and back away allowing them to eat before she does. Momma emps take care of their babies.

Make sure the enclosure is kept in a warm room. No lower than room temp. 75 or above is preferable. Substrate should hold humidity well. Ecoearth is best but if you only have cypress mulch, be sure to spray it down well. They are a tropical scorpion.

I'll send more info in a little bit.

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Okay. I read that she would feed them should I provide more food than usual? How much more? They are in a temp controlled room that will not drop below 75. They are on ecoearth and there is moss around the hides.

Not yet. Just offer mom her normal this week. When the babies have their first molt they will begin to come down off her back. Much of the molts will stick to moms back. Don't worry about this. In a few weeks when you move mom in with dad just spray her down once a week and eventually it will all come off.

Once all the babies have molted, start putting about a dozen small crickets in per week or so. Keep an eye on how much the babies are eating. Babies will eat them selves to death so if they look too round like they will pop at the seams, wait a week to feed again.

Every so often, you can take a couple super worms and cut them into tiny pieces. Drop them around mom and the babies will each take a piece. These are a great starter food due to the high fat and protein but only do this every few weeks. Otherwise, pinheads to very small crickets once the babies are hunting and killing their own food should be used.

For the first 3-4 weeks the babies will climb back on mom after eating. It's best to offer her a super worm on feeding tongs at this point. It will help give back what she lost from carrying the babies for so long.

Once they begin to stay off her back longer then it's time to remove her and let them have the tank to themselves.

Some will be more aggressive feeders than others so as time goes by, once they begin changing color and you see personalities develop, you will know which ones are shy and don't eat as much and which ones take all the food.

For the shy ones you can wait til the rest have a cricket and then kill one for the shy ones.

You won't have problems with cannibalism as long as all the babies are eating the right amount. An appropriate sized meal once or twice a week as long as they do not look too fat once they have a few molts and begin to turn grey.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Not yet. Just offer mom her normal this week. When the babies have their first molt they will begin to come down off her back. Much of the molts will stick to moms back. Don't worry about this. In a few weeks when you move mom in with dad just spray her down once a week and eventually it will all come off.

Once all the babies have molted, start putting about a dozen small crickets in per week or so. Keep an eye on how much the babies are eating. Babies will eat them selves to death so if they look too round like they will pop at the seams, wait a week to feed again.

Every so often, you can take a couple super worms and cut them into tiny pieces. Drop them around mom and the babies will each take a piece. These are a great starter food due to the high fat and protein but only do this every few weeks. Otherwise, pinheads to very small crickets once the babies are hunting and killing their own food should be used.

For the first 3-4 weeks the babies will climb back on mom after eating. It's best to offer her a super worm on feeding tongs at this point. It will help give back what she lost from carrying the babies for so long.

Once they begin to stay off her back longer then it's time to remove her and let them have the tank to themselves.

Some will be more aggressive feeders than others so as time goes by, once they begin changing color and you see personalities develop, you will know which ones are shy and don't eat as much and which ones take all the food.

For the shy ones you can wait til the rest have a cricket and then kill one for the shy ones.

You won't have problems with cannibalism as long as all the babies are eating the right amount. An appropriate sized meal once or twice a week as long as they do not look too fat once they have a few molts and begin to turn grey.

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Okay sounds good. How long approximately before the babies are on their own? How fast do they grow, they have to be 2.5 " for me to move them back to the sales floor.

3-4 weeks before they outgrow moms back and she needs to be moved out. They should be about 2" or so when they are 3 months old. They will not be large enough to sex them until they are between 3-4 inches though.

These are some of my babies at 3 1/2 months old.
http://tapatalk.com/mu/a6898d98-32b8-b6ba.jpg

Work is gonna love that time frame:rolleyes: Does the fact that mom and dad were most likely siblings effect the offspring at all?

It shouldn't. At least now you'll have babies that you're sure of the age though. That's always a good thing since most scorpions in stores and at expos are wild caught and you never know how long they will live. I love mine. I find them fascinating :)

True, thanks for all the help. I will keep you guys posted on them.

foschi saves the day again!!!:bow:

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Originally Posted by mark and marley

foschi saves the day again!!!:bow:

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I sure couldn't lol? I love looking at em, but know next to nothing about them, other than reading posts :oops: to be honest they scare the bejesus out me, I love looking at em though

yeah she taught me about all this when i got my emps and helped me with my fish.
i cant wait for mine to have babies.
my az bark scorpions babies are getting off her back as i type.theyre so cute!!!

congratulations on your emp babies!!!:w00t:

I know nothing about desert scorps but from what I hear, are more aggressive, and more prone to cannibalism so hopefully you were able to find some good info on those as well :)

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

I know nothing about desert scorps but from what I hear, are more aggressive, and more prone to cannibalism so hopefully you were able to find some good info on those as well :)

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yep your are right about that.
ive gotten alot of help on them from experienced people as well.
:gj:

Those little babies are cool!! How long do scorpions live for anyway??

thanks!

we both have scorpion babies! highfive

depends on the species emps,up to eight years i believe.

Im just glad I know a great community of people that I can turn to when I dont know the answers! :D

All 3 of us now! Lol

Yep, emperors 6-8 years in captivity if CB but the wild caught ones you never know. I've read the wild ones can possibly have some sort of parasite and/or viral infection that can cut their life short. Which is why I'm glad my female had babies :)

My male died 3 months before the babies were born. I have no idea if it was age or what but I know they were imports.