Happy day xmas surprise!

About a month ago we came home from the bug store with a new pet my 6 year old named Shrug. She's an olive-keeled flat rock scorpion. She looked lumpy when we purchased her, lopsided even. I had wondered, but didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, if she were gravid. She was not flat-rock thin, but wasn't nearly as plump as some of the gravid females on internet pictures searches either. So I didn't think much of it. She is amazing to say the least, very laid back, as expected for the species, and large, and beautiful. And today she surprised us! I had forgotten about the possibility of her being gravid, so when I looked in her box today, there she was was three very, very fat, white babies! What a amazing surprise! And a wonderful Xmas present. My son is going to be so excited when he gets home from school today. Perhaps later tonight or tomorrow I will check on her again and maybe there will be more. Nonetheless, I am so happy with her and her little brood. Anyone with experience care to share the best way to raise these little guys? I already increased the humidity level in her box just in case. And the temp is 72F on the cool side and 85-90 on the warm side. And she has rocks and tree bark slabs and a sand-soil substrate that normally is kept dry, though today I moistened it by adding about a table spoon of water in one spot. She also has a babyfood container lid of water in there. She hasn't eaten in about 3 weeks, but has eaten at least two crickets, and maybe a red runner roach. Anyway, here are some pictures from a month ago and today

Congrats on surprise babies!!!


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This is very cool. What is the species name of this scorpion? Is it recommended as a beginner species? I've never owned a scorpion but seeing your son hold this one makes me want one!

Thanks!

This is an olive keeled flat rock scorpion, Hadogenes paucidens. They are one of my favorite scorpions because of their laid back, docile nature, though they can be skittish, Shrug is not (though she is a bit more now that she has babies). they are also very large, though slow to mature. I have heard it take up to 5-7 years from juveniles to reach full size, and they can live up to 30 years (at least that's what I've read). Notice in the picture with my son she is eating a cricket . Most scorpions will drop their food when disturbed, but Shrug was not gonna let go of that cricket!
They are very easy to care for, with simple housing requirements (Shrug's house is a 5 gallon size kritter keeper, with 1" of soil/sand substrate, lots of flat rocks and a few pieces of oak bark and a small water dish). They also don't require much humidity, so you don't have to mist their habitat like some of the other species. I would say they are one of the best starter species for sure. I feed her once every week, with a large fat cricket, much like you would with tarantulas. I tried feeding her red runner roaches but I think they are too fast, though one or two disappeared, I don't know if she ate them or if maybe they escaped.
Even though we have handled Shrug before and she doesn't seem too bothered by it, handling isn't something we do often. In the picture wit my son and Shrug with the cricket in her mouth, we had had her less than two hours and were moving her into her new home. We had bought her, taken her to the grocery store (it was on the way home and it was too cold to leave her in the car), and the whole 2 hours she kept that cricket in her mouth. Not much bothers her at all! But now with babies, we won't be picking her up unless absolutely necessary and only checking on her to make sure she has water and that she is eating and the babies are ok. So yes, they are, in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best, beginner species

Alright! Hope you are successful at raising the babies and dishing them out if you decide to. It looks like the environmentalism is becoming more popular and almost turning into a social culture for some so this stuff seems to be getting harder to find in pet stores that it was just a few years ago. I think the next Invertebrates mag is going to have a Hadogenes article in it if it helps.

I just got one as well, a female to boot! Now I just gotta keep an eye out for a male....

Congrats on the babies and I wish you the best in raising them

The picture of your son holding shrug is priceless !

Redellimom said:

About a month ago we came home from the bug store with a new pet my 6 year old named Shrug. She's an olive-keeled flat rock scorpion. She looked lumpy when we purchased her, lopsided even. I had wondered, but didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, if she were gravid. She was not flat-rock thin, but wasn't nearly as plump as some of the gravid females on internet pictures searches either. So I didn't think much of it. She is amazing to say the least, very laid back, as expected for the species, and large, and beautiful. And today she surprised us! I had forgotten about the possibility of her being gravid, so when I looked in her box today, there she was was three very, very fat, white babies! What a amazing surprise! And a wonderful Xmas present. My son is going to be so excited when he gets home from school today. Perhaps later tonight or tomorrow I will check on her again and maybe there will be more. Nonetheless, I am so happy with her and her little brood. Anyone with experience care to share the best way to raise these little guys? I already increased the humidity level in her box just in case. And the temp is 72F on the cool side and 85-90 on the warm side. And she has rocks and tree bark slabs and a sand-soil substrate that normally is kept dry, though today I moistened it by adding about a table spoon of water in one spot. She also has a babyfood container lid of water in there. She hasn't eaten in about 3 weeks, but has eaten at least two crickets, and maybe a red runner roach. Anyway, here are some pictures from a month ago and today
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How are your babies?

One tip, keep her undisturbed because if she is stressed she will eat her babies. Also how are they now? How many did she have?