Captive breeding of certain species

parabuthus

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Do you think there are certain species we should be really trying to make an effort with, in terms of captive breeding in the UK, to cut down the amount of WC specimens coming into the trade? For example Hadrurus Arizonensis, Scorpio Maurus e.t.c...

I am keen to try and raise some of these H.A. scorplings I have currently to adulthood, and would be keen to network with other people in a similar situation and see how successful we can be with it. For example, if things went well with a brood, switching male specimens for more breeding attemtps e.t.c, and then selling the CB specimens onto dealers, as opposed to them ordering WC specimens as much.

This is all pie in the sky right now ofcourse, but the thoughts are running through my head.

Your thoughts?
 

G. Carnell

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i say keep the WC specimens!!!!!!!

but with rare species its good to breed them anyway

i think 1 female giving birth isnt going to stop WC specimens, there is a large market for these scorps i think :S
 

parabuthus

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Yeah, I think more CB specimens for certain species would not hurt. Alot of the dealers are getting gravid females from the wild it seems, which can't be doing the ecosystem out there any good. Not a huge problem right now it seems with the abundance of certain species still, but more CB specimens can't be a bad thing. And ofcourse, one female having a brood successfully rasied is not going to have a huge impact, but 10+ females or so giving birth and raising many of the scorplings from each brood would make a difference IMO.
 

Bigboy

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parabuthus said:
Do you think there are certain species we should be really trying to make an effort with, in terms of captive breeding in the UK, to cut down the amount of WC specimens coming into the trade? For example Hadrurus Arizonensis, Scorpio Maurus e.t.c...
I'm glad you're thinking about what our hobby is doing to wild populations. It shows that you really care about the environment and that rocks my socks. I think that we all have a responsibility to try and breed whatever animals we own for the very reason you spoke about.
 

Brian S

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By all means a there needs to be more captive breeding for sure. Not just to save wild populations but also as more countries close their borders to exporting it will be the CB specimens that keep the hobby going. Look at what the tarantula hobby has done.
As for Hadrurus....well I wish you the best of luck as you will need it. I hear that they are some of the most difficult ones to breed in captivity.
Naturally some species are gonna be much easier to breed of course. I cant say anything about S maurus as I dont know much about them. I have 2 of 'em but havent had them for long.
 

Randolph XX()

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some species would be cheaper if it's WC
unless u're in the place where those species are more expansive as imported WC species
for example, A.australis H.h and L.qui in Taiwan are mostly chaep CBBs while imported WC ones are 6 times more expansive.
 

galeogirl

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Efforts at captive breeding are definitely important for the continuation of the exotic animal hobby. Each attempt (if documented and shared) gives us an opportunity to learn more about the species that we keep and increases our chances of successfully breeding and raising more young in captivity.

I'm hoping that we can get to the point of selective breeding, where we know enough about a species to breed only the best, hardiest animals in our collections instead of just throwing two critters together because we have a male and female of the same species.
 

Eurypterid

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galeogirl said:
I'm hoping that we can get to the point of selective breeding, where we know enough about a species to breed only the best, hardiest animals in our collections instead of just throwing two critters together because we have a male and female of the same species.
Not much chance of that. That's not what people breed for in pets, even in those very few species where we do know enough to breed selectively. People breed for color morphs and other esthetics, because that's what buyers want. If you could breed a normal looking emp that lived for 20 years, and another that only lived half the normal life span, but was solid bright white, which do you think would make you money?

I agree though, captive breeding is what will eventually be needed if the hobby is to grow and thrive.
 

galeogirl

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What you say is sadly true. Many people will choose color over health, hardiness, or size in animals. I hold out hope, though, that a few dedicated breeders will put some work into breeding the important characteristics first, leaving color a distant second or third.
 

parabuthus

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Well, my H.A. brood is still alive and well, though she is STILL in her burrow and hasn't surfaced. Does anybody know the average time for a H.A. with brood to surface for food? Also should I keep humidity down at around 40% for duration, or would irregular, very light misting be a good idea once a week or so (raising humidity to 50%/55% for a few hours or so)? I know that the young need a little more moisture than the adults, but ultimately still need to be kept bone dry. That said, I have 5 or 6 inches of hard packed sand above them.

As for breeding only the best scorpion specimens... well in my case, she is obviously wild caught, aggressive, active and eats like a horse. My favourite scorp to date, and if ever there was a scorp I wanted a brood from, it's her. So I will be tracking down a good male somewhere down the line and I will attempt to breed them.

Right now I'll see how I get on with this brood, although I have high hopes. And if things go well I'd be looking to get in touch with other H.A. enthusiasts who might want a specimen or perhaps be interested in trading or even loaning a male for breeding purposes.

In anycase, if anybody has any advice, please get in touch via PM on the board or via email: richcarlin@yahoo.co.uk

Thanks for reading.
 
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parabuthus

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You would NOT have thought that she was gravid when I first got her. Infact I was debating whether or not she was a male!!! :?

In this species the females have very long sweeping pectines, and elongated parts of the metasoma mean absolutely nothing as I've found out... the cool way :D .

She was well underfed and was obviously hanging onto her brood until times were good food-wise and until she could dig a decent burrow... awesome scorp.





That was the first five minutes in her new home... and took a big hopper.

At first I had so much grief trying to sort the substrate so it was suitable for burrowing, man oh man am I glad I got it sorted!
 
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