Reptiles Magazine Community / Reptile Forums / Invertebrates

African Giant Millipedes Oh My!

SunnyKisses — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:41:31 GMT

I have just recieved 4 African Giant Millipedes, (:I know, its a bug not a reptile that have little bugs running all over then and around in the coconut fiber bedding. I have alot of experience with mites on snakes and iguanas but these are much different there a little bit bigger..

Any Ideas?

Identafication help

MeganRM — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:34:58 GMT

Hello everyone.I am sorta confused on what type of spider this is.I see them quite often running around in my house and still have no clue what they are.I well post a couple of pictures but be warned not all of thim are good.

Biggest Crayfish

TheAnole95 — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:33:03 GMT

I caught a crayfish yesterday that was about 2-3 inches long. I'm just wondering how long the biggest crayfishe really is.

Cobalt Blue Tarantula

Katschamne — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:50:21 GMT

Well we finally picked up a cobalt blue tarantula and I have to say I have seen them before and think that they are awesome color. I had to take pictures because I know when we put it in her permanent cage that we will rarely see her. Yes we know it's a female because only the female is blue.

I just wanted to add that these tarantulas are not for beginners. As you can see in these pictures that it didn't take much for her to give a threat display. If you want to handle a tarantula this is not a species for you. This species of tarantula is burrower. A lot of times in pet stores you will see this tarantula out because most of the time they don't have enough substrate and but doing this also stresses them out. It is hard to sell something if the customers can't see it.

question on hermit crabs

UROFAN — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:56:51 GMT

I got a hermit crab today and i need to know do i need to add water to the Eco earth substrate or is it ok dry

What is wrong with my madagascar hissing roach

2manyherps — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:26:24 GMT

Last night I was admiring my pets when I noticed that my female hisser ,New Glory, had something sticking out of the end of her body. It was long and was pale yellow. I did reasearch and fpound out that it was an egg sack. But when I woke up in the morning it was gone and my hisser was still in the same spot, just turned around. I am begging anyone who knows what could have happened to the egg-sack. I dont see any newly hatched babys around and she is my only hisser. Her Mate died just last week. What has happened?

Hermit Crabs In Painted Shells

UROFAN — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:49:57 GMT

I read an article about hermit crabs and painted shells. The painted shells are not safe for the crabs, because they are toxic and will kill them. Why do pet stores sell painted shells for hermit crabs if they are toxic? It doesn't make sense to me. I have a hermit crab with a painted shell, and I hope he decides to change shells soon. I would hate for him to get sick or even die.

spiders

UROFAN — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:19:19 GMT

my favorite spider is the colbalt blue turantula.

Desert Tarantulas

herphappy200 — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:27:39 GMT

Does anyone know how to care for these guys? Any information would be appreciated.

How to care for hissing cockroaches

TheAnole95 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:43:17 GMT

Can someone give me like a care sheet or somthing?

emp colony advice!!!!!!!!

footless — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:07:10 GMT

im starting a emp colony just wondering if any one has advice on : the number of scorpions to start with, tank size, substrate, i have a emp iv had for over a year she lives in a 10 gal with cocotex bedding and i light

Starter Tarantula

matt94rocks — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:57:48 GMT

I know everyone is gonna say that the best tarantula to start out with is the rose hair but really there not cool looking.The only tarantulas I like are the red knees and the cobalt blues but I heard cobalt blues are highly agressive and usually wild caught.Which tarantula is a better starter to have I have never took care of a invertebrate and which would be better to handle and not freak out and try to kill me thank you

Rhino Beetles

matt94rocks — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:04:29 GMT

Can someone tell me about the rhino beetle like about there care like housing,feeding, and heating.

king baboon excaped!!!!!

footless — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:25:54 GMT

my 2 inch king baboon excaped what are the odds of me finding him or him surving to bite me while i sleep ne thoughts on how to recapture it

vinegaroons

UROFAN — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:01:01 GMT

I know that people have scorpions as pets but should people have vinearoons as pets?

empior scorpion

footless — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:48:51 GMT

i have a adult empior scorpion femal and i would like to breed it but every time i put a male in her tank she eats him no matter what size he is she is around 7 to 8 inches 10 gal tank

1.5 empior scorpions

1 rose hair

1 costarican tiger rump

1 buermise python

1.5 bearded dragons

1 savana monitor

1 lost king baboon

Aphnophelma care.

Crested Man — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:55:50 GMT

Every year my dad goes to Santa Barbara and sometimes he brings back an Aphnophelma. Does anybody know how to care for these tarantulas.

Breeding Leafhoppers

GreenAnole09 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 05:17:15 GMT

I was wondering how to breed Leafhoppers.I have a one that I'm keeping as a pet called Nibbles but,I'm willing to get another one for Nibbles so they can mate and produce off-sring that I can feed to my lizards.Nibbles is green with a brown stripe running down his/her side.I have a feeling that the solid green leaf hoppers are the opposite gender but,I'm not sure.Is breeding leafhoppers as easy as breeding crickets?

Pics of a tarantula molting

Katschamne — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:37:59 GMT

I thought I would share some pictures I took yesterday when my rose hair molted. The sad thing we found out that he matured out this molt and it will probably be his last. He hooked out.

This Fluffy on his back.

On the right is his molt on the left all smashed together is Fluffy.

A litttle different angle.

Fluffy molt is complete.

an unwanted bonus

xfrozenxpenguinx — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:57:04 GMT

the past few times I've ordered crickets in bulk there has been at least one spider in each box! so I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and possibly knows if the venom is dangerous? most of them are about the size of a nickle, and brown in color. but recently i've gotten one around the same size with a large round yellowish abdomen. i tried looking them up online, but I've had no luck!

Should I get a Rose Hair or a Pink Toe?

Awesomenemay — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:54:35 GMT

I just jumped into the world of herps, and I already want to expand my collection of exotics.

I used a lot of money on my armadillo lizard, but I want something cheaper than a lizard that needs less space, like a spider!

I know they sell them at my local pet store, and I believe they have Rose Hairs and Pink Toes, which are both beautiful spiders.

Which one would you guys recomend? I love both of their looks...

I do plan on handling it, but nothing major. I don't mind bites, I'm really tolerant to pain. Anyone with these guys can tell me the pros and cons? Not even just these guys, but spiders in general?

Emperor Scorpion Care

Crested Man — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:46:07 GMT

Any thing? Any thing?

Raising Pandinus & Heterometrus Babies

BrianS — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:21:07 GMT

Since this question has been popping up on various forums lately I decided a thread like this is in order for future reference.This isnt the only way to do this nor neccisarily the best but it does work well. Luckily, these are about the easiest scorplings to raise so long as you do the basics correctly.......

When the female gives birth the young will remain on her back until they molt into 2nd instar. At this point there is really nothing to do but wait. There is really no need to feed the Mother at this point as they will often refuse food. It will take about a week or 2 (depending on temps etc) for the 1st instar to molt. As long as the substrate is moist everything will be fine.

After the young molt and leave the Mother you can separate them into delicups like this. You can keep the young together as they arent the cannibalistic type as many Buthids are. These delicups seem to work better as they restrict ventilation which keeps them humid. I use moist peat moss with a bottle cap for water.
Note that many keepers I know will leave the young with Mom through 2nd instar and even 3rd instar. While I dont do this myself it is strictly a matter of personal preference.

After the young are gone, Mom will have a renewed interest in feeding again so be sure to give her plenty of food in order to replenish herself.

When the young out grow their deli cup it is time to move them into a bigger container. A plastic shoe box works great for this. Just drill or melt some air holes and you are in business. This works better than a kritter keeper as it also keeps the moisture inside keeping them from getting too dry

Here is an inside shot. Like the deli cup only with a hide

Here are some Heterometrus I have raised since they left their Mom

I hope you all find this thread of some use

Are Hermit Crabs Included?

HermitCrab — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:35:55 GMT

Please Help!!!!

Husbandry of the Parabuthus transvaalicus scorpion

BrianS — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:23:46 GMT

Parabuthus transvaalicus

Parabuthus transvaalicus is a rather large scorpion from the dry savannahs and deserts of Southern Africa. The females in particular can grow to about 5 inches in length! The metasoma (tail) is quite large and thick thus earning this species the common name of Black Thick Tailed Scorpion. This species is sporadically available as wild caught imports, however learning to culture this species in captivity is important as captive breeding programs are the future of the Scorpion Hobby. One should never take for granted that this species will always be available as wild caught imports. The Tarantula Hobby is a shining example of this as many species are only available as captive bred stock. With this in mind, one should always assume that the same can happen with many of the scorpion species we now enjoy. I have sucessfully bred this species four times and I hope everyone can benefit from the experciences I have had with this species.

Venom
This species is known to have moderately toxic venom. With an LD 50 of 4.25 (1) this species is considered by most to be medically significant not as much for the strength but for the quanity it can deliver. To top it off this species is also known to possess the ability to spray venom at an annoyance. I personally have never witnessed this scorpion spray venom but several fellow Scorpion Hobbyists have reported witnessing this. Needless to say, this species deserves a good deal of respect and should only be kept by those with some experience in keeping scorpions that will exercise caution when working with them.

Husbandry
Parabuthus transvaalicus is native to the dry areas of Southern Africa. With this in mind, the captive conditions should be kept warm and dry. They seem to thrive with temperatures between 80F-87F. If kept too cool and moist this species can get a fungal infection known as mycosis which will eventually kill the scorpion.
Housing the adults is actually quite simple. Kritter Keepers or 5-10 gallon tanks can be used with screen type tops which allow for good ventilation. I prefer to use about 3 inches of dry peat, sand or a mixture of both. A hide can be a piece of wood, propped up flat stone or just about anything that the scorpion can hide under. They are quite content with digging shallow scrapes underneath solid objects and therfore deep substrate is really not needed. About once a month the hobbyist can offer water in 2 Liter soda bottle cap. I will occasionally let the water dish overflow and even lightly spray the enclosure to simulate a light rain. One should be extremely careful when doing this because if the moisture does not evaporate fully within about 6-10 hours mycosis can develop! The extra ventilation by screened tops allow will allow the moisture to completely dry out within a few hours as long as the temperature is warm. I usually spray no more than once every month or two.
Occasionally adults can be kept together if fed very well however this pecies has been know to be cannibalistic so unless the hobbyist has several specimens they should be kept separate except for introducing breedin pairs.

Breeding
This species is relatively easy to breed when the husbandry is correct. Normally the male will initiate the courtship by clasping the female by her chelae. They will do the typical "dance" which usually lasts for about 15 minutes. Keep in mind it is important to know the sex of your scorpions before trying to breed them for obvious reasons. Adults are easy to sex as the males are built thin yet have bulbous chelae where as the females are much more robust with thinner chelar. The males bulbous chela will not develop until the last molt so in order to sex out juveniles one must look at the undeath side of the scorpion. Underneath is a "comb like appendage called a pectine. At the base of the pectine, if a long lobe is observed the specimen is a female.
The first female I mated had a long gestation of almost 11 months while the second female had a shorter gestation of 7 months with temperature kept around 83-85F. They both give birth within two weeks of each other during the month of August wich leads me to believe they postponed until the hottest month of the year. Interestingly, I had my male living with both females for several months with no problems. After they give birth I removed the male until the young had dispersed and were separated. I then reintroduced the male which mated with the females but after mating the females showed no tolerance to the males and I had to remove him from both enclosures for fear he might end up being another meal of the females.
The first female give birth to 67 young while the second female give birth to 52.
Note: I have spoken with several Invertebrate hobbyists that have had some problems with getting this species to give birth to healthy live young. They report that they often drop yellowish colored eggs or undeveloped young. The people that have reported this are experienced tarantula breeders and going on what I know from tarantula hobbyists, the temperatures are usually kept in the 70sF which leads me to believe is the problem. My experiences with most scorpion species shows that they are much healthier when kept at warmer temperatures.

Raising the Early Instar Scorplings.
After the babys molt into 2nd instars they will eventually disperse from the Mother. When this happens, the young should be separated into individual condiment cups or deli cups. Just like the adults the substrate should be dry whether you choose sand, peat or a mixture of both. I recommend making holes in the sides of the cups espicially if stacking several together as this will keep the ventilation adequate. The young will have a voracious appetie and will eventually attack prey item as large as themselves. Small crickets, roach nymphs, and other small insects can be offered as food. The young cant be overfed as they will stop eating when they have had enough.
The young will take a little more than 2 years to mature. The males mature at 6th instar while the females mature at 7th instar. As the young grow the hobbyist can keep moving them into bigger enclosures to accomidate their growing size. When the young finally plump up, the hobbyist can add a drop or 2 of water in the condiment cup which slightly raises the humidity and will often insigate a molt. Again, one must be careful when and if doing this as too humid for too long can lead to death. There will be some mortality with some of the 2nd and 3rd instars of this species. I have observed that most species which give birth to large numbers of young will have higher mortality than those that dont. Perhaps this is the reason for a high yield?

Conclusion
Parabuthus transvaalicus is an interesting and hardy captive to keep as long as the husbandry requirements are met and the hobbyist will exercise caution when working with this species. I hope that those who read this article will be inspired to keep and breed this species in the future. I have said many times that captive breeding is the future of the Invertebrate Hobby and all hobbyists should freely share their experiences with various species

(1)http://scorpions.dimensional-rift.co.uk/LD50table.htm

mating couple

Female pectine
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adult male chela

adult female chela

Where did the millworms go???

gecko boy — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:35:10 GMT

Isn't there a shortage of millworms and where can I fnd some!

Best Arachnid

Raptor dude — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:48:52 GMT

Ive been saving up for a long time for a pet and now I have a problem.What is easier to care for: Chilean rose tarantula, Mexican redknee tarantula, Emperor scorpion, or Flat rock scorpion?

Giant Prickly Stick Insects

steve62 — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:23:35 GMT

I am interested in owning some giant prickly stick insects. I need to know cage size, food plants, cost factor, the pros and cons, amount per cage, handleing, size, and any other important imormation.

Thanks, Steve62

help on how to look after a baby emperor scorpion

sean — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:19:51 GMT

hello to all heprs out there, as you i also have a intrest in reptiles, inverts,ampihibs and so on and at the mo im working along side these animals while at college

at the mo I have recently got a new addition a baby emperor scorpion who is about 2cm long I know how to look after the adult grown, I would just like info on baby emperor at the mo its in a 8 inch long by 4 inch width tub, the substrate is treated compost at a depth of 1 inch and it has also a bottle cap for water and moss, i spray the enviroment t okeep humidity levels right, it diet is very small meal worms, and very small hoppers. it would gratefull to anyone for advice on this species and that im doing everythink fine.

i hope to here from any one soon.

A few Scorpion Pics.

massalvaje — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:48:15 GMT

I also took these shots on my srping break vacation in Southern Utah (refer to the "Into the Wild" forum if you don't know what I am talking about). These guys are really small and I was unsure of the species. They resemble the Arizona Bark Scorpion but I really have no idea if they are or not.

This next one will show just how small these guys are.

This is what a Black UV light will do to a Scorpion. I have a 6" portable light that I always take with me for this purpose.

I apologize for the quality of this last pic, I have yet to master shooting with a Black light let me know if you have any tips.

Whats the type of Tarantula thats native to California.

Crested Man — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:29:07 GMT

And I have no clue what species it is and I want to catch another one.

Uca crabs

blkfirecrystal — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:56:15 GMT

A friend of mine researches these guys, and I picked up a male and two females. They are great pets, easy to care for, easy to feed. THey are diposite eaters, so they take in food from the sand. Hard part is keeping just enough saline water in there, can't have too much or too little.

?

xenite — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:19:43 GMT

I really don't see the point of an invertebrates section, theres only 11 threads over a month-2 month span. Invertebrates threads only rarely appear. It was a good thought though.

bug magazine

UROFAN — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:14:28 GMT

I know that there is a invertebrates magazine but I dont think bowtie puts it out will bowtie make a insect magazine in the future?

Emporer Scorpions

TaRzAN — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:59:47 GMT

Duz anybody know if Petco's sell emporer scorpions, or not?

What do you recommend?

Stewie — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:19:32 GMT

I was thinking about getting a Scorpion or a Turantula. What do you recommend and what type?

pink toe tarantula

SNAKE CHARMER — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:16:18 GMT

my mom said that if i got honors in school one more time(it's the last month of school here in tn)she'd consider a tarantula the pet store i've always bought from is were i plan on getting one from.i'd like a pink toe since there pretty docile,can be housed in a 5-gallon,& are beautiful

p.s.if i get one i do plan on handling

p.s.s.i'm not allergic too bee venom

Fave invertebrates

xenite — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:04:48 GMT

I know there are a million of these, but nobody has made one about invertebrates, so I decided to do it.

Pinned Topics

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