So the midget has died. It wasn't eating at all and kept isolating itself from the others. I found it half submerged in the water dish and when I prodded it it was dead.

return from hiatus

Scorplings have turned into fat and round little cylinders. Whenever I put a cricket into the tank, Demeter just grabs it and she usually crushes the head. The scorplings then swarm all over it. A few of them even run off with a whole leg in their mouths. I've even seen gluttons who cart off two-pedipalp fulls of cricket legs or guts.

They've all gotten off Demeter's back but a few occasionally climb back onto her. Some even lurk under her belly and follow her wherever she goes. But when everybody's sleeping most of them huddle up together in a ball of limbs and cute squooshy bodies.

However I've noticed that one of the scorplings isn't eating at all. Even when I put in an extra cricket and nudge the scorpling towards it, it doesn't show any interest in eating whereas the others will immediately pounce on it even before Demeter has let go of the cricket. It still looks like how it did right after the first moult. The others have turned into various shades of grey and black and are really really fat and cute and oh so squishy :P

Scorplings getting fatter because I'm feeding them a cricket or two everyday.

The camera's acting up, so no pics and vids for now.

The scorplings are growing up so fast... TT^TT On Tuesday Demeter caught a cricket and chucked it aside. They swarmed all over it and this morning I could see a leg here, another leg there, a few parts over there and a scorpling valiantly trying to eat a wing. When I came home from school this evening the wing was abandoned.

I'm out of crickets. So the babies' will have to wait till I get somemore tommorow. They've all left Demeter's back and most of them are, for some weird reason, clinging onto the flower pot shelter upside down. They're so... clingy! (pun)

Some of the shedded skins are stuck onto her back like chewing gum on your shirt.

EDIT: one of them just got back on her.

EDIT2: Yay videos!

The scorpling's hanging from Mama's head


I had to hold the camera vertically to get a shot at them without getting nipped, so you'll have to tilt your head to the right because left is down and right is up. Look at them spiderscorps hanging upside down XD

Last night Demeter finally got around to eating that cricket I've been trying to feed her since the day before. As she was munching, one of the babies walked right over her head and helped itself to some cricket guts. When I was videotaping it she jerked and the scorpling swung off her head, hung upside down from there and continued eating -_- (it was later joined by another)

I also discovered a dead scorpling still latched onto the Mama Express. It was being cannibalised(sp??) Well, one less corpse I have to deal with. Which brings the death toll to 3:
1st - was eaten by mama dearest. (accidentally?!)
2nd - I have no idea. It probably fell off and died, but I can't comprehend how it could have died from falling from such a height, so it probably died then fell off. But it still remains a mystery.
3rd - could have died while moulting. Was cannibalised. 2 of the scorplings were so close together as they were eating that they look like they were having a snog fest.

Later I saw that Demeter had some cricket butt leftover which she chucked aside. About 3 scorplings were munching on it. They didn't finish it though.

This morning I saw that 3 scorplings (probably the ones that were eating the cricket) weren't on Mama's back but they took refuge under her.

I'm lazy to upload pics and vids. Will do so eventually. Now I must study. I hate history TT^TT

moulting!

I find this picture very interesting. You can actually see all the stages of moulting in here.

1 - 1st instars which haven't moulted

2 - moulting
3 - moulted (2nd instars - notice that they're not as fat as before and they resemble the adults more now)

4 - the leftover skin

A few of them are showing signs of moulting. Keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be alright :)
Some are also more energetic than usual....maybe they've already moulted?

Another scorpling decided to venture into worlds unknown again. It was left behind when Demeter went hunting for that little cricket. But Mama's back now, I hope that silly baby will get back on her.

The scorplings are getting a little darker. Some tails have even turned a light grey colour. Demeter is now more aggresive than usual and she'll snap at anything nearby.

One particularly adventurous scorpling decided to explore a bit. Last time I checked it was still trying to scramble back on the Mama Express via the chelicerae(pincers). Hope she doesn't squish him. (look at the background graphic)

As I was typing I went to check on them again. I think she ate that stray scorpling, damn. I see a white butt sticking out from her mouth...or it might be hanging on from underneath her mouth, it's hard to tell. I'm being hopeful ^_^

Day 1 - Day 2 (31/10 - 1/11)

31/10/08 - Friday
Surprise! Surprise! I discovered one of my ASFs covered in white maggots. I never knew that she was even pregnant! The scorplings are fat and pure white with four black dots as eyes.

1/11/08 - Saturday
Separated Momma from the other two ASFs. The babies are slightly yellowish now and have a darker line along their backs. I counted about 25 of them but there're most likely as many as 30 because they're all piled on top of each other. This litter is much bigger than the previous I had(about 17-19 only).

I realised that all my scorplings are always born on significant days. The previous litter(where the Momma came from) was born on the 1st of May(Labour Day) and this one was born on Halloween. :D