[JSN]

a big thanks for Brian and VL for giving me the chance to do this...

Smeringurus Mesaensis
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e400/Lupin666/Picture146.jpg

Family - Vaejovidae

Genus - Smeringurus

Range - Arizona, California, Nevada

Habitat - can be found in sand dunes in california and arizona, but I have also found them in deserts with light rock cover and also inside abandoned burrows.

Size - 3-4"

Temperment - usually will choose flight over fight, which it does very well and very fast, but will readily sting and club if cornered.

Venom - 2 - I've been nailed by an adult female on several different occasions, put ice on the location of the sting for about an hour and pains subsides.

Other interesting facts- Smeringurus mesaensis is one of the most studied scorps in the world, but are still very difficult to breed in captivity. They are one of the fastest scorpions I have ever seen, they can easily reach the end of a 20 gallon tank with blinding speed. Unfortunately, Smeringurus mesaensis are widely used to make glass paperweights. Smeringurus mesaensis are known to be very cannibalistic in the wild. They can detect prey from far away by feeling the vibrations from the ground, and will often dart towards a possible prey item, again taking advantage of its lightning speed.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e400/Lupin666/Picture168.jpg

Captivity

Housing - can be put into a medium sized kritter keeper, but I prefer to house them in large critter keepers or 10 gallon tanks since they can run like no other.

Substrate - I like to mix any store bought sand with a harder, heavier dirt that I will often find at the sight of a caught specimen or from my backyard. make sure to pack down hard to allow a stable and durable burrowing substrate.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e400/Lupin666/Picture141.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e400/Lupin666/Picture140.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e400/Lupin666/Picture212.jpg

Rocks/other hides - Unnecessary but I like to add a little flair to my enclosures. My specimens will sometimes dig under the rocks and use them as well as their burrows.

Temperature - 78-98F are good day time temps, low 80's to high 60's at night

Humidity - keep these scorpions dry, a little misting once in a blue moon will not hurt these scorpions, but a constant high humidity is not healthy for these scorpions.

Food - crickets, worms, beetles, spiders, other scorpions(if your desperate). Mine tend to shy away from the crickets and go for the wolf spiders and superworms.

Communal - although I have put 1 Vaejovis spinigerus and 1 Smeringurus mesaensis in the same 10 gallon enclosure for 3 months with no problems, Smeringurus mesaensis will readily take another scorpion as prey so my suggestion is dont do it.

Breeding - these are hard to breed in captivity and also to raise from early instar, but it has been done before. I will be doing a breeding project around spring so I'll get to try my own hand at it.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e400/Lupin666/DSC01395.jpg

These are unique and interesting scorpions that I would recommend to scorpion keepers at any level and experience. Like all scorpions there are always new discoveries and we are always learning. If anyone else has any input, feel free to add to this at any time as I would like it to be a good resource for those wanting to keep this scorpion.

[BrianS]

Bravo Jason :)

BTW, Would you happen to have any habitat photos by any chance?

[JSN]

BrianS, on Jan 3 2007, 09:07 PM, said:

Bravo Jason :)

BTW, Would you happen to have any habitat photos by any chance?

not at the moment, but I'd like to add some when I go and catch more out in the wild this spring...

This post has been edited by JSN: 03 January 2007 - 08:09 PM

[RaZeDaHeLL]

How did you get nailed?

[JSN]

RaZeDaHeLL, on Jan 3 2007, 09:11 PM, said:

How did you get nailed?

moving enclosure items mostly, handling, stupid things...

This post has been edited by JSN: 03 January 2007 - 08:18 PM

[LKR]

Jay,

Nice treatment of S. mesaensis.

Take care...

[GoyaLion]

Update this thread when you do the breeding project. I'm really interested to see how that goes. Great write up! Thanks. :D

[Canth]

Couldn't be better timing. Excellent read, Jason. I'll have to find some other alternative to the substrate though, don't know where I could get any of that hard dirt. I'd also be interested in a Habitat shot when you get the chance.

[shibby]

Great treatment Jason. :woot:

[LKR]

Jay,

When spring comes around, I'll probably grab-up a few more mesaensis from you. I have another guy that's sending me a dozen wc from CA, but I'll still need another 6-10 from AZ.

Take care...

[JSN]

thanks everyone, I'll be sure to get some habitat pics and maybe even some photos of specimens in the wild...

and Luc I'll be sure to let you know what I find, I rarely come out empty handed on my trips, haha...

[JSN]

Canth, on Jan 4 2007, 01:01 AM, said:

Couldn't be better timing. Excellent read, Jason. I'll have to find some other alternative to the substrate though, don't know where I could get any of that hard dirt. I'd also be interested in a Habitat shot when you get the chance.

you living in texas, I'm sure there is some dry, heavy soil around, I just mix it with repti sand or some other finer grade stuff, so the burrows will hold the test of time, haha...I used to just use regular store bought sand and playsand but eventually the burrow will collapse if the tunneling gets too extensive...

This post has been edited by JSN: 04 January 2007 - 11:37 AM

[Skywalker]

Great write up! Thanks!

[Michiel]

Huh? two scorpion of the month items???

[Gigas]

Michiel, on Jan 5 2007, 03:37 PM, said:

Huh? two scorpion of the month items???

Thats what i was just thinking lol

[The Nothing]

awesome right up!
S. mesaensis was the species that got me back into the hobby.

They, as mentioned, are extremely cannibalistic. Its said that over 90% of prey consumed by adults are juveniles!!

[quiz]

Michiel, on Jan 5 2007, 10:37 AM, said:

Huh? two scorpion of the month items???

I think starting this month, VL will be doing 2 scorpions every month.




very nice write up bro.

[RaZeDaHeLL]

quiz, on Jan 5 2007, 09:01 PM, said:

Michiel, on Jan 5 2007, 10:37 AM, said:

Huh? two scorpion of the month items???

I think starting this month, VL will be doing 2 scorpions every month.




very nice write up bro.

Yes the scorpion section has been so popular there will be TWO scorpion of the months every month. :D

[JSN]

I dont see why you fellas are complaining anyway, we'll have quite a few species covered by the end of 2007....

[darrelldlc]

I know this is a reeeeely late reply to this post but I happen to have some habitat pics of where I found S. mesaensis last year in Yuma AZ. Hope it helps.
Darrell.

Attached File(s)

•  pedes_062__Small_.jpg (32.21K)
  Number of downloads: 2
•  pedes_061__Small_.jpg (31.8K)
  Number of downloads: 2
•  pedes_064__Small_.jpg (42.72K)
  Number of downloads: 1

This post has been edited by darrelldlc: 07 September 2007 - 09:10 AM