Urophonius granulatus - any information greatly received!

[Lisa Baines]

I have received one of these this morning. lovely specimen. and although the common name of "pygmy wood scorpion" kinda gives a rough indication of what substrate and decor it may be happy with, i can find next to no information on these little beauties.

I have emailed jan ove rein for any info but if anyone here has had them or currently has them, and can give me any more info on them i would really appreciate it!

It currently has peat/vermiculite mix substrate and a few bark chippings piled up in a corner for shelter (yes its that small! about 2cm if that) It is in a 6" plastic critter keeper and at room temperature (26-28 degrees daytime and 19-21 degrees night time) we live in a flat so its really warm in here!
Water is provided by a fine mist once a day, it drinks off the side of the plastic i daren't put an actual water area because of its size! but it seems to get enough from the mist i provide.

Im hoping this is ok!

anyway for anyone interested here's a couple of pictures. I apologise for the focus my camera struggles in macro mode without a proper macro lens (which im saving up for!)

[Colin D Wilson]

Well they're chilean so i would search the web for a climate map for the approximate area to get yearly temps and humidity. They live in the more rocky / wooded area so substrate and decor would be needed to suit this environment.
As for water, a milk bottle top with gravel in it (water just below the gravel surface) has always been ok with the smaller scorpions i have kept.

a quick search shows that Lee at www.thespidershop.co.uk has some in stock at the moment.

Colin

[Lisa Baines]

yeah that's where i got him from!

He has gone under the bark chippings and made himself quite comfortable after his first meal so he looks like he's settled in ok.

Just been posted some climate graphs by another forum which was a big help.

[Peter Roach]

Just been posted some climate graphs by another forum which was a big help.

I have found this weather site to be the most useful in my weather folder (I have about a dozen ) It lists temp, humidity, wind and lots more, hour by hour in real time on multible sites in each country.

http://www.fallingrain.com/world/

On this site you can ZOOM in (click satelite and then the plus sign on the left) so close you can actually count the people on the streets. I have just found my house and can see my cab on the drive and can see my spider shed

This is a large general weather site amongst other such things
Worth a look.

http://www.herpnet.org/Gazetteer/GeorefResources.htm

[James Box]

i just got a couple of these little beauties as well! have put them on coconut husk substrate, with i think a bit of sand mixed in, and rocks and bark to climb on.
so far they seem fine, and one was very quick to snap up a cricket.
the substrate i used may have had some water in it, so i have to ascertain if that will be too much, as i'd expect them not to be the wettest species. of course that being said, i've found all my Bothriurids adults so far do better with some humidity.

[Lisa Baines]

Cheers peter for that website... will come in pretty handy i recon.

And james: yeah mine ate about 5 minutes after going in its enclosure, tagged the cricket about 8 times! didn't realise how readily these little beauties sting... they're awesome. Although larger species of scorpions can be impressive in their size, these days I think i prefer the smaller, more feisty ones who give a bit of tagging action.

Anyhow as an update overnight it has scofffed the other cricket i put in for it and still happily curled up in the pile of bark chippings... looking like its had a couple of sunday lunches!

cheers

Lisa xx

[James Box]

sunday lunch yum!

i started with the big ones and have moved down to these tiny ones...i do like them feisty! quite entertaining, really.
this is a lovely species too, i really like the markings.

[Lisa Baines]

yeah they're such a tiny delicate scorpion with delicate markings to match. Cant wait to get a macro lens to really zoom in to see all the detail. There are so few pictures of this species on the net it will be nice to circulate some around. (note to self to remember to copyright the pics!)

Certainly anyone who has these at the moment appears to be the envy of their friends because hardly anyone has ever seen one before!

[James Box]

well that's just it, Lee only ever found one at a time before, this time they were lucky and found loads in one small area...that's why he's got them.
good chance they won't be on the menu for long either, as i think Chile is stopping all exports of wild animals, if i didn't hear the facts wrong.
so basically we need to work out genders and try to breed them...very hard with Bothriurids but probably worth it.

[Lisa Baines]

right i am 99% sure i have a male, the pectens are exceptionally elongated and when flat against the body, actually exceed the scorpions body width.

With him being so small any other usual noticable tell tale signs are hard to decipher... but you cant help but notice the pectens!

With very little information on these this is going to be a fun exercise!!!

[James Box]

can't argue with that! thanks for the dimensions of the pectines, that should help for comparison.
i'll check my two...i could be lucky and have two girls!