Emperor feeding question

BigBadConrad

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Messages
359
I have a 20L setup as a communal Emperor habitat. 80-85F, 75+%H, plenty of hides. I've had the 6" male for a month and he's eagerly taking pinkies now, about one every three days. Won't eat crix or mealworms so far. Added a 5" female and a 5" ?? (not sure yet, under hide so far) yesterday from Swift's. I'd like to get them to take giant mealworms - much cheaper than pinks, quieter than crix. But the mealworms bury themselves in the substrate right away and I don't have the time or patience to feed from forceps all the time. Can I use an empty water dish as a food bowl? How high does the lip need to be to keep the worms in and still let the scorps in? Does anyone do this? Is two feedings a week of one pinkie or three or four worms about right for this size imperators?
 

skinheaddave

SkorpionSkin
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 15, 2002
Messages
4,341
Whoa! First of all, lay off the feedings. For a creature with such a slow metabolism you are feeding them an awful lot. Also, vertebrate prey (pinkies) may not be so healthy for them on a regular basis. Mealworms are a much better idea.

What I generaly do is grab the mealworm with some forceps and manualy feed it to the scorps. They should grab it if they aren't too busy being defensive. 1-2 giant mealworms a week should be plenty for an adult emp.

Cheers,
Dave
 

neveragain

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Jan 15, 2003
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321
Just crush the heads of the superworms with forceps and drop the worm in. The worm will still be able to wiggle around, but wont be able to burry itself.
 

BigBadConrad

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Messages
359
Thanks, Dave. Believe me, I'd love to feed them just mealworm, that's the point of this post. But after trying worms and crickets with the large one for three weeks, with forceps and free roaming, he hadn't eaten and was looking kinda skinny. And who knows when he last ate at the pet shop. So I tried a pinky and he scarfed it down. Gave him another three or four days later. I gave him another yesterday (three days later) to make sure he wasn't hungry when I introduced the two slightly smaller ones. I think one of the new ones must have eaten the other pinky I left in there, but not sure. I guess I'll wait a few days for them to acclimate, then try mealworms again. Hopefully they take them and I will then stick with a weekly routine. That is going to be a real pain if I have to catch all three of them out or near hide entrances at the same time and hand-feed them. Oh well. Thx for the tips.
 
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