Need a little advice on Emperor Scorpion enclosure and keeping since im a bit of a newbie...

[Kybalion13]

I bought a 10 gal, my moss, gravel, (fake) plants and hideouts and of course a heat pad. However for lighting(whivhbi struggled with the most)i bought an LED light that i will set to red because I read that it doesn’t bother them too much.
( here’s the link: LED Strip Lights- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NWFVRY4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pDFNDbE396SJD )
I was wondering if these would be okay, since from what i read they don’t emit UV rays.
My second question is if i can house two scorpions in one 10gal tank with currently 2 hideouts. I have heard they can get aggressive but also heard that they can do relatively well when there’s a steady supply of food/water and enough hideouts...what are your guys’ thoughts on that.
I have also heard it’s better to house them together from the start as young as possible because if one is there and another is “added” they can get quite territorial.

Questions, comments, concerns?

 

[FrankiePinchinatti]

I'll start from the bottom up.

Yeah, it's no problem to keep 2 emperors together in a 10 gal, you shouldn't have any issues.

As far as lighting, it's really more for your own enjoyment, not theirs. They will likely hide out during the day or when white light is on them, they don't need or want light. They seem to not be bothered by red light, so feel free to use that light when you want to watch them out at night.

The only problem I see in your setup is the gravel and moss. I guess it might work, but I have no experience with that kind of substrate. I've always just used coco fiber as it is cheap, easy to use and readily available in any pet store.

As far as the heat pad, I know the prevailing advice is to put it on the side of the tank, but I haven't had problems with it under the tank. Just make sure it's either made to heat pet tanks (and should therefore not get hot enough to kill them) or you have a thermostat attached to keep it in the 80s, and have it only on one side so there is a cool side for them to go to.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

I wouldn't use gravel Emperors are obligate burrowers I would provide them 4-6" of Eco Earth or similar compressed coconut brick product. And as @FrankiePinchinatti said provide them temperature gradient hides, one warm side and one cool side.

Edit: I always put my heat pads on the side, I currently own a AFS and it is thriving and loving its warm hide. I never put them on the bottom because that warms the substrate not the air, plus many many pet species of scorpion will burrow and in nature they will burrow to escape heat.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Here is my set up for a single AFS, you can see the heat pad on the side to the left. It has been pretty warm here in SoCal and AFS has not used the cool hide once.

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/enclosure-terrarium-pictures.48951/page-85#post-2983876