URGENT Need info on EMPEROR !!

[Cpt.nemO]

URGENT Need info on EMPEROR !! PLZ

PLZ ANYONE

He y'all, i am a tarantula fanatic but this scorpion is simply a must have, its just so beautiful and big. So i am thinking of buying a juvnile female. I have a few basic questions.

1) First of all, what size can the terrarium be. ?? Plz in cm if possible. Is there the problem of having high tanks as in with T's?? Can they fall from the top of the wall of the tank and hit the substrate and die ??

2) Secondly, I would like to know more or less how long it takes for one of those to mature (an emperor female). And how long more or less do they take to molt each time ?? Is there something i should know about the behaviour of the emperror weeks before molting or about the weeks after ??

3) Thirdly, I was think whether i could add another emperor quite some time after i had already bought the female and placed her in the tank (like possibly a couple of months or so). If yes, must they be larger than a specific size or could i add small emperors to ??

4) Forthly I was wondering what kind of habitat do these live in (in nature) deserts or rainforests ?? Hows the climate and the vegetation in its natural habitat ??

5) How often should i feed it, and what could i feed it other then crix. ?? How should i provide water to it ??

6) Should I buy a couple rather than just the female ?? can they be kept together for the rest of their days ??? (even during procriation?).

7) What kind of lighting should i provide (what kind of spectrum) and for how many hours a day ??

8) Is the emperor's venom active in humans ?? If so, to what degree ??

9) Do they climb on glass ?? Do they hang upside down on glass ??

10) How should I handle it and how should i pick it up in one go ?? Are the pincers strong enough to cut my fingers off?? If not, still can it inflict a harzadous damage??

Any pictures of emperor terrariums and setups plz post in the thread rather than liking as that makes it easier for visualization.

Thank you very much to you all, and sorry for the master newbie questions.

Thanks,

Nemo

 

[fiveohatch]

just do a search. you'll find pretty much all the answers you need really easily.


i'd answer some but i've got to go so i don't have the time right now.

 

[Black Hawk]

here we go with my answers, anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong...

1) *goes and measures tank in cm. instead of in.*......mine's 52X27X18 cm. , remember it's more important to have gound space than hieght for emps because they aren't aboreal. i've heard emps survive from pretty big falls, but it's probably best not to have them climbing too high.

2) i've heard their lifespan is about 7 years, i'm not so sure about molting, just make sure the humidity is really kicked up when they are going through a molt so it will go well. i bought mine fully grown so i haven't had to deal with a molt yet, but i know humidy is key for a clean molt.

3) emps are known to be communal, i recommend nothing small enough that the larger emp might mistake for food, i.e. a scorpling. i don't recommend any communty in scorps, i personally think it's a risk. if u do add scorps, add hides and see how things go, sometimes you can take extra hides out if they like to all be together and don't mind company.

4) emperors come form rainforests in africa if i'm correct, go with a soil or water holding substrate to keep humidity up. DON'T do a desert setup, that's a no-no.

5) use a shallow dish for water, feed a few crix every week. remove any crix they don't eat unless ur gonna have more than one scorp, then it's prolly a good idea to leave em a snack . they can also eat pinkies and another member on the boards posted of a full grown mouse! they'll eat it if they can catch it, wild caught bugs may have pesticide on them tho so be warned.

6) i think i already metioned they are communal (even tho i'm opposed to it), but if they mate seperate em, the females are known to eat mates.

7) i recommend no lighting, UV is especialy harmful in durations. heat pads are the way to go for heat, on the side of the tank or just a portion of the bottom, that way they can escape the heat if they like.

8) emp venom is much the same as a bee sting, some say a bit worse tho, so if you are allergic to bees, have an epipen ready because the poison sturcture is pretty much the same and will affect in the same way. otherwise you don't really have to worry except for the pain, better safe than sorry tho, be safe.

9) my emp has never been able to climb the glass, sometimes they can climb the excess glue in corners tho if it's not full grown, the full grown ones are usually too fat. as for hanging upside down on glass, i'd like to see a picture of that! i don't think it's physically possible for an emp, maybe a really really small scorpling that wanted to be spiderman....

10)handling....i don't see why everyone want's to handle their emp....i've never done it :liar: . u could do the tail grab, fast is better than slow, but your scorp won't like u for it, i recommend putting ur hand in the tank and letting the scorp come to you. if she don't feel like cuddling today, she won't come. if she does she'll crawl onto ur hand and it's pretty cool, just make sure there isn't a fall more than like 30 cm. less if it's a hard surface. actually don't hold a scorp over a hard surface at all. the other half of number ten....a emp won't take ur finger off, i wouldn't worry bout that, but it's not pleasant, u'll know she pinched u but it's not like they have uber-finger-lopping-off claws or anything, ever been pinched by a friend?

i'm still tryin to get my bro's cam to work so i can't help with any pics of my tank, i'd love to tho. don't worry about asking questions, worry about not asking them. have fun nimo!


-Black Hawk

 

[Cpt.nemO]

geez Black Hawk, u saved the day. Thanks a lot man. I will be back tomorrow with further doubts, thanks man.

 

[fiveohatch]

that all sounds about right.

 

[Black Hawk]

i like to be productive once in a while no problem, i fugured no one else would take the time to answer all the questions at once so i sat down and started typing, wow i really was bored. but thx for givin me something to do
-anytime

 

[Pyrdacor]

The information given by BlackHawk is very good.
I just wonder about the maximum age of 7 years. From what I heared it has to be more like a 15 years lifespan. It takes emps a good 3 years to be adult though and often another year to be fullgrown....
My enclosure measures 90x50x60cm (length, width, height). I'm keeping 5 adults in there. Like it was said, height is not that important, but I often watched my emps climb up the backwall of the enclosure. But I never noticed them falling off. I guess they are pretty much able to find a "walkable" surface. The can't walk on glass though...

 

[Cpt.nemO]

ok thx a lot man. I am already studying how my enclosure will be.

 

[G. Carnell]

The information given by BlackHawk is very good.
I just wonder about the maximum age of 7 years. From what I heared it has to be more like a 15 years lifespan. It takes emps a good 3 years to be adult though and often another year to be fullgrown....
My enclosure measures 90x50x60cm (length, width, height). I'm keeping 5 adults in there. Like it was said, height is not that important, but I often watched my emps climb up the backwall of the enclosure. But I never noticed them falling off. I guess they are pretty much able to find a "walkable" surface. The can't walk on glass though...

Hi
do you say this from experience??

i read that the limit is 20 with Hadogenes sp, which are notoruously slow growing anyway

 

[Cpt.nemO]

Hey y'all i found some more info while roaming the forum.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=11336
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I will be purchasing an emperor anytime now. Will take a day or so for it to arrive after i purchase it , i just want to check on their sizes and theirs sex.

 

[Black Hawk]

there are lot's of way's to keep a scorp, i just showed my that works for me, if u find something that works for you, go for it. btw, i forgot to say welcome to the scorp forum section nemo

 

[Cpt.nemO]

Thanks Black hawk. I sure was welcomed by you. Thx man.

 

[Pyrdacor]

I can't talk about the maximum age fom experience because I haven't got them for that long time. Like I said its the lifespan I heared of...
The Information given about walking on glass and other surfaces is from experience. I watched my emps that they were like checking the surface when walking over to another type of surface...

 

[The Bear]

Thanks for all that info it was very helpful. I just have a few questions left(sry if you have answered these before :8o )

Is it ok to use aquarium rock in the bottom under substrate?

When misting do you use distilled water or tap?

I live in a small city where its hard to get any scorp or T stuff
Does anyone know a website to buy 100% organic peat moss?(cheap)

 

[Black Hawk]

hi The Bear! yes i'd recommend gravel under the substrate, better yet, with a pipe down to it. that way you can add water to the gravel below and it will make keeping humidity easier. i just use tap water to mist with but it's probably be better to let it sit for a day so it's not as bad as far as things from the tap and what not. i have gallons of water sitting in my garage for fish tanks that i could steal from but i usually just get it from the tap haven't had any problems with it yet but everyone's local tap water is different. as for natural peat, i'd check a home and garden store that sells potting soil and that kind of stuff u might be able to find some there if you look

 

[TheNothing]

I've been to Chillicothe before... spent a few days there.

You're definately going to have a hard time finding what you need anywhere close, but many big-chain stores will also allow you to order online as well and have shipped to you there.

or you can try this link
http://homeharvest.com/soilconditionerspeat.htm
the cheapest place to get coco-peat bricks


edit:
thought there was only one Chillicothe... I've been to the one in Illinois, not Ohio....

 

[cacoseraph]

I just wonder about the maximum age of 7 years. From what I heared it has to be more like a 15 years lifespan. It takes emps a good 3 years to be adult though and often another year to be fullgrown....

i would tend to agree with the longer estimate. i have a maybe 1/3 full grown Pandinus cavimanus, and it hasn't molted since i got it, perhaps 8 months ago. it could be an artifact of captivity, that long for a relatively early instar, but it's an artifact of a lot of people's captive Pandinus. Maybe males are more like 7 years and females longer.

 

[nics]

here we go with my answers, anyone feel free to correct me if i'm wrong...

1) *goes and measures tank in cm. instead of in.*......mine's 52X27X18 cm. , remember it's more important to have gound space than hieght for emps because they aren't aboreal. i've heard emps survive from pretty big falls, but it's probably best not to have them climbing too high.

2) i've heard their lifespan is about 7 years, i'm not so sure about molting, just make sure the humidity is really kicked up when they are going through a molt so it will go well. i bought mine fully grown so i haven't had to deal with a molt yet, but i know humidy is key for a clean molt.

3) emps are known to be communal, i recommend nothing small enough that the larger emp might mistake for food, i.e. a scorpling. i don't recommend any communty in scorps, i personally think it's a risk. if u do add scorps, add hides and see how things go, sometimes you can take extra hides out if they like to all be together and don't mind company.

4) emperors come form rainforests in africa if i'm correct, go with a soil or water holding substrate to keep humidity up. DON'T do a desert setup, that's a no-no.

5) use a shallow dish for water, feed a few crix every week. remove any crix they don't eat unless ur gonna have more than one scorp, then it's prolly a good idea to leave em a snack . they can also eat pinkies and another member on the boards posted of a full grown mouse! they'll eat it if they can catch it, wild caught bugs may have pesticide on them tho so be warned.

6) i think i already metioned they are communal (even tho i'm opposed to it), but if they mate seperate em, the females are known to eat mates.

7) i recommend no lighting, UV is especialy harmful in durations. heat pads are the way to go for heat, on the side of the tank or just a portion of the bottom, that way they can escape the heat if they like.

8) emp venom is much the same as a bee sting, some say a bit worse tho, so if you are allergic to bees, have an epipen ready because the poison sturcture is pretty much the same and will affect in the same way. otherwise you don't really have to worry except for the pain, better safe than sorry tho, be safe.

9) my emp has never been able to climb the glass, sometimes they can climb the excess glue in corners tho if it's not full grown, the full grown ones are usually too fat. as for hanging upside down on glass, i'd like to see a picture of that! i don't think it's physically possible for an emp, maybe a really really small scorpling that wanted to be spiderman....

10)handling....i don't see why everyone want's to handle their emp....i've never done it :liar: . u could do the tail grab, fast is better than slow, but your scorp won't like u for it, i recommend putting ur hand in the tank and letting the scorp come to you. if she don't feel like cuddling today, she won't come. if she does she'll crawl onto ur hand and it's pretty cool, just make sure there isn't a fall more than like 30 cm. less if it's a hard surface. actually don't hold a scorp over a hard surface at all. the other half of number ten....a emp won't take ur finger off, i wouldn't worry bout that, but it's not pleasant, u'll know she pinched u but it's not like they have uber-finger-lopping-off claws or anything, ever been pinched by a friend?

i'm still tryin to get my bro's cam to work so i can't help with any pics of my tank, i'd love to tho. don't worry about asking questions, worry about not asking them. have fun nimo!


-Black Hawk

my emperor just fell from the table and after the fall its barely moving, is it gonna be OK?tnx

 

[Black Hawk]

you can't really be for sure, does it look like it has internal damage, ozzing fluid anywhere, break any exoskeleton, etc.? if it doesn't act like it's had any real serious injury it could just be in shock from the fall, hopefully he'll pull thru and start moving around more again

 

[fiveohatch]

heat pads don't work too well. go with a ceramic heat emitter. they're not cheap but they work nicely. i've got a 60w one in my 10gal tank and it keeps it about 20 degrees above room temp (depending on where it's positioned).