# emperor scorpion beginner



## kuhliloach (Oct 29, 2007)

Hi, i just recently got a 4 inch(from end of claws to tip of tale) emperor scorpion from a local pet store and have it in a 20 gallon tank at the moment. The substrate is eco-earth(about 2-3 inches) but not very moist with a carved out log piece to hide in, a long piece of drift wood, a plastic bendable plant and a little water dish in the corner(I used most of these from an old lizard tank and made sure to wash them well). The temperature and humidity are around 80, there a heating pad under the tank right now but it's not really doing anything and it's been on for at least a day,also I have a black light(which it looks cool when it glows green) on at night and a regular repti-light bulb or red bulb on during the day. I mist it a lot and gave it 3 big crickets which two have already been eaten.

The things i've been wondering about are why is it not moving much when out of it's hiding place? I know it's day and there nocturnal critters but could it be it's not warm enough? is it not getting enough to eat? do you think there is enough room for one more?(i already have an extra hiding place just in case). if so how can i tell if one is male or female?


thanks if you can help me


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## Xaranx (Oct 29, 2007)

Should try and get your temps in the 88-90 range, they like it hot, also could give him some more substrate, all that height is just wasted and they like to dig.  You can put 4-5 in a 20g no sweat.  Also, you should put your heat pad on the side (back), putting it on the bottom is kind of a waste with all that substrate, it absorbs it.  Plus if your emp digs close to it, it could cook itself.  Natural instinct is to burrow when it is too hot, which would put them closer to the heat mat.  Also, the UV light is not good for scorpions, the process that causes the flourescence will be disrupted and it won't glow anymore after prolonged exposure, and can stress them out.  Use it for occasional viewing and for showing off, but try to keep it to a minimum.  
Oh, didn't see if you had a water dish or not, but you should.  Big one.  
As for sexing, do a search for sexing pandinus imperator.


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## Johnny Savage (Oct 29, 2007)

Yeah, 20g seems *too* big for a single scorpion. Might make it harder for him to catch it's prey, you know. So yea, you could stick in a few more in there since emps are pretty peaceful communally. Good luck with your new scorp!


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## PhilK (Oct 29, 2007)

As for catching prey.. if it's caught 2 out of 3 it is clearly fine. They have a bigger area in the wild in which they need to catch food.. it can deal in a 20 gallon, I'm sure!

Like Xaranx said, make the substrate much deeper, put the heat mat on the back, don't over do the UV stuff and give it a big water bowl (but make sure it can't drown)


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## Cyris69 (Oct 29, 2007)

Well, in the wild they don't scavenge for prey. They are ambushers aka "pet holes" I would put like 5-6 in that tank.

For sexing look no further
These are two of my adults
My male, notice the very large pectines(the feather looking things)






Female much smaller pectines


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## Cyris69 (Oct 29, 2007)

oh, NO blacklight. Harmful to their exos, and I have read that their exo will stop glowing after so much exposure to UV rays which are emitted by black lights


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## kuhliloach (Oct 29, 2007)

It hasn't been digging even though the substrate has been kind of damp, mostly just stay in one place against the glass or go under the log, yes i have a water dish but not too full, so will having the heating mat on the side get my tanks temperature up from 80 to 90? And also so you guys say I can get another one, I want one of the opposite sex but i'm kind of nervous about looking under to check the pectines(like will it try to protect itself)... I will remember not to use the black light that much, thank you guys for helping me with this


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## Cyris69 (Oct 29, 2007)

Yeah, make sure it is almost the same size as your current emp.
It shouldn't get too defensive while sexing just place it on a flat glass surface that you can handle and look at its belly, My male I held by its tail the female just wasn't going to have any of that 

They are very communal, just well "sex" can sometimes get out of hand and the female try and kill the male 

Females are the easiest to start a community with, and the babies are just awesome together.
Once a female is gravid and close to popping she won't take jack and may harm her tank mates then again she might not but when they are close to having babies you will have to separate the female from the rest of the pack so no one has some tasty treats.

I'd go ahead and get 2 mating pairs or 3 and put them in the tank just allow plenty of burrowing space I prefer a 4"-8" gradient in most areas, loads of good hides and plenty of food and water.

It's tough for me just getting into this and have all these mouths to feed and watch carefully. I'm soon to have a grand total of 10 scorps and 1 T, thing is thats a small small fraction compared to others here. Enjoy it, and learn as much as possible, everyone here is willing to help 

**oh
I don't like throwing female adult crix into my tanks, they're the ones with that long brown tub coming out of their butt. They lay eggs like crazy in there and well the babies are very annoying to me and my scorps. Just cut the tub off flush with the butt and throw it in. I don't tend to leave prey in for more than 24hrs due to that being the semi standard around here so i just go with it 

Burrowing:
They don't always burrow so don't worry.
They will burrow when it gets too hot and they want to cool down, making a heat gradient in the tank is a must too.
My adults never burrowed, well not much of one. My 3I's have a huge burrowing system in their tank and its a blast watching them hunt out of or from their burrow.


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## Cyris69 (Oct 29, 2007)

*Off topic*

Sorry, I've been just dying to share these pics I just took but didn't want to clutter it with a new thread.
My 2I B. jacksoni on the left, my 3I emperor on the right.





"Fight!" j/k


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## kuhliloach (Oct 30, 2007)

Cyris69 said:


> Yeah, make sure it is almost the same size as your current emp.
> It shouldn't get too defensive while sexing just place it on a flat glass surface that you can handle and look at its belly, My male I held by its tail the female just wasn't going to have any of that
> 
> They are very communal, just well "sex" can sometimes get out of hand and the female try and kill the male
> ...


so they burrow to cool down, yeah i have noticed that female cricket are very loud an such,
i still havent sexed it yet so i don't know which one or two to get next.
ok i put the heating pad on the back of the tank and it seems like the temperature has gone down, do i need a higher wattage bulb?

i still havent sexed it yet so i don't know which one or two to get next.


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## Rosenkreuz (Oct 30, 2007)

kuhliloach said:


> yeah i have noticed that female cricket are very loud an such


Female crickets don't chirp... Only males do...


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## Cyris69 (Oct 30, 2007)

I was about to say that Rosen 

Well, I'd sex it first. For mating purposes and territorial as well I recommend having the female in the tank for a few days to a week first before you introduce a male. They should readily mate if the female isn't already gravid. You will need flat rocks or decent hard flat surfaces for them to do their thing on. You can get slate rocks from most pet stores in the aquatics dept.

I have seen videos of emperors mating just on the normal substrate but in nature they use flat rocks/hard surfaces.

If your intentions aren't for mating then I wouldn't worry about it.

I'd also get an even number of emps, then again I just like even numbers.

Get a total of 2-4 to start or however many you want, you can always add more.

Emperors gestation periods are quite long, average 6-18 months but when they pop you'll have a load of babies, I think the average brood is 14-20 but could be much more, don't quote me I'm not 100%


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## kuhliloach (Oct 31, 2007)

Ok so i just found out today that mine was a female so if i were to get 1 or 2 more i think i would get females around the same size, i don't think i'm quite experienced enough for getting scorpions  to mate...


For getting more you said i needed deeper substrate, more hiding places(what things make great hiding places?) and slightly more crickets right?
 Also should i get the others from the same pet store so they arent so new to each other and fight?


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## Thaedion (Oct 31, 2007)

kuhliloach said:


> ... i don't think i'm quite experienced enough for getting scorpions  to mate...
> 
> 
> For getting more you said i needed deeper substrate, more hiding places(what things make great hiding places?) and slightly more crickets right?
> Also should i get the others from the same pet store so they arent so new to each other and fight?


Is it that you're not experienced in the mating of scorpions? or is it that you don't have enough experience raising them from young so you don't want to mate them? If it is the first one they do all the work, I had two mate when I was just relocating them to a new tank, you'll just need to look for the signs of a good attempt and one that is not going good. If it is the latter the females may already be gravid, in my experience nearly all my females came gravid (7 out of 8 emperors and 3 out of 3 Hets)
*--- 1st video - Mating gone well ----*
[YOUTUBE]6DwP1S6Mwb4[/YOUTUBE]
*---- 2nd video - Mating not going well---*
[YOUTUBE]bjBdLokQ9cE[/YOUTUBE]​
Deeper substrate is good. You said you have a 20 gallon, you can grade the tank from 4/5 inches to as deep as 10 inches. I would do this in my tanks burying the hides in a stacked fashion in the deep end. Making a sort of apartment setup, they would then tunnel and usually congregate in one central den, but have their own openings. Make sure if you bring the ground up to the top of the tank to secure the lid, I used tank screen clips and or weights and rocks.

Getting them from the same store or even the same tank at the same time neither helps nor is required for them to be compatible. Most all emperors are wild caught in mass from equatorial Africa from all over, boxed up with ones that are not 'kin' and shipped overseas (here or there) and distributed throughout to stores and suppliers. So being housed in tight and often inadequate conditions at a store won't guarantee them to be nice to each other in your tank.

GL Thaedion


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## kuhliloach (Nov 1, 2007)

yeah the first one...

Also what do the different tail positions mean, like if it's walking with it's tail curled or flattened or if hiding when the tail is curled on the side, is it how stressed it is?


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## Xaranx (Nov 1, 2007)

Whatever is most comfortable for them at the time.  When hiding under low hides they do typically curl the tail to the side.  Walking around with a flattened tail it's probably taking a dump, stop watching it!  Being really lethargic and having it's tail flattened is a sign it's sick and not doing well.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 1, 2007)

i saw mine biting at it's claws the other day, is it cleaning them?


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## Thaedion (Nov 1, 2007)

kuhliloach said:


> i saw mine biting at it's claws the other day, is it cleaning them?


yes they preen and clean, you may also see it with it stinger (aculeus) in it mouth. In one of my videos mine is actually washing with its tail.









Link to youtube videos below in signature.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 1, 2007)

Thaedion said:


> yes they preen and clean, you may also see it with it stinger (aculeus) in it mouth. In one of my videos mine is actually washing with its tail.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can you please post the link to the specific video?


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## Thaedion (Nov 1, 2007)

kuhliloach said:


> Can you please post the link to the specific video?


[YOUTUBE]7O30pd7sJcI[/YOUTUBE]


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## kuhliloach (Nov 2, 2007)

Thaedion said:


> [YOUTUBE]7O30pd7sJcI[/YOUTUBE]


Thank for the video, nice song. john lennon right?


Is the yellow hairy looking thing in my scorpions mouth it's tongue?


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## Thaedion (Nov 2, 2007)

kuhliloach said:


> Thank for the video, nice song. john lennon right?
> 
> Is the yellow hairy looking thing in my scorpions mouth it's tongue?


the 'yellow hairy thing' is part of the 'mouthpiece' is attached to or behind the chelicerae probably a sort of filter I not 100% sure of its purpose. 

PS: the song is "Who killed Mr. moonlight" By: "Bauhaus"


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## kuhliloach (Nov 4, 2007)

Ok so just a couple days ago i got another emp to go with it, it's slightly bigger and the claws "arms" seem a little longer. I checked under and the pectine things seem about the same size, they are both kind of fat but not too fat. i'm wandering if they are both female? i would post pictures but i can't find any good/free picture resizing tools anywhere. i've noticed that at night the smaller one will follow the bigger one, sometimes they even crawl on top of each other. what is that supposed to mean?


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## Cyris69 (Nov 4, 2007)

Use MSPAINT, it's on all windows PC's

Click Start -> Run or Press Windows Key + R
Type mspaint -> Press enter

In MSPAINT
Click File -> Open
Find the photo you want to edit
Then open that photo

Now, Press Ctrl + W
Then for the top two text boxed Width/Height type in 25%-50% to find the right size. Then save the file under a new name if you don't want to over write the original one.

A free easy resizer


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## Thaedion (Nov 4, 2007)

kuhliloach said:


> ... i would post pictures but i can't find any good/free picture resizing tools anywhere...


Upload your pics to Photobucket and click on the pic so as to view it. Then there is an option to resize an uploaded photo. Then copy the IMG code from Photobucket and paste into your post.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 4, 2007)

hopefully this works...


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## kuhliloach (Nov 4, 2007)

Cyris69 said:


> It's tough for me just getting into this and have all these mouths to feed and watch carefully. I'm soon to have a grand total of 10 scorps and 1 T, thing is thats a small small fraction compared to others here.


how big or how many gallons is that tank?


also do emps have to be a certain size to mate?


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## Xaranx (Nov 4, 2007)

As far as them crawling on top of each other, nothing to worry about.  At most it's a dominance issue, and they will work that out soon.  Usually they just ignore each other.  

Not emps in this picture but lots of scorpions will just dogpile and hang out near each other.


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## Cyris69 (Nov 4, 2007)

@kuhliloach
Woah, need some wet substrate.

Not to be a stickler but that substrate needs to be good an moist, 80-90% humidity too.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 4, 2007)

Cyris69 said:


> @kuhliloach
> Woah, need some wet substrate.
> 
> Not to be a stickler but that substrate needs to be good an moist, 80-90% humidity too.


How should i make it more damp? spray it more with water or redo the setup with moister substrate?


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## Cyris69 (Nov 4, 2007)

I recommend peat or cocunut fiber
Just dump a few bottles of water in there so it's nice and moist not saturated, moist.





This tank above is my setup. I use a false bottom setup. 

Then mist the substrate when you start seeing dry spots.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 4, 2007)

Cyris69 said:


> I recommend peat or cocunut fiber
> Just dump a few bottles of water in there so it's nice and moist not saturated, moist.
> 
> 
> ...


should i take them out while doing this, i don't wanna scare them with big(to them) bottles of water...


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## Cyris69 (Nov 4, 2007)

Well, it's up to u. I'd just go ahead and let them play in my hand while i'm doing it 

Just don't dump it on them.

It would be best to remove everything from the tank beside the substrate.
Then dump a bottle of water in there then mix it together then add extra water as needed.

Then squeeze the substrate now and again to make sure you aren't adding to much. 

Then lightly pack it back down then place everything back in and your done.

These guys like to burrow so 4 inches or so would be good for substrate.

Is that mulch you are using?


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## kuhliloach (Nov 4, 2007)

Cyris69 said:


> Well, it's up to u. I'd just go ahead and let them play in my hand while i'm doing it
> 
> Just don't dump it on them.
> 
> ...


No, if you saw from my first post i mentioned it was "eco-earth", it's some coconut fiber block that you add water to and it expands...

i'll make sure to get to that tonight, thanks for telling me about this. what would've happened if I didn't add water?

(i'm still too nervous to hold them, any tips to help me with this?)


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## Thaedion (Nov 4, 2007)

kuhliloach said:


> ...what would've happened if I didn't add water?
> 
> (i'm still too nervous to hold them, any tips to help me with this?)


Dehydration...

You can coax them into a small deli container (even a shoe box) and cap it then remove them from the tank.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 4, 2007)

Thaedion said:


> Dehydration...
> 
> You can coax them into a small deli container (even a shoe box) and cap it then remove them from the tank.


i ment with learning how to be able to hold them without being scared...

but thats good info anyway...


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## Cyris69 (Nov 4, 2007)

I use almost all the brick brands each work perfect as a substrate.

I use the tail technique which isn't the safest but I prefer it. Just as Taedion said, coax it into a container or onto your hand.

Also if you don't already, add a nice wide shallow water dish.

Use the search funtion as well. I think 1/3 threads here are emperor threads and all you answers could be answered using the other threads.

Good luck, you can always PM me or get a hold of me via AIM/Yahoo I am always willing to help as much as others here.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 4, 2007)

somebody may have already answered this but for anybody who reads this, what would be your reccomendation for much more emps i can add to the tank?


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## kuhliloach (Nov 5, 2007)

what is an instar? is it a molting stage or what?


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## Cyris69 (Nov 5, 2007)

Yes, instar mean the current molt their in.
When they are first born they are instar 1 then once the go on their mothers back they molt to 2nd instar and so on.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 5, 2007)

When eating what is it mean when it shakes it's claws in unisen in the air? is it trying to scare away anything that wants it's prey or what?


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## Cyris69 (Nov 5, 2007)

It's a warning sign, others have said it to ba a mating "call"

I'd say its a warning for who ever is moving in the tank or at you when it senses your movement.


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## kuhliloach (Nov 12, 2007)

ok my second "female" has gotten fatter and looks very territorial, when i move anything in the tank she races out of her hiding place to wards my hand with her claws up...


is this a sign of "leave me alone i'm trying to moult here"?


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## Cyris69 (Nov 12, 2007)

Well, I haven't noticed any aggression before molts, but gravid one tend to get pretty mean. I'd just leave her alone.


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## Xaranx (Nov 12, 2007)

kuhliloach said:


> is this a sign of "leave me alone i'm a scorpion who doesn't like humans"?


fixed for posterity


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