# good emperor scorpion setup?



## dazbuzz (Jan 21, 2007)

is this setup good? 

45x45x45cm exo terra terrarium 
11"x11" heat mat (under the substrate) 
2 cork bark hides (i'm getting more) 
1 corner of jungle substrate and rest is wood chip 
water dish  
all for 2 small emperor scorpions i got a week ago  

also there is some white stuff on the bark and dish what is it?

here is a bad pic of em


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## EAD063 (Jan 21, 2007)

You need peat moss or non-chemically treated soil rather than bark chips... the heat needs to go on the side rather than the bottom and 2 hides if enough but if you want to decorate more thats fine also..... I'd buy a digital temp/humidity guage, or a probing thermometer that you can insert into the substrate. Temps should be betweem 75-85 and humidity the same. You should also consider a false bottom setup to assist you in keeping the humidity levels correct. The white stuff is most likely poo. You can actually see they're anal opening in the tissue between the last segment of the tail and the metamosa you'll most likely see them rubbing that on your cork, the water dish, the side of the tank, anywhere hard surfaced. Don't be alarmed though they don't poo everywhere and not nearly as often as relptiles and mammals.

Ed

Also I highly suggest you read this  http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=11336 .


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## EAD063 (Jan 21, 2007)

By the way, welcome to the hobby. When you are comfortable enough use the classifieds section and you'll find all kinds of scorps, mostly ones you will NEVER come across in a pet store. Again, welcome.

Ed


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## Arachnophilist (Jan 21, 2007)

sounds like Ed gotcha covered there.. just follow the directions and you should be on your way to happy healthy emps in no time! and again... welcome to the hobby


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## dazbuzz (Jan 21, 2007)

ok thanks ead063 lets hope my scorpions have a long stressfree life.


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## Selenops (Jan 21, 2007)

Definitely put the heat pad on the side or backside.


You can also try expandable bricks of coconut, though I am not sure how well it holds burrows with a invert that doesn't produces silk. But in that case, I guess you could provide them a piece of bark or wood available in pet stores to build a scrape/burrow beneath.


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## Deolok (Jan 21, 2007)

IMO I would use the search option, but I've found that a lot of enclosure setups dont mention. Make sure you have a lid for the enclosure to increase humidity.


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## Thaedion (Jan 22, 2007)

Megalon said:


> You can also try expandable bricks of coconut, though I am not sure how well it holds burrows with a invert that doesn't produces silk.


I use the expandable bricks of coco-fiber from eco-earth and have burrowing scorps that like it very much. My juvenile red claws _Pandinus cavimanus_ are burrowing fools.  

The false bottom setup is the way to go I'm currently using that on all but 1 of my tanks and the humidity is excellent. (I'll change that 1 as soon as she pops)  

Regards Thaedion


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## Thaedion (Jan 22, 2007)

dazbuzz said:


> here is a bad pic of em


where did you get them from? Is that one that is fully visible an emperor? its 'claws' look too long and not fat? Just wondering.

Looking forward to more and 'clearer' pics.


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## dazbuzz (Jan 22, 2007)

i also am worried they are not emperors but there is nothing i can do to find out forest or emperors you decide. are there any sites that can instruct me on setting up a false bottom tank? i have hear this setup works very well for humidity.


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## EAD063 (Jan 22, 2007)

dazbuzz said:


> i also am worried they are not emperors but there is nothing i can do to find out forest or emperors you decide. are there any sites that can instruct me on setting up a false bottom tank? i have hear this setup works very well for humidity.


A picture, specifically of the pediplaps, caprice and metamosa will do. For false bottom use a few inches of aquarium gravel, and take a plastic tube and fill peat around it... thus allowing you to fill the rock layer with water after you've covered it all with the substrate.


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## Arachnophilist (Jan 22, 2007)

yeah the false bottom is easy  I personally vote for the coco fibre. also your scorps do need clearer pics for an ID I can see they have elongated claws and white telsons from those ones.. but that isnt enough. try to borrow a camera and get some clear pics and then we can have it figured out PDQ


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## Thaedion (Jan 22, 2007)

dazbuzz said:


> i also am worried they are not emperors but there is nothing i can do to find out forest or emperors you decide.


Below is a thread stared by G. Carnell to ID common Heterometrus. It's a good thread.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=82335



dazbuzz said:


> are there any sites that can instruct me on setting up a false bottom tank? i have hear this setup works very well for humidity.


If you search this forum for false bottom it'll show alot of info, here is what I found works very well:

In my tank I -

first put a layer (2-5cm or 1-2" deep) of aquarium gravel (some use small gravel 2mm or .075" or such) I use large gravel 2cm or .75" so the burrowers don't pull up the stones.

Some use a screen to seperate the substrate from the gravel so the scorps don't pull up gravel, I don't find it necessary. That is why I use the larger gravel.

Second put some sort of tube vertically into the gravel. I use an undergravel filter tube for fish tanks. (I close the top with a screen, and the part that goes into the gravel has grating already on it) Just make sure your scorpion won't get into the tube.

Third Go ahead and fill the bottom with water as deep as your gravel, put your substrate on top of the gravel (10-12cm or 4-5" deep) and 'tamp' down firm (I use coco fiber from eco earth). Then decorate as desired.

Note I use some large rocks in my tanks, I put those in after the gravel so they rest on the gravel and don't have a risk of dropping from burrowing underneath. Just rest anything large you put in on the bottom of the tank.  

here are a few pictures:


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## dazbuzz (Jan 22, 2007)

tried to get a better pic but bad quality and i don't wanna stress out the scorps too much.

also when i was looking in the viv i saw some stuff on the cork bark it's starting to turn bule/green so i would asume it's mould so i have removed it.o well at least my scorpions luv each other or there would be a big fight.


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## Brian S (Jan 22, 2007)

For one that small I would keep in a plastic show box. An Exo Terra is a large tank for such a small scorp IMO


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## dazbuzz (Jan 22, 2007)

i'm trying to feed them atm but they won't take the crickets even if i put em right up next to their pincers. the last time they ate was about 5-6 days ago.


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## Thaedion (Jan 22, 2007)

dazbuzz said:


> i'm trying to feed them atm but they won't take the crickets even if i put em right up next to their pincers. the last time they ate was about 5-6 days ago.


Not to worry a quick search of the forum would yield a plethora of posts 'my scorpion won't eat'. IME mine have fasted for the last month and a half, most have begun to eat but some still refuse.

They go off of instinct and will/should eat when hungry.

Best to you, Thaedion.


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## dazbuzz (Jan 22, 2007)

well i can't get a good pic but this scorpion looks just like em but mine are smaller. this is a pic from rangus holding his/hers emperor scorpion:
	

		
			
		

		
	




also can i get eco-earth in england? i havn't seen it around.i mean the substrate stuff.


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## Thaedion (Jan 22, 2007)

okay to me that does look like an emperor. Your original pics might have just been an optical illusion to me. I look first to the 'pincers' if they are 'bulberous' like this pic that is a good start.

You just need to look for a Expandable Substrates, made of coco fiber.
here is a *UK link*


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## dazbuzz (Jan 22, 2007)

ggrrrrrrrrrrraaaa! these stupid crickets keep hiding in the bark where my scorpions are. i can't sleep till i get em out. :evil:


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## Charlie_Scorp (Jan 23, 2007)

Roaches are the answer..lol!


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## Duc de Blangis (Feb 18, 2007)

can somebody explain why the false bottom setup works better than just keeping the substrate damp? i'm confused about how this works.


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## dazbuzz (Feb 18, 2007)

the best thing to do is look at thaedions videos on youtube they are very good. i'm sure he won't mind if i put the link on here. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--CvsMLAfg4


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## Thaedion (Feb 19, 2007)

The principle of how it works is that the water below the substrate will be pulled through the sub. as the moisture on the surface evaporates keeping it damp, and if the air flow is contained by a glass top the humidity will rise. So long as there is water in the rocks. (I have a corn snake set up with a false bottom I don't use the glass cover {I want a moderate humidity level} and the substrate is dry to the touch and the water dries up weekly, but that is another environment)

I used to use substrate misted daily, this would keep the top damp, My humidity was always dropping ranging from 60s to 80s (after mist). I ran across a thread here some where talking about false bottom set ups. I tried it and loved them.  During the winter here (now) my house ranges in the 20-30% humidity and 65°F (thats what I like) so my tanks would dry out quickly (I've been keeping emperors now for over 1.5yrs, two winters) last winter I had to mist twice daily, so I bought a fogger, tried putting more water surface area in there and these helped. But the false bottom setup keeps the humidity way up where I like to see it. I changed over all my tanks now, the video I shot was my last change over tank, it's been 2 weeks now since it was set up and the humidity is enough to leave condensation on the glass.

Here is the link *http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Thaedion* to my you tube channel all 10 of the videos are there total run time is near 30 minutes. I want to make a concise video with less narrative but don't have the time yet.

I just took some pictures this morning of the tank I set up in the video to answer another PM here they are.














*PS: I don't mind any one putting any of my works on the web or in their posts, just don't make direct links to items from my servers "/holding_bin" as it sucks bandwidth.*

Regards Thaedion


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## rag (Feb 20, 2007)

i use the false bottom style tank with great success.


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