1st Question.....Lost Emperor?

[WickedThird]

Well...I've only owned my Emperor...not even 24hrs...and now I can't seem to find her. My tank has close to 3" of substrate in the bottom of it...

^^ Her tank (Sorry about the bad pic)
I lifted up the tank to see if she burrowed under the dirt, and I can't seem to find her.

Now...I have some NEWB questions...

a) Emperors can't climb glass...correct?
b) Emperors aren't strong enough to lift 1/4" lexan top, with a screen cover and heat lamp dome ON TOP OF THAT...are they?
c) Am I just being paranoid, and not totally educated in scorpions, to know that her hiding is totally normal, and not to worry??

Could someone please try to shine some light on the subject...or should I start searching my apartment before the cats get to her.

 

[Thaedion]

Greetings WickedThird

a) Emperors can't climb glass...correct?

No they can't climb glass. But the can use their tail as a leg so to speak, using it to lift themselves up.

b) Emperors aren't strong enough to lift 1/4" lexan top, with a screen cover and heat lamp dome ON TOP OF THAT...are they?

You'd be surprised how strong these guys are. If there is a way for it to reach the top it'll try to escape. I have some asian scorps similar to emperors and I had to put spring clips (the kind I use on my snake cage) to secure the top down.

c) Am I just being paranoid, and not totally educated in scorpions, to know that her hiding is totally normal, and not to worry??

Emperors do burrow and hide. If you want to be totally sure it is/isn't in there take a 'pancake flipper' spatula type of kitchen utensil, take out the decorations and the hides so all you have is substrate. gently slide down the glass wall to the bottom and gently lift the substrate up and turn it over in the tank. Be mindful you may unearth the scorpion and always keep an eye out so you don't get tagged.

I had my first emperor 'climb' up and out of a tank, it lifted itself up with its tail and had to pinch a wire with its claws and pull itself through an opening only 1/4" in wide and climb /fall down off a mantel 4.5' up. I thought its tank mate ate it because I was sure it could not escape, only to have my wife find it under the sofa a week later...

To locate a scorpion easily, you can use a UV lamp they 'glow' or fluoresce bright green under it. Like my avatar picture, less blue though (digital camera)

Thaedion

 

[Arachnophilist]

Agreed UV is the best way to find them all you need is a small glimpse to spot it.. but looking at the tank I wouldnt worry too much..I doubt it got out. they can magically dissapear. I have 8 H.laoticus and have literally sifted soil to find them and not found them all but they are there.. I "lost" a B.jacksoni sling in its container today.. (pill vial) so I dumped out some soil and it was right there.. mad that I had disturbed it BTW I hope u didnt take the pic AFTER u lost the scorp cause it is in the log hide lol

 

[Ryan C.]

Hello,

If that picture was taken after you think she escaped well, she didn't. You can see her claws peeking out of the hide.


Cheers.

 

[twirl and kill]

whicked third,your emp is hiding like Ryan C just said,its not gone,just lift the log and you will find your emp,your emp is peeking out of teh hide

 

[Mr. Mordax]

The substrate looks like bark chips . . . as a helpful suggestion, I'd advise you replace it with something more burrow-accomidating, such as peat or coco fiber.

Of course, my eyes aren't the greatest, so I could be mistaken.

 

[WickedThird]

BTW I hope u didnt take the pic AFTER u lost the scorp cause it is in the log hide lol

Nope...that pic was taken the last night...the first night she was "home"...I was hoping that someone would be able to see her in her hide...

 

[WickedThird]

The substrate looks like bark chips . . . as a helpful suggestion, I'd advise you replace it with something more burrow-accomidating, such as peat or coco fiber.

Of course, my eyes aren't the greatest, so I could be mistaken.

I have a layer of cocoa fiber UNDER the bark.

 

[Arachnophilist]

I would just go with straight coco fibre myself.. and double it.. give the scorp some more to burrow in. makes them happy.. even if it isnt that much fun for you lol

 

[Thaedion]

Nope...that pic was taken the last night...the first night she was "home"...I was hoping that someone would be able to see her in her hide...

Okay... now... uhmmm... I'm lost here. Were you just playin' around with everyone here and it was not lost... Or was it 'lost' and when the others found it under the log you said "I was hoping you'd see it" so you don't seem like too much the noob?

Either way, hope you have fun with it. I started out with only one and 18 months later I have 5 P imps 1 P cavimanus and 5 Heterometrus sp, hopefully 2 or 3 are gravid now and I want MORE

Thaedion

 

[WickedThird]

Okay... now... uhmmm... I'm lost here. Were you just playin' around with everyone here and it was not lost... Or was it 'lost' and when the others found it under the log you said "I was hoping you'd see it" so you don't seem like too much the noob?

That pic was taken on Tuesday night...when I brought her home. When I came home from work today, (Wednesday), that's when I discovered that I couldn't find her. The only reason I said "I was hoping someone could find her" was because the pic is really crappy, and to the "un-trained" eye, it might just look like bark. I took the log out of the tank, and she wasn't visibly under there. And at 10:50pm...I still haven't seen hide nor hair from her.

 

[WickedThird]

I would just go with straight coco fibre myself.. and double it.. give the scorp some more to burrow in. makes them happy.. even if it isnt that much fun for you lol

I just might do that...thanks for the input.

 

[Thaedion]

...I took the log out of the tank, and she wasn't visibly under there. And at 10:50pm...I still haven't seen hide nor hair from her.

Have you tried to sift the substrate or lightly turn it over with a spatula/turner? Like I said I have some Asian scorps, and they can reach the screen top, they are crawling across the screen top upside down and they are trying to lift the screen, even though I have spring clips holding it firm.

Hope you find her soon. Thaedion

 

[John Bokma]

To locate a scorpion easily, you can use a UV lamp they 'glow' or fluoresce bright green under it. Like my avatar picture, less blue though (digital camera)
Thaedion

There is an easy fix to the blue issue: remove all blue with an image editor (unless your scorpions do glow blue, mine glow green/yellow):

If that one is closer to the real thing, see: http://johnbokma.com/mexit/2007/01/02/making-better-scorpion-under-uv-photos.html which explains how I did this and has also a very cool (IMO) C. gracilis under UV photo.

 

[EAD063]

JUst leave it... it didn't get out.

 

[WickedThird]

Yeah...I'm waiting (sort of) patiently to see if she comes out. I appreciate all the help guy/gals...thank you.

 

[EAD063]

I took a pen once and slowly sifted through the soil to find one that needed to be separated, you'll find it when you feel a bump and see claws bursting up. Un occupy the room and kill the lights for a few hours and it will show up.

 

[WickedThird]

Guess what...

FOUND HER​

When I cam home from work this morning...(U.S. Navy, odd hours :wall: )...I was looking in her tank, and I thought I saw something underneath her log hide...that looked a little bit more shiney(?) than the bark...got out the black light, and sure enough...she was "asleep" (I think, I'm not sure if scorpions sleep), under the log...but when I moved the log, she moved a little and let me know that she was still alive.

Thanks to everyone for helping out a paranoid newb scorpion owner.

:clap: :worship: :clap: :worship: :clap: :worship:

 

[EAD063]

Congrats. You will notice that your scorpions will give you a bit of a "scare" sometimes. Either it be by hiding, not eating well, or acting differently. To prevent future "scares",

1) If your scorp doesn't eat for a while.. it's probaly not hungry, leave it alone. :} It will eat eventually.

2) If the scorp digs a burrow, and NEVER leaves the burrow, it's very happy, leave it alone. LOL :}

Anyways, those are the 2 main concerns of beginners and source of humongous amounts of needless posts so it's easier to point them out now than later.

Good luck in the future and hope to see you around. Thank you for being a part of the armed forces, your worth is immeasurable.

 

[WickedThird]

I guess she finally decided to stop being shy...