Emperor breeding racks

[ukj25]

I saw this video on Facebook and wondered if anyone had tried keeping Emperors this way.

Initial thoughts were tank size seemed ok but wondered how they maintained humidity and temp in that environment and substrate seemed very minimal.

Appreciate its a bit of an emperor puppy farm and very different to the ideal but they have an interest in looking after their animals and keeping them happy enough to breed.

I also worried that if the emps didnt escape then whatever was fed to them may well do so.
Just wondered what everyone else thought.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=806892419439104

Many thanks

 

[darkness975]

There is almost no substrate to burrow in. Also pulling them out and what not while carrying newborns on their back = terrible.

 

[Galapoheros]

Honestly it kind of hurt to see this. I'm doing it also, yeah, it works. I'm not anywhere close to the scale depicted in the vid but, ...mine are bigger and better!

 

[Ranitomeya]

Rack systems are made so that the rim is supposed to be flush to the bottom of the next shelf. If they were not, they could not be used for snakes. I highly doubt they would have issues with escapees. The enclosure size is probably less important than allowing the scorpions feel secure. For example, a smaller enclosure could replicate a burrow better than a large one if substrate is not provided for them to burrow into--think of the success people have had keeping Solifugae in cramped quarters versus large enclosures. If they're all kept together in that room, there's probably temperature controls for the room itself and humidity could be maintained so that they do not require substrate to dig into to find areas of high humidity. The setup might seem minimal, but it might also replicate conditions better while being more manageable for the keepers.

You can see they're provided a hide and the insides of the racks themselves are unlit and relatively dark. Few of them were actually using the hides and none of them are clambering against the side to try to escape like you'd see if they didn't like where they were. We're not told if the lights are on all the time--it's possible they're only on when people need to be in there, so they may feel like they're underground most of the time if the lights are normally off. Bothering the females with the babies isn't recommended as it could potentially stress the female enough that she would eat the babies, but again, maybe they feel secure enough that it's not an issue as long as it's not done frequently.

If they're breeding well, you have to assume something's right--especially if people with more naturalistic setups aren't having as much success. I agree the setup looks very plain and there doesn't seem to be any form of enrichment, but there's a difference between providing a setup that the animals prefer and providing a setup that you feel the animals would like based on your very different frame of existence. It's difficult, but sometimes it's good to look at new ideas and methods and think about how they could work and what parts can be assimilated into your own ideas and methods instead of having a knee-jerk reaction and just saying "no, that's wrong."

 

[ScorpionObsession]

Shit I wish I had a set up like this

 

[sschind]

Shit I wish I had a set up like this

no kidding, right? Pretty nice and likely to be very profitable for them as well.