Emperor in trouble?

Kaissos5

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Dec 29, 2002
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Hey guys just want to say what an awesome sight and i'm glad to see people with the same interests as me.

I recently (about 4 months ago) purchased an emperor scorpion from my local pet store. i'm not sure i have the best substrate, at the moment the name escapes me, but it comes in a condenced brick which you soak in hot water. it seems too textured and it seems to impeed on his movement. also i have a plastic covering in which he spends most of his time, he has not burrowed, but i think it serves the same purpose. I feed him the largest crickets and he seems almost uninterested, even scared, and takes him a couple of days to catch one. i've recently searched the internet finding pics of emperors almost seeming gorged, in retrospect mine seems thin but not emaciated. i keep him in a 5 gallon tank which i spray whenever i think of it (about once a day) and keep the temp. around 75, i also have a shallow dish for water. if any of this seems to be an incorrect method of housing an emp. could you please respond?

Thanks,
Kaiser Sose
 

phoenixxavierre

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Hi Kaiser,

I would suggest placing the scorpion in a tank with another much larger scorpion who is very hungry to "toughen him up". Then when you replace him into the tank with the crickets they won't seem so scary to him!

hehe! (Just kidding!) That would be a very bad scene if you did that!

I'm curious, though, how much substrate do you have in the tank? I'm not sure how emperors do without the opportunity to burrow.

Anyone know if they do fine without the chance to burrow? I'm not sure what kind of substrate you're using, if it's bed a beast or something else. I myself have never tried anything other than peat/potting soil/sand/vermiculite mixes. Is the substrate of a texture that could be easily burrowed into by the scorpion?

Paul
 
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atavuss

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I would prefer to see temps of at least 80 for emps so they will have a better appetite. also, did you get the "chunky" as opposed to the finely chopped forest bed or bed a beast substrate? I prefer the finely chopped stuff. emps need high humidity, around 75% or so. do you provide a water source at all times too in the way of a small, shallow dish?
I would recommend Manny Rubio's scorpion book, printed by barron's books for a good information source. all the emps I have had never burrow but sometimes they would make use of the provided hide.
Ed
 

skinheaddave

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The bottom line is that if he catches and eats some crickets he is not starving. You might want to increase the number of crickets you are feeding, since they can easily stay away from the emp in a 5 gallon enclosure. On the other hand, you don't want to introduce too many. Have you tried feeding off tongs?

Beyond that, the problems with emps usualy fall into one or more of the following catagories:

1] Humidity -- they need high humidity. Misting does very little to raise humidity on its own. A wide, shallow water dish helps, as does restricted ventelation. Some people use false bottom tanks to ensure a higher humidity.

2] Heat -- 80+F. Unlike Ts, most scorpions really do benefit from increased temperature. If you provide really high temperatures (100+) then be sure the scorpion can escape the heat by burrowing or moving to another part of the enclosure. Otherwise, an even temperature of around 85 would be good.

3] Hides. Scorpions need to be able to hide. If you are providing hides, provide several around the enclosure to give them a choice. You can also provide a hide and deep substrate of an appropriate nature to induce burrowing under the hide. You can even start a small burrow for them and they may expand on it.

4] Stress. At first it is important to leave your scorpion alone. That means no handling, no bright lights, re-arranging of furniture, shaking, loud music etc. etc. Let them get accustomed to their new environment and establish a safe home before you start stressing them. You may even want to hold off on feeding for this time.

Cheers,
Dave
 

Kaissos5

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new cage

Hey thanks for all of your replies,

I just moved him into a more spacious cage, it is a plastic container (is that a problem?) in which i placed 5 inches of potting soil. I made one of those planter pot things, where you put a tube under ground with the opening, he seems to like that, and a wider water dish with a tunnel under it. i restricted the air by just punching holes through the lid. Is that good?


Kaiser
 

skinheaddave

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Sounds like you are on your way to proper humidity. What are you doing about heat?

Oh, and you can delete your posts here. Just click on the edit button below your post, then check off the delet box and press the delete button. You can get rid of the extra posts.

Cheers,
Dave
 

steve055

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Aug 7, 2002
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Plastic containers work well for all scorps. I use a bunch of sizes and shapes for mine. Like you said being able to punch the amount of holes that you need is another great feature. Just remember that the closed containers will keep the heat in. Make sure if your using the same heat source that you watch the temps for the first couple days. Oh and welcome to arachnopets.
 

Kaissos5

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I just got a new heating pad (will it melt?) and the temp is looking great. I'm not sure if i have enough holes in the container, as there is a lot of condensation, almost to the point of not being able to see. Is there any way of getting a good acurate idea of the humidity?
 

Ephesians

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I would suggest placing the scorpion in a tank with another much larger scorpion who is very hungry to "toughen him up". Then when you replace him into the tank with the crickets they won't seem so scary to him!
LOL...

what you have is probably Bed-A-Beast and I wouldn't reccomend it for scorps. (dunno if anyone said that yet...) I just breezed through this one. :cool:
 

Kugellager

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There are humidity gauges you can get in most pet stores that sell reptiles or amphibians. They usually run $5-10 US in price. They are not precise scientific instruments but can give you a decent idea of the relative humidity. Ideal humidity for an emp is about 80%. It is a species from the jungle regions of central Africa.

John
];')
 

atavuss

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Originally posted by Kaissos5
I just got a new heating pad (will it melt?) and the temp is looking great. I'm not sure if i have enough holes in the container, as there is a lot of condensation, almost to the point of not being able to see. Is there any way of getting a good acurate idea of the humidity?
I just now noticed you are from the bay area. have you been to the vivarium in Berkeley? lots of supplies there, kind of pricey though. Petco and Petsmart should also have the humidity gauges. the Vivarium also has a few tarantulas and other inverts for sale although they are pricey as well, but if you figure the shipping charge of an online dealer against the price of the vivarium's livestock it is not too bad. Bill from invertepet is not too far from you as well. there is a small group called "San Francisco Bay Area Tarantula Club" and there is going to be a get together in Fresno the end of this month, if you are interested let me know and I will let the moderator of the group know.
Ed
 

Kaissos5

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Dec 29, 2002
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Yeah i love the vivarium. i actually live in San Rafael (marin), but no one know what that is so i say SF. I would love to checkout that club give me some more info thx


Kaiser
 
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