Emperor Issues

[BelfastScorpion]

Hi Everyone,

When I first began keeping scorpions many years ago I had many Pandinus imperator's. These lived for many years and I had a lot of success with them.

They then disappeared for a number of years and in recent times they have became available again.

The thing is in recent times I have had no success with them whatsoever. I have had 4 all at different times and all 4 of them died after just a couple of months. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Everything in the enclosure is set as it should be. Temperature, Humidity, Substrate all as it should be.

Just out of interest, has anyone else noticed that since they have reappeared they don't seem to be as hardy as they used to be? I thought maybe in the past a lot of them were probably wild caught but the ones available now are mainly captive bred. Could that have something to do with it perhaps?

I'm just confused and annoyed that I no longer seem to be having any success with this species.

Thanks everyone,
BelfastScorpion.

 

[jadake]

Describe your setup with details of what’s in the enclosure and all. Could be the products you’re using have change ingredients over the years?

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Emperors are very easy to keep and raise species.

10cm to 15cm of 100% semi-moist burrowing substrate. Remoisten if necessary by pouring water directly into the substrate.

24c to 30c temps 24/7

Properly sized waterdish the scorpion can't get trapped in and drowned.

Moss and properly sized cork bark hides.

Optional: restrict 50%-75% of the enclosures ventilation.

It is no rocket science and no unreliable and sketchy hygrometers necessary.

The same care can be applied to Heterometrinae specifically from southeast Asia.

 

[Veno Manus]

I can't help myself here but you said you have had great success with them and they have lived many years and have had many but you only ever had 4 and they died months after purchase? I'm lost.

 

[MorbidArachnid]

OP is specifically asking about if hobby Emperors now are less hardy than they were in the past, not asking for care guides or advice.

They had many before, in the past, and had success, the 4 they had now died within a few months.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

OP is specifically asking about if hobby Emperors now are less hardy than they were in the past, not asking for care guides or advice.

They had many before, in the past, and had success, the 4 they had now died within a few months.

Is there a weaker captive bred strain in the hobby currently? Not that I have noticed. But quick deaths usually occur due to the indeterminable age of wild caughts and improper care. Pandinidae and Heterometrinae have a relatively high water transpiration rate. They require semi-moist deep substrate and full water dishes. Keep them too dry will increase the rate of their water transpiration and if they lose their body water at too quick of a rate they can die in a matter of days or a week. I have witnessed too many inexperienced keepers lose their newly acquired pets due to keeping them improperly on lousy bark chips and oftentimes found their scorpion lying dead in bone dry waterdishes where the poor creatures were literally "pleading" for their mortal lives for more water.

 

[Diao]

Hi Everyone,

When I first began keeping scorpions many years ago I had many Pandinus imperator's. These lived for many years and I had a lot of success with them.

They then disappeared for a number of years and in recent times they have became available again.

The thing is in recent times I have had no success with them whatsoever. I have had 4 all at different times and all 4 of them died after just a couple of months. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Everything in the enclosure is set as it should be. Temperature, Humidity, Substrate all as it should be.

Just out of interest, has anyone else noticed that since they have reappeared they don't seem to be as hardy as they used to be? I thought maybe in the past a lot of them were probably wild caught but the ones available now are mainly captive bred. Could that have something to do with it perhaps?

I'm just confused and annoyed that I no longer seem to be having any success with this species.

Thanks everyone,
BelfastScorpion.

I know what you are getting at, and I'm somewhat curious (and cautious) myself of some of the recent reappearance of Pandinus imperator being available. They are all captive bred as you stated, which can be good in most regards, but seeing how difficult it is to find these guys it then increases the chance that these individuals could be coming from inbred lineages. I know that inbreeding isn't supposed to cause issues with scorpions, but I for one have some reservations. Maybe within a thoroughly healthy group it could be maintained for a time, but with a bloodline that perhaps has some underlying issues (ones that perhaps wouldn't present themselves in a normal population) then inbreeding will almost certainly bring those issues out.

Out of curiosity, where are you located? I'm in the US, where Pandinus imports are slim to none these days, but Europe is a different story. I've seen some WC being offered there recently, so depending on where you obtained those recent 4 individuals it could change what problem we're actually looking at.

Just some thoughts

 

[Brewser]

There must be something different taking place in there environment that you are unaware of.
Something in the air, water, food, soil etc. Contamination, Poison, Parasite?

 

[BelfastScorpion]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It's definitely frustrating.