Emperor Scorpion Questions

[JaceJohn21]

Hi I'm new to this board and to scorpions. A few days ago I bought a emp. I think it's a female and it looks like its done molting its about 4-5 inches long. I'm having problems with the humidity it stays around 60% until I mist it. It gets up to 70 to 80%. I was wondering if i should use a glass top instead of the mesh I use now to make it stay high. Also I was wondering weather I should hand feed it and just release crickets into the cage?

 

[tabor]

Hi and welcome to the boards !

I would use a glass one for sure...

How often do you mist and what are you using for heating ?

 

[Thaedion]

Welcome:

Get a solid top of some sort, glass, plexiglass, or plastic wrap, this will keep the moisture in. Misting is okay, a false bottom is, IMHO, best and flooding part of the substrate works better than misting.

Releasing the prey works, just remove uneaten crix in a day or so, as they will naturally die and attract some sort of undesirable insect.

 

[JaceJohn21]

I mist it every few hours and i use a heat mat that is mounted on the inside of the aquarium

 

[tabor]

Welcome:

Get a solid top of some sort, glass, plexiglass, or plastic wrap, this will keep the moisture in. Misting is okay, a false bottom is, IMHO, best and flooding part of the substrate works better than misting.

Releasing the prey works, just remove uneaten crix in a day or so, as they will naturally die and attract some sort of undesirable insect.

Do whatever this man says:worship: :worship: :worship: , false bottom, I personally would use a CHE for heating..something about lights bother me for heating my inverts..but thats just me.

 

[kupo969]

Do your scorps hug the side of the tank where the mat is? i seem to have this problem.

 

[BadBikaDamo]

Hi mate,

for now, you could use some cling film on top of your mesh, humidty will shoot up. Errrr, we call it cling film in the UK, the stuff you wrap food in y'know.

You can dangle a crick infront of your new buddy using forceps, tongs etc( I use chopsticks!) and he should snap it of if he's hungry. Remember to remove any remains or you could (possibly) encourage mites. I have a couple of isopods (wood-lice)in with mine to gobble up the leftovers.

Edit: Sorry Thaedion, You beet me to it, I guess you not only have superior knowledge, but can also type faster.

Lol

Damo

 

[~Abyss~]

Well I agree with all this response and I higly recomend the false bottom substare as well. I personally use a ceramic heat lamp for heating and side tank heater (not at the bottom). As for hand feeding it's pretty great to see them eat of your hand but most P.imps like to catch the prey themselves so be prepared for them to try getting it with their chela. But I have had a few that just start eating it without ever actually grabing it from my hand.

 

[JaceJohn21]

Do your scorps hug the side of the tank where the mat is? i seem to have this problem.

Ya mine is always up against it

I put some plastic on the mesh and the humidity went right up
thanks for the help

 

[tabor]

What is your ambient temp like in your cage?

That hugging of the wall could be a sign of too hot/ too cold!

 

[JaceJohn21]

i don't have a thermometer in there but my house is like 70 to 80 degrees and i think it might be a little warmer in the cage

 

[BadBikaDamo]

Errrr, sorry if this is an obvious question, but does it have somewhere to hide, and does it use it?

Damo

 

[tabor]

Depending on the size of the cage you might want to invest into an alternate heat source, assuming its a 10gal I would get a 65-75w heat lamp with an equal watt che, keep in mind that in 10g cages its easy to fry stuff.

Just my 2cents.

 

[JaceJohn21]

ya it has a few different places and it uses them

 

[kupo969]

They (2) hug the wall next to the heating pad. they have 2 separate hide outs, but i have only seen them use 1 (2nd day having them). right now they arent in any hideout, just hugging the wall. I have a 100 watt infra bulb, but i dont use it because the temp is 80f and humidity is averaging in 70-80 (im working on that, getting plastic wrap on my wired top tomorrow). The tank isnt even 10gal, must be like 5.8.

Actually 1 is in the hide, the other is still hugging that wall! :\ Btw im not good with lamps, i have a 150 watt lamp with a 100 watt infra bulb, the guy at the store told me that it can use up to 150 watts, this true?

 

[tabor]

I would advise against the 100w on a 5.5gal, unless it had some sort of limiter on it.

Do you think you are going to use the false bottom setup Thaedion recommended?

Can you take some pictures of your setup? I'm curious to what it looks like !

 

[BadBikaDamo]

Like you said, you propbably don't really need the lamp, if you did use it, a 60w would possibly be adequate. The only difference in the lamps for usage may be the size of the fuse, but someone else will know better then I on the electrics.

At least yours get along.

 

[kupo969]

I'd say i have a pretty decent setup for my 2 scorps. I do have a false setup, and i will try to look for a 50-60ish watt light. What do you guys think of just a regular light for heat? I can't seem to find any good infra red lights in stores.

As for pics, I'll try to get some on here soon. Need some batteries for my camera!

 

[BadBikaDamo]

Everyone has different opinions on set up, some like heat mats (on the side), some like lights, some like both etc.......I'm sure your set-up is fine, you know the basics, as long as ambient temp and humidity are are good, do what you feel happy with.



Damo

 

[Rosenkreuz]

I'm sure your set-up is fine, you know the basics, as long as ambient temp and humidity are are good, do what you feel happy with.



Damo

Best advice ever. All you need is the basics, everything else is fluff. As long as temps are within range, and the humidity looks good, it doesn't matter how you get it, as long as it's gotten.

Personally, I don't use the false bottom. I did in the 5.5 I had before, but with the bigger setup, it's too difficult. I just covered the substrate in sphagnum moss (holds moisture, great for humidity), leaving some soil showing for mine to dig, and I use a 50W infrared light, which keeps temps at 85ish on the hot side. I mist about once a day, but if I miss a day or two, humidity doesn't usually drop below 70%.