How to introduce new scorpions to a colony?

[Leonardo the Mage]

So I have had a pair of (approx,) three inch body length juvinile P. imperator who have been cohabiting marvelously, even sharing a hide (multiple hides are available of course). Today I just bought an adult female (approx. five inch body length) to try starting a colony. I want to put the three of them in a single colony, eventually creating a colony similar to what @Formerphobe created. However, I would like to ask what the proper procedure would be to introduce them.

I tried introducing them earlier by simply putting the adult female in the container, but upon contact the adult female spread her claws wide and started pushing head-on into the two juveniles, who seemed to be pushing back. The female then began vibrating, short pulses and then a pause. I have no idea what this behavior means, so I put the female back into the container she came with.

Here is a pair of photos to show the size of one of the juveniles compared to a loonie (about one inch across,)

 

[Leonardo the Mage]

I had to try again today, but I managed to get my female to sit still long enough to take a decent picture.
Once again, I am using a loonie to compare size. Do you think she is too big to live with the two juveniles?

 

[brolloks]

You could try to mix up the enclosure and introduce them all into this "New" enclosure. Best to remove and replace the substrate if it has been in the enclosure for a while to remove any chemical cues.

What size is your enclosure?

 

[Leonardo the Mage]

I decided not to

You could try to mix up the enclosure and introduce them all into this "New" enclosure. Best to remove and replace the substrate if it has been in the enclosure for a while to remove any chemical cues.

What size is your enclosure?

I decided not to put them in the enclosure I have, a KK breeder box with approximately the same surface area as a ten gallon. I think instead I'll put them into a twenty gallon with new substrate. I'll definitely wash the hides and such before introducing them though, thanks for telling me about that! I didn't even think of chemical markers.

Do you have any idea what the above behaviour means though? it was rather bizarre to see!

 

[Captandan]

I decided not to

I decided not to put them in the enclosure I have, a KK breeder box with approximately the same surface area as a ten gallon. I think instead I'll put them into a twenty gallon with new substrate. I'll definitely wash the hides and such before introducing them though, thanks for telling me about that! I didn't even think of chemical markers.

Do you have any idea what the above behaviour means though? it was rather bizarre to see!

It could be jiggering, if I'm spelling that correctly. It is a behavior displayed as part of courtship. I don't know if all species do it, or if it has purposes other than courtship.

 

[pannaking22]

It's always tough to introduce someone completely new like that and aggression is probably to be expected. I agree with brolloks to just start from scratch and get everyone going from even footing. There may still be some issues early on though, so you'll want to keep an eye on everyone to make sure they're playing nicely.

 

[Collin Clary]

The thread's a little old, but the behavior described is perfectly normal. The shuddering and pushing is how they interact with each other. The shuddering seems to almost be a form of communication (basically saying "hey I'm another scorpion of the same species, don't attack me!") and the shoving is how they work out dominance. Usually this pushing is over territorial disputes when you first introduce new specimens, sometimes you'll see males competing for females this way, or indeed sometimes gravid females will exhibit this behavior.