New owner and new person to this form and just curious to be honest

[Sstump]

So i bought a bady emperor today (pet stop had good ratings) and its been a feisty and active little thing. Its seemed like when I first put it in the cage it was a little hesitant feeling around then running back to the paper towel that come out when I was trying to put it in the enclosure event when it got use to the new ground it was on it left the paper towel and this little thing has been So active since! Going for corner to corner is that normal active for a new scorpion (little lone a bady) i honestly figured it would run straight to it hide but hasn't even gone inside of it yet. I will say its seem to have chilled out a bit more over the hours that I've had it. But it also just looked it was just trying to climb out at times

Apparently it too young to determine the sex of it

Dude at the show said I should wait till next Saturday to feed it when I asked "whens the next time I should feed it" but I was thinking maybe tomorrow ill stop and get a couple of super worms or small dubia roaches

And I feel like I could get a smaller hide and maybe put a fake plant is the enclosure

If any recommendations on temp set up let me know.

I did about few days worth of research and reading before fully buying this little guy

I'm just looking for advice, recommendations or just comments.

 

[Ferrachi]

Good looking scorpion !

Substrate looks a bit on the dry side and could probably use more substrate...

 

[Dr SkyTower]

Very cute scorpion! It could do with a bit more substrate (maybe an inch or so) and maybe could be a bit damper... they do like it humid and damp (but not saturated). Very nice set up though! Your scorpion will really appreciate that water bath!

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Going for corner to corner is that normal active for a new scorpion

Hi Sstump !
Yes, that is pretty normal when it has just moved into it's new setup, it can seem a bit restless in the first few days.
When your husbandry is correct it should calm down eventually.
Your setup sure looks nice and you sure put the effort in !
A good hide is a dark hide. Not too spacious, it should just about fit the scorpion.
It's a 'burrowing' scorpion and they are quite capable in creating their own hide by burrowing into the substrate.
Mixing a lot of moss in with the coco fiber substrate helps to keep the substrate 'loose' and helps to maintain a higher relative humidity.
Keep an eye on the humidity, add more water or limit ventilation if it gets too low too quick.
Another thing (and I could be WRONG here, need more pictures from different angles) is that when I look at the pictures I'm thinking "hmm, isn't that a Heterometrus petersii instead of a Pandinus imperator?"
Anyone else looked at the shape of those chelas ?? Aren't those too elongated for a P imperator ? Or is it just me ?
I would need to have a better look at one of the chela (claws) to be more certain.
Not that H petersii is a bad scorpion to have, they are just as nice to own as a Pandinus, certainly when you just just have one skorpion in the tank.
The telson has a dark color, so if this really is a P imperator it should be (semi)adult and thus can be sexed.
Younger skorpling/juvenile P imperators have a cream white/yellow colored telson.

 

[Sstump]

I'm

Hi Sstump !
Yes, that is pretty normal when it has just moved into it's new setup, it can seem a bit restless in the first few days.
When your husbandry is correct it should calm down eventually.
Your setup sure looks nice and you sure put the effort in !
A good hide is a dark hide. Not too spacious, it should just about fit the scorpion.
It's a 'burrowing' scorpion and they are quite capable in creating their own hide by burrowing into the substrate.
Mixing a lot of moss in with the coco fiber substrate helps to keep the substrate 'loose' and helps to maintain a higher relative humidity.
Keep an eye on the humidity, add more water or limit ventilation if it gets too low too quick.
Another thing (and I could be WRONG here, need more pictures from different angles) is that when I look at the pictures I'm thinking "hmm, isn't that a Heterometrus petersii instead of a Pandinus imperator?"
Anyone else looked at the shape of those chelas ?? Aren't those too elongated for a P imperator ? Or is it just me ?
I would need to have a better look at one of the chela (claws) to be more certain.
Not that H petersii is a bad scorpion to have, they are just as nice to own as a Pandinus, certainly when you just just have one skorpion in the tank.
The telson has a dark color, so if this really is a P imperator it should be (semi)adult and thus can be sexed.
Younger skorpling/juvenile P imperators have a cream white/yellow colored telson.

Can get you a couple better pictures of the claws for sure! And I'm getting a smaller hide and not wood! And im going to be redo the enclosure about with more substrate and mixing the moss in it more! Ive taken what ive been given so far and have thought about amd you definitely gave me some good info and I just want to do and give this little fella the best enclosure I can do!

 

[Sstump]

I'm

Can get you a couple better pictures of the claws for sure! And I'm getting a smaller hide and not wood! And im going to be redo the enclosure about with more substrate and mixing the moss in it more! Ive taken what ive been given so far and have thought about amd you definitely gave me some good info and I just want to do and give this little fella the best enclosure I can do!

Hope this can help!

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

It sure looks nice and chunky !
You have a Heterometrus genus scorpion, please observe this picture;


If you would like to narrow it down further to the exact species then you could dive into this PDF, its a great source of info:
https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=euscorpius

There are many different species in the Heterometrus genus, since H longimanus, spinifer, loaticus, petersii are most common in the hobby there is also a 'TLDR' version that is less accurate but can help;
-H. petersii and H. laoticus have dark telsons, rounder chela, and dorsal keels on the 5th metasomal segment that consist of relatively minute granules, while H. spinifer and H. longimanus usually have telsons that are lighter than their metasomas (usually red in adults, and various shades of yellow/orange as juveniles), narrower chela, and dorsal keels on the 5th metasomal segment that consist of relatively large, pointed granules.
-H. petersii and H. laoticus can be distinguished from each other in that H. petersii has granulation on the carapace and tergites while H. laoticus is totally devoid of any granulation, and H. petersii shows sexual dimorphism in that males have an enlarged tooth on the movable finger of the chela. Both species have a pectine tooth count of 15-19 in both sexes.
-H. spinifer and H. longimanus can be distinguished from each other in that H. spinifer has a pectine tooth count of 15-19 in both sexes, while H. longimanus has a pectine tooth count of 12-18 in both sexes. Sexual dimorphism in proportions of pedipalps in H. spinifer is not noticable, with chela slightly lobiform and a length to width ratio of 2.4-2.6 in both sexes. In H. longimanus on the other hand, the chela, patella, and femur of the pedipalps in males are narrower and more elongate than in females. Chela not lobiform in male, slightly lobiform in female. Length to width ratio of chela 3.3-4.4 in males, roughly 2.4 in females.
-Females of H. spinifer and H. longimanus are nearly indistinguishable from each other. Some small differences are that in H. spinifer the manus has smooth carinae forming irregular reticulations, while the manus of H. longimanus is sparsely tuberculate, and that while both species usually have the carapace with disc smooth and margins granulate, sometimes in H. longimanus the entire surface is granulate.

This info requires you to learn some about scorpion anatomy to be able to understand the terms used, but that adds to the fun
Cheers.

 

[Sstump]

It sure looks nice and chunky !
You have a Heterometrus genus scorpion, please observe this picture;
View attachment 361403

If you would like to narrow it down further to the exact species then you could dive into this PDF, its a great source of info:
https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=euscorpius

There are many different species in the Heterometrus genus, since H longimanus, spinifer, loaticus, petersii are most common in the hobby there is also a 'TLDR' version that is less accurate but can help;
-H. petersii and H. laoticus have dark telsons, rounder chela, and dorsal keels on the 5th metasomal segment that consist of relatively minute granules, while H. spinifer and H. longimanus usually have telsons that are lighter than their metasomas (usually red in adults, and various shades of yellow/orange as juveniles), narrower chela, and dorsal keels on the 5th metasomal segment that consist of relatively large, pointed granules.
-H. petersii and H. laoticus can be distinguished from each other in that H. petersii has granulation on the carapace and tergites while H. laoticus is totally devoid of any granulation, and H. petersii shows sexual dimorphism in that males have an enlarged tooth on the movable finger of the chela. Both species have a pectine tooth count of 15-19 in both sexes.
-H. spinifer and H. longimanus can be distinguished from each other in that H. spinifer has a pectine tooth count of 15-19 in both sexes, while H. longimanus has a pectine tooth count of 12-18 in both sexes. Sexual dimorphism in proportions of pedipalps in H. spinifer is not noticable, with chela slightly lobiform and a length to width ratio of 2.4-2.6 in both sexes. In H. longimanus on the other hand, the chela, patella, and femur of the pedipalps in males are narrower and more elongate than in females. Chela not lobiform in male, slightly lobiform in female. Length to width ratio of chela 3.3-4.4 in males, roughly 2.4 in females.
-Females of H. spinifer and H. longimanus are nearly indistinguishable from each other. Some small differences are that in H. spinifer the manus has smooth carinae forming irregular reticulations, while the manus of H. longimanus is sparsely tuberculate, and that while both species usually have the carapace with disc smooth and margins granulate, sometimes in H. longimanus the entire surface is granulate.

This info requires you to learn some about scorpion anatomy to be able to understand the terms used, but that adds to the fun
Cheers.

Hahaha my dude that a big mind f*** with all that info you gave on me and its going to be fun to dissect and gather everything thing you gave me! Hahaha but im up for it and down to see what all I can gather for it definitely about to be some researching involved! To be honest! Haha I appreciate it i really do!

But that kinda sucks i got African forest scorpion instead and in way I kinda saw that coming ive seen where people were actually getting them forest instead of the emperor. But I did look a did into them but not as much tho and from what I gathered its about the same care. So I am ok with that and I did read something about the forest scorpion being a bit more aggressive then the emperor. And that ok too! Even tho I did say it kinda sucks not actually getting the emperor that dont mean I won't to my best with this little fella! And just means that down the line I can actually look into finding an actual emperor scorpion once I get this little one all grown up or a bit older! And heey! That why I joined this forum and posted see what all info, news and advice I can gather and get!

Ps one day ill learn the Scientific names ive notice it used alot here in the forums and im just a beginner! Hahaha

 

[Dr SkyTower]

That is a heterometrus species, possibly Petersii or Spinifer (the most common you'll see being sold in petshops etc). It's an Asian Forest Scorpion, but it's such a little cutie Emperors (Pandinus) have shorter fingers and a grainy, bumpy appearance to their hands whereas heterometrus have much smoother-looking hands.

 

[Sstump]

That is a heterometrus species, possibly Petersii or Spinifer (the most common you'll see being sold in petshops etc). It's an Asian Forest Scorpion, but it's such a little cutie Emperors (Pandinus) have shorter fingers and a grainy, bumpy appearance to their hands whereas heterometrus have much smoother-looking hands.

So are you positive its an Asian Forest Scorpion? I mean it definitely looks like one after looking at pictures and im still going to do some research and read up on what Luded Tweezer gave me.

 

[Sstump]

So after reading and researching checking out anatomy and looking at pictures etc. Im come to the conclusion the my little fella is a heterometrus petersii on im its not a spinifer based off the telson ars not a redish brown or yellowish only really sternate is a redish brown(or the bottom) and for what ive seen im thinking its a male too!

Let me know if you think im right or wrong im finding all this mind-blowingly interesting!

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

But that kinda sucks i got African forest scorpion instead and in way I kinda saw that coming ive seen where people were actually getting them forest instead of the emperor

I wouldn't worry about your scorpion not being a 'emperor'.
The common name 'emperor scorpion' given to the Pandinus imperator does not mean that it is "the emperor of all scorpions", it is just a name that happens to be 'catchy'.
Pandinus imperator is not the biggest, not the fastest, not the most venomous, not the most illusive, not the rarest, not the longest living scorpion species out there.
- Biggest by length: Heterometrus swammerdami and Hadogenes troglodytes (depending on which source you query).
- Fastest: a handful of Hottentotta species that are capable of short sprints and can strike in the blink of an eye. Leiurus quinquestriatus (Deathstalker) can also sprint pretty well.
- Most venomous: Androctonus australis, Leiurus quinquestriatus and some more inside the Buthidae family (depending how you look at it: most dangerous venom to humans, most deaths caused in humans per year, LD50 method etc etc.)
- Longest live span: Hadogenes troglodytes (as far as i know).
There is one aspect in which the P imperator might be the winner, and that is that it could be the most docile and easy going species there is, certainly the most docile within the hobby.
Pretty much any other species is more defensive or aggressive and more feisty compared to P imperator, so I think you should be a happy camper with your more feisty Asian forest scorpion that will fend for itself when necessary.
In your case you are only keeping one scorpion inside one terrarium, so the communal aspect of a P imperator is not a aspect that applies to your situation. (P imperator can be kept communally, Heterometrus is less successful)
I'm doubtful that a more expensive but very similar looking P imperator would bring you more happiness than the one you already have.
Of course the choice is up to you

 

[Sstump]

I wouldn't worry about your scorpion not being a 'emperor'.
The common name 'emperor scorpion' given to the Pandinus imperator does not mean that it is "the emperor of all scorpions", it is just a name that happens to be 'catchy'.
Pandinus imperator is not the biggest, not the fastest, not the most venomous, not the most illusive, not the rarest, not the longest living scorpion species out there.
- Biggest by length: Heterometrus swammerdami and Hadogenes troglodytes (depending on which source you query).
- Fastest: a handful of Hottentotta species that are capable of short sprints and can strike in the blink of an eye. Leiurus quinquestriatus (Deathstalker) can also sprint pretty well.
- Most venomous: Androctonus australis, Leiurus quinquestriatus and some more inside the Buthidae family (depending how you look at it: most dangerous venom to humans, most deaths caused in humans per year, LD50 method etc etc.)
- Longest live span: Hadogenes troglodytes (as far as i know).
There is one aspect in which the P imperator might be the winner, and that is that it could be the most docile and easy going species there is, certainly the most docile within the hobby.
Pretty much any other species is more defensive or aggressive and more feisty compared to P imperator, so I think you should be a happy camper with your more feisty Asian forest scorpion that will fend for itself when necessary.
In your case you are only keeping one scorpion inside one terrarium, so the communal aspect of a P imperator is not a aspect that applies to your situation. (P imperator can be kept communally, Heterometrus is less successful)
I'm doubtful that a more expensive but very similar looking P imperator would bring you more happiness than the one you already have.
Of course the choice is up to you

Its not really that im worried about it not getting a P. Imperator im actually love the little guy i got now he such a feisty little guy! it adorable! Haha and what i was talking about it that ive heard of pet stores claiming to sell emperors but there not and have been selling forest scorpion instead claiming they are. so im not surprised that happened to me. I was had my doubts about it being what they said it was at the store but I went along with in hope I guess but that why I came to this forum to learn and talk to more experienced people! witch has notice and have helped and told and gave me the info I needed to figure what I kind of little fella i got! So I do thank and appreciate everyone who has commented so far. especially you Tweezer! Haha
And for the few facts that you named about P. Imperator is kinda why i wanted one to be my first scorpion. But I'd say I am a happy camper to be honest! and ill just added the P. Imperator to my list for down the line. this little guy is feisty as hell! Haha I had to do some work to his enclosure yesterday and he just wasn't having it! Try to attack everything! I added more substrate, a smaller hide and a fake plant. And he's been burrowing alot especially in his hide. I had trouble finding his yesterday because for that! Haha im enjoying the experience im getting with this one and I look forward to learning more and putting what ive learn to new scorpion down the line. And im glad I got him and I know for a fact im giving him a better home then the store i got him at had him in!

And the others you listed im definitely going to keep in mind!.

But one thing im having trouble with is keeping the humidity up I have to spray down the tank with my spray bottle two or three time a day so far!

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

But one thing im having trouble with is keeping the humidity up I have to spray down the tank with my spray bottle two or three time a day so far!

Yeh, spraying doesn't do very much, pour water onto half of the substrate just as if you were watering a plant.
Your terrarium has ventilation/access from the top, try to keep 95% covered up, only have a small amount of ventilation holes at the cold side of the terrarium.
Turn of the heating at night.

 

[Sstump]

Yeh, spraying doesn't do very much, pour water onto half of the substrate just as if you were watering a plant.
Your terrarium has ventilation/access from the top, try to keep 95% covered up, only have a small amount of ventilation holes at the cold side of the terrarium.
Turn of the heating at night.

Thanks for the tip ill definitely try it tonight!

 

[Sstump]

Hello! I'm back,it been a few months. But id like to just put in an update! My Heterometrus is doing Great! I love that little guy! Getting big! I took evey bit of info give to me by heart and turned his enclosure to a great home for him I often come home and see him just chilling hafe way out of his hide all relaxed and I got him a fake plant he hides under from time to time. He get a spray down every morning to make keep humidity up and pour a bit of water into the substrate when needed! And he don't deny any food! He kinda a pig! And will eat two fat superworns on his feeding day which I feed him once a week. And I've only got one molt from him and that went very well! Like I said he's doing great!

On a side note, i went to a local reptile show and sale an adventured out and got two new scorpions!, a Deathstaker and a Androctonus australis (yellow Fattail) I've only had them for a few days now ( sunday) but they are doing well too sadly I gotta work on keeping the heat up for them during the day witch is the works! Its can only keep it at 80°f for now witch seems to be doing just fine for now. (Added note it's winter where am) they both look very healthy! The deathstaker is a very active fella every time I check or look at it its always in a different spot! And i catch it on the move all the time!! And I love that! As for the Androctonus australis I find him to be just as fascinating as the deathstaker and my Heterometrus. I enjoy seeing how it digs the sand around its enclosure! I've catch it digging several times already and he don't stay in his hide often either. But I've been keeping a close eye on him cuz sadly on the way home I noticed a white thing with a black dot on its side on the way home(wish I would have noticed it at the show) but last I checked it wasn't there anymore. But I want to get it out of the enclosure and into something I can get a better look at it. I dont think it was anything just part of the shitty substrate they had both of them in. But still something I want to make sure is gone 100% before I dismissed it! But it did eat on the first at I got it after I rehouse it into its new enclosure.
And as for both today ( Wednesday) was feeding day and they both ate! Out of curiosity the deathstaker ate two nice superworns and since the Androctonus australis ate the first day I got it he only got one. I just wanted to make sure for their first official meal was good and they got a good feeding!

But as I did before I will gladly take any notes suggestions tips etc.. for the deathstaker and Androctonus australis weather it be for dummies Amateurs or Experts and I'll take Scientific info as well! as before of course I took my time and did some research before I got them. It wasn't an impulse buy. I found these two to be a bit more difficult to find the right kind of info I was searching for but id say I've piece it together for the both of them pretty good but will still gladly take any info on those two! amd can gladly share pictures if interested in any my fella weather is the update for my Heterometrus or the deathstaker and Androctonus australis.

I look forward to hearing back from the few who replied before! Or even new!

 

[Katethebait]

Congratulations on your two new guys/gals! I own 3 A. australis. I'm always looking for information on them as well! They are super cool and feel free to post any pictures you have of both!
Glad to hear that your Heterometrus is doing so well!

 

[Sstump]

Congratulations on your two new guys/gals! I own 3 A. australis. I'm always looking for information on them as well! They are super cool and feel free to post any pictures you have of both!
Glad to hear that your Heterometrus is doing so well!

Thank you! I was looking into many different scorpions and when I came across the A. australis knew I definitely wanted one and started to see what I could find on them!. And I'll have to get some pictures when I get home from work. And also thanks again! I'm also very glad Heterometrus is do so well!

 

[Sstump]

feel free to post any pictures you have of both!

Ok so here are some pictures

 

[Sstump]

Ok so here are some pictures

The Androctonus australis but as you can see there's that thing on its side but ill make a Separate post about that.