Re: Emperor Scorpion (Pandinus imperator) Care Sheet
I had 2 in a 10 gallon and i couldn't keep them away from each other they would always lay big one on bottom slightly smaller one on top. They are a communal scorps the times you will run into a issue is if you have a wild caught male or just any male because they will try to claim any burrow as their own. ofc the factor of personality comes in to. But as long as your smart and you have all well behaved scorps i could see you keeping easily more then 2 in a 10 gallon just make sure theres enough food and that the hiding spots have more then one entrance/exit. One in front and one back. if they dig off to the side in the middle make another opening at the back of that one too.
(Most problems with fighting or (other) will happen when either one feels trapped. One gets hungry and doesn't want to venture out. Having a way for either one to be able to back up and escape is the best thing. Especially if you have slightly different sizes.) 90% of injuries and fights can be avoided as long as they always have an escape that doesn't involve going through the one thats in the way of the only exit.)
When you ad a new scorpion to your bunch take the smallest out first then the second largest and so forth if the new mate is larger. Place them in a smaller container Without hiding spots in that order sm, med, lg. Its best to introduce the new one after the others have settled down in the new container they will most likely huddle in a corner. The new one if larger will walk over them mozy around and finally settle somewhere near them watch them though make sure they get along ok. if one gets snippy separate them with a stick n wait for them to calm again, they will calm down. This Process works best if they are all fed recently and have gone through the food high when they have all that energy then the low.
If the new buddy is like in the middle as far as size this same thing should work but if smaller put it in the smaller tank first n let it settle then introduce them by size going up. This seems to let them get along better and you run less risk of fighting when they all go in the tank.
Ok now for putting them back in the tank. Tricky as long as you have studied the ones you already have you should have a feel for their personality and should be able to make a good decision about how to put them in. But what worked best for me was largest most aggressive one went in last. The more docile ones went in first and where allowed to get in their fav places this is where the many exits come into play. If the big one goes to bully one (or couple) out of its/their burrow it/they can just back up.
One thing to be really careful for is if they are of a 20% size difference make sure the burrows are just narrow enough for the smallest one to have its best burrow defensive posture which is putting both chela/pedipalps or just claws for short up like a door with that little opening or make it small enough that they have to put them very close together so the big one cant pinch that well. Any way point behind this is that as long as the small ones has trouble with the claws the big one will have it worse. You don't want the big one to be able to reach around the smaller one while in there as it can pinch the tail or other less protected areas like the legs. While they may only do warning pinches if can still cause damage. N this can set up can cause issues to if the big scorp comes in through the other entrance behind. It's good if the little one could be in its normal entrance Def' state cuz they can normally turn around 180. or have three exits which i make sure all burrows have. Theres no sure fire way to make sure no one gets hurt other then complete separation but thats really no fun.
Eventually the risk of fights will decline and they will open up the burrow's more but the first while is a dangerous time. If there is to much fighting its best to just remove the most hostile one and sell it or put it in a smaller enclosure. They can survive in pretty much a deli container as long as its moist has food and a place to hide.
One set up i had was a flat rock set up on three smaller rocks they were set up perfect enough that it would never fall on them. And had three exits they where content and happy never had a issue.
90% humidity can be a issue in many ways. One is it can cause the exoskeleton to be to soft during a molt and it will be to elastic. 76% to 84% would be perfect. Also once u get up to 90 u tend to have a dew effect that is a breeding ground for bacteria and fungus.
Also it's probably best if you avoid feeding them any thing wild caught. Grasshoppers can even carry parasites like round worm. As there has been little research into what some American parasites could do to a non-Indigenous scorpion species I wouldn't recommend feeding it any thing local, only feed captive bread prey.(Pinky Mice, Crickets, Mega worms, Anoles)
Also with feeding i have put 12 crickets in with only 2 emps before and never had a obesity issue they eat when they are hungry. The ones that get obese usually have a underlying intestinal issue or the survival instinct is in over drive either way a scorp that eats to much is one that is sick in one way or another. There is One possibility is that if it is wild caught and since food could be hard to come by its developed the survival instinct "Get as much food as you can n store it because you never know when the next meal is".
I don't really think people have studied them enough to really know a whole bunch because no one really cares to. I've been doing some behavioral studies with them like what they do in the presence of certain chemicals n stuff like that also just communication. Next thing I'm gonna do is a in depth study of diseases for these scorps and intestinal parasites that may exist. N what effects these have on behavior, life span and so on and so forth. Also planing on doing some experiments non harming ofc.
I'm not trying to knock the stuff you put but a lot of what you did is stuff thats been floating around for over 10 years. The point of time is progression we want them to live longer and healthier then they have before just like us and any other pet. Also get a day light with a nm similar to a short wave UV lamp. It will help sterilize the enclosure reduce the need changing the substrate. Also will eliminate the build up of most molds. One thing i recommend though is to get a way to detect ammonia in the tank as it can build up with having live plants die. Scorps know when theres a build up though and will do very strange things to try to regulate how much they are exposed to. One thing you can spray in their are beneficial bacteria used for hermit crabs n spray it in there it doesn't hurt or affect the emps and will help prevent nitrate and Ammonia build up. But make sure u don't use that high nm lamp during lol it will defeat the purpose.
I'm also trying some other bacteria for leveling n ill let you know how it goes so far its going good. But make sure u keep an eye on those Ammonia levels as it can harm you too. Especially if the tank is in your bedroom because you become desensitized to the scent which can be very bad.
And make sure that your day cycle doesn't last more then like 8 hours maybe ten remember they are from dense areas. I set one up so the light hits on at like 4am n off at like 12pm. Ive done it some times for a few days where its on at 12am the off at 6pm and it will do that for a few days to set a cycle so they come out when i have friends over. then u set it to the 8 hour n they pretty much stay in the cycle u had set n come out around the same time like 6. They also come out more when they are in a colony so it makes it more interesting.
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