Looking for more...

Hello I am brand new to this hobby and as I posted in my intro I would like to possibly get more scorps after I have my Emp for a while. There are some obstacles though...

1. I have a 12 year old brother I cant trust to stay out of my room when I am gone.
2. Being new I don't personally want anything to dangerous.
3.Burrowers are ok but I am curious if there are any that aren't hole dwellers.
4. Fairly limited space.

Every species that I have seen on this forum so far is cool looking and interesting to me so looks aren't going to be a primary issue for me. Basicly what kinds can I get with those limitations?

One last thing are there any breeders near Cleveland, Ohio that are know on these forums and are good?

If you can't trust your brother, arthropods are probably a bad idea. Unless you could install a lock on your door or electrify the knob . . .

haha yea trust me I have thought about putting a lock on my door lately. I just wanted to know my options I mean it cant hurt to know whats out there. Also are there any good books on scorpions or how to you pros learn about them? other than the caresheets of coarse.

A lot of what we learn is from direct experience or from chatting on forums like this.

About my earlier comment, I was more worried about the bugs than your brother. There's only a handful of "dangerous" species of scorpion out there. If you want something that's visible I'd suggest bark scorpions. A good one with a relatively mild sting is Centruroides hentzi (pics link). Centruroides vittatus has a more painful sting but is rarely considered medically significant.

The only Centruroides spp. commonly available that's considered dangerous is C. sculpturatus (A.K.A. C. exilicauda, A.K.A. "Arizona bark scorpion").

Yea I defiantly don't want him hurting the little guys, they are so beautiful to look at when they are out lol. I had to fix something in my tank yesterday and I had to take my emp out to do it and that being the day I got him he was really stressed from all the handling and moving so he tried to strike my tongs and I felt really bad afterward. The only thing I am concerned about with him is I didn't remove much moisture from the coco fiber after it expanded so its extremely wet could that cause problems? I really don't want to take him out of the tank for at least a week if a fix is needed or could I hurt him?
I could always post that in the emp forum if needed.

You could move him into a separate tank with heating equipment (such as heat mat etc)or enclosure, but he cannot stay in just some old pot. He will require the approx. right conditions.

spinifer ????

binksyboy3 wrote:

You could move him into a separate tank with heating equipment (such as heat mat etc)or enclosure, but he cannot stay in just some old pot. He will require the approx. right conditions.

Well I have him in a false bottem tank with about 6 inches of coco fiber and its sitting at 80% humidity but the coco fiber is really wet. I dont mean its dripping water when I pick it up but I didnt ring it out much when I put it in the tank.

*Connie* wrote:

Post a pic as a pandinus imperator never normally attempts to sting! its more of a run away and if cornered will use claws.

Can do Connie. I just think it was because I had to move him several times to fix some problems with the tank that I didnt think about when I put it together. All the stress just made him use it as a last resort but last night when I came home he ran straight for his burrow when I opened my bedroom door.

Connie, emps can and will sting if they feel threatened. Probably just got a little freaked out.

Anywho, if the coco fiber isn't sopping, it should be ok. Take up a handful and squeeze it -- if a TON of water comes out, then repeat with a few handfuls to discard the excess water outside the tank. If only a couple drips come out, then don't worry about it.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

Connie, emps can and will sting if they feel threatened. Probably just got a little freaked out.

Anywho, if the coco fiber isn't sopping, it should be ok. Take up a handful and squeeze it -- if a TON of water comes out, then repeat with a few handfuls to discard the excess water outside the tank. If only a couple drips come out, then don't worry about it.

Awesome thank you sir. And so you guys know I will sit the little brother down tonight when I get him and have a chat with him.

Azreal wrote:

I will sit the little brother down tonight when I get him and have a chat with him.

Good to hear!

Keep in mind, there's nothing wrong with kids owning scorpions -- a colleague of mine's daughter is keeping a U. mordax and we gave her a baby tarantula yesterday, and she's only seven. It's just important to know that you can't just reach in and grab them like you can a hamster.

yea I don't think he will try to handle him but I wanna make sure. 7 years old wow I would have never thought of that at 7 but yea its all about respect for the animal imo. I think he thinks it will kill him if it stings him...I'm not sure if that's good or bad right now.