My emp and asian forest setup

The setup has an emperor scorpion and a Heterometrus petersii in it.
The substrate is coco fiber mixed with peat moss which I find better than coco fiber alone.
It's a 10 gallon tank with an ivy plant and pothos plant both in small pots.

cool setup , i like it , a little hint , if you boil your water before spaying , you want get those calc stains on the glass/ bye bye /michael

thanks
Yeah, I usually use filtered water but I ran out. I plan on cleaning the inside today.

awesome...ive been arguing with myself about whether or not i wanna use real plants...
but yours is pretty awesome

the lycan mikey wrote:

awesome...ive been arguing with myself about whether or not i wanna use real plants...
but yours is pretty awesome

hey thanks man
You should definitely try it.
They only cost me $2.49 each haha
Just leave them in their pots. It's as easy as that
Remembering your setup, you could easily place one next to the caves and let the vine loom over the entrance, that'd be sweet.

i might try that...
my mom has a bunch of vines that she uses to decorate countertops and other bare places, so i might take a clipping and see if it will take root in a pot and put it over either the one lone cave or see if i can get it to cover over the two side by side cave =)

That sounds good to me

I posted these on the other form, but here are a few more pics guys:

My emperor scorpion as he's bathing under the heat lamp and giving me awesome poses:






My H. petersii drinking water again! Luckily I was there to capture it

that looks awsome! it looks like hes in the real jungle lol, great setup. with real plants what kind are good for use? and how do i plant them? just put them in the soil coco fiber?

loki13 wrote:

that looks awsome! it looks like hes in the real jungle lol, great setup. with real plants what kind are good for use? and how do i plant them? just put them in the soil coco fiber?

thanks

Well, I have used pothos plants and they seem to work great in a tropical setup. I am trying out the ivy plant as you can see from the pictures and so far it's still alive and doing well. Right now I have both plants in the plastic pots they came in and they seem to do fine that way. All I do is buy the plants and bury them with their pots into the substrate. I think it's easier to water and move them around when they're potted as well. The substrate in the pots gives them the nutrients they need to thrive, but I have found that one of the vines from my pothos plants has taken root in the coco fiber/peat moss substrate. I may experiment with the pothos plants later on by taking it out of its pot and planting it into the substrate to see if it'll survive.

the pothos can grow in straight water...if im correct
- kind of off subject -
my mom has one growing in her kitchen window in just a vase of water and she wanted to put some of those glass gem things they sell in the aquarium section of stores in so she can have a betta swim around in it...

the lycan mikey wrote:

the pothos can grow in straight water...if im correct
- kind of off subject -
my mom has one growing in her kitchen window in just a vase of water and she wanted to put some of those glass gem things they sell in the aquarium section of stores in so she can have a betta swim around in it...

Yup, they can grow straight in water, which is why I think they'll do fine in the substrate. Odd thing though is that I had a plant in a pot outside of my house which was very lush and large, but when my parents kept watering it until it overflowed, it slowly died.

New Pics of the two together:



P. imperator:



H. petersii:

Awesome! Just out of interest, have you seen ANY sort of fighting behaviour as of yet or are they happy bunnies?

The H. petersii is the docile one. It's active and explores often, but is not aggressive. The emperor scorpion, however, sometimes judders when the H. petersii is near. However, I think it's a territory thing and nothing serious because it doesn't actually fight with the H. petersii. I think it only tells it to go somewhere else like "This is my burrow under the log" type of thing because honestly, he did dig the burrow by himself
The emperor scorpion is also pretty active and will venture out of his burrow, but stays near it. They both have separate burrows, by the way. The H. petersii has dug himself a burrow in a corner behind the pothos plant and retreats back there after exploring. She's the one that keeps drinking, too. I saw her drink again just yesterday. I think that's because she's also gravid (I saw her mate twice in a few hours).

A little modest advice to other setups:

I have found that if you allow them to dig their own burrows or provide them with naturalistic burrows that are camouflaged and close to the substrate (meaning a very small opening to crawl in), you will get more activity out of them. I completely ditched the half-hides and coconut shells because my scorpions often appeared sluggish and lethargic.
I have also found that there is a better substrate than just coco fiber. I mixed peat moss from Home Depot with coco fiber and have found that the final substrate has a higher density and retains water a lot better. It compacts very well and holds burrows like a charm. Having said this, if you wish to have an active scorpion, use a heat lamp w/ a heat bulb for heating. The problem with heat pads is that they will heat from the side and that will only make your scorpion huddle next to it. Give it a constant heat source from above that covers a lot of ground and you'll get to see them walk around and be active because it's nice and cozy everywhere. Don't overdue the heating though. This is why I just use a 5.5'' clamp lamp with a 75W bulb. It seems to be working as the glass feels warm to the touch and the air in the enclosure is warm too.

I am no expert, so I am also looking for advice and constructive criticism, but this has worked so far for me and has produced great results- from the growth of plants to the desired level of scorpion activity and specific behaviors.

whats the difference between the emp and the H petersii?

the only way i could tell them apart is that the petersii has smoother claws...

Yeah, the easiest way to tell is the palps. Another visible difference is the carapace. The spacing of the eyes can be seen too. You can also look at the granulation patterns. And one last difference among others I'm sure, is the color of the telson. The telson is a dark blackish color.

and theyre compatible to mate with emperors?
this is assuming thats a male and female in your tank?

I'm not sure if they're compatible. Something to do with the shape of the genital operculum and the spermatophore. Many hobbyists don't like the idea of breeding different species together due to scorpion identification already being difficult. But if I happen to get a brood, I'd keep it all to myself anyways lol

lol...
that would be an interesting mix...
i wonder what features would be dominant in the babies?

the lycan mikey wrote:

whats the difference between the emp and the H petersii?

the only way i could tell them apart is that the petersii has smoother claws...

You are right, much of the manus of the H. petersii is smooth. Other differences are that the manus of the H. petersii may be reddish brown, unlike P. imperator, which has black pedipalps. The telson of the H. petersii is elongate and the vesicle is at least as long as the aculeus. There is also a size difference between the to species: H. petersii is usually smaller than P. imperator, measuring 9-12,5 cm (excluding the pedipalps) and the P. imperator may exceed 15 cm, reaching a length of almost 25 cm. I hope this helped.

Solrac1993 wrote:

the lycan mikey wrote:

whats the difference between the emp and the H petersii?

the only way i could tell them apart is that the petersii has smoother claws...

You are right, much of the manus of the H. petersii is smooth. Other differences are that the manus of the H. petersii may be reddish brown, unlike P. imperator, which has black pedipalps. The telson of the H. petersii is elongate and the vesicle is at least as long as the aculeus. There is also a size difference between the to species: H. petersii is usually smaller than P. imperator, measuring 9-12,5 cm (excluding the pedipalps) and the P. imperator may exceed 15 cm, reaching a length of almost 25 cm. I hope this helped.

awesome...thanks for the info and the in depth differences =)

I can't say I'm an advocate for mixed-species setups unless they are reputedly co-habitable like Lychas mucronatus and Mesobuthus martensii.

Here, we have two Scorpionids that do not share ecological niches withing their respective ranges.

It does make for very interesting behavioral observation of inter-species interaction...

But I predict the emperor may one day just decide to throw down the gauntlet at it's unwelcome intruder who thinks nothing of the emp other than a grumpy fellow scorp.

I'd keep a vigil.vBut in anycase, I hope all goes well.

Do take notes on a regularly basis of anything out of the ordinary... this out-of-the-box experimental simulation has potential to reveal insights to scorpion behavior, that would not occur otherwise

Best regards, cheers
LX