Emperor Newbie

So I'm new to this hobby and currently have two Emperor Scorpions. I've had them for about 2 days. I believe I have a male and a female. They're in a 10g tank with Eco-Earth substrate. The Eco-Earth is fairly dry near the top but moisture on the bottom of the tank suggests it is somewhat damp. I squeezed the water out of it as I was moving it from the bucket to the tank. Each one has a couple logs of dried Grapevine from my yard. I use it for my fish tanks so I assumed it would be safe.

 I divided the tank since the guy I got them from said the female would probably eat the male. But from my reading online it seems that Emps are fairly social as far as scorpions go. Should I keep the tank divided? I think the male got over to the female's side anyway. I noticed he dug a burrow under the divider (there's only about an inch space between the bottom pane of glass and the divider) and he got over to the females side. I think either he or the female filled in his hole because before I went to work he was digging and when I got back they were both on one side of the tank and there wasn't a hole. I picked him up and put him back on his side but I can no longer see him so I'm assuming he went back over to the female's side and is hiding in her burrow with her. He has yet to dig one for himself.

They both have a small water bowl with some natural sea sponge in it. Again the guy I got them from suggested I put the sponge in it but from some reading online it looks like most people don't do this. How do you guys keep your Emps hydrated?

Lastly, feeding. I'm not sure when my guys last ate. I bought 10 large crickets (what they were eating before I got them) and am keeping them in a separate container. I put in four this morning. This evening I noticed two or three of the four are still hopping around. Can't seem to catch them though. They're fast little buggers. How often should I feed and how much should I feed each time?

Cheers!

Remove the sponge and put in some clean water. Most pet store employees don't know what they're talking about, but some do. In this case, ignore the person. You can remove the divider for sure.Make sure everything you put in the tank that came from outside was sanitized and cleaned properly.Try not to leave feeders or the remains of feeders because if the scorpions molt, crickets have been known to attack the helpless scorpion. If you don't remove the remains or a cleaner crew (isopods) is not present, mites and mold could gain a foothold. Just feed them a cricket weekly. They can go months without eating and often do just that.

Thanks! I'll do that. Should I sink the water bowl into the substrate up to the rim?

I'll try to grab the remaining cricket and take it out.

How many Emps do you think would comfortably fit in a 10g tank? Also, is it best to have one male and multiple females or does m:f ratio not really matter?

When I originally had a water bowl, I didn't sink it in into a couple moths later. Once I sank it in, I saw him drink.  It's up to you really. You could probably do four in a 10 gallon. The normal ratio is 1:2, but since you would probably only have four, I would do 1:3.

Okay. I'll probably just sink it in then. Do scorpions not need sponges to sit on while they drink? Also, how large is the water bowl supposed to be? Mine are small and circular. Not big enough for a scorpion to fit in all the way.

Thanks! Once I upgrade would you suggest I fixed the ratio to fit 1:2?

Scorpions do not need sponges. How do you think they drink in the wild?  Make sure the water doesn't have chlorine or other harmful stuff. You can buy water purifier for reptiles that works fine or you could use bottled water. Emperor scorpions have actually been known to go swimming, so a larger water dish would be great. 
You don't have to fix the ratio, because they will breed and then around ten months later there will be babies, so a colony will start to form.  How did you sex them?

I'm not sure how these guys would drink in the wild lol. I never considered it. I used Reverse Osmosis water.
I sex them by the pectines.

Ok. If you are unsure about the gender, feel free to post pictures and see if we can help.

Will do! I'll post pictures of my set up once I get through the moderation period.

How large are your scorpions?  A 10 gallon tank can house two adult Emperors.  For three or more adults, you'll want to go with a larger enclosure.  If your scorpions are juveniles, a 10 gallon tank can house several.

Since your Emps seem to get along together, it should be safe to remove the divider (doesn't sound like it was very effective anyway).  As a rule of thumb, your water dish should be large enough for your Emperor to fit its body into.  A layer of gravel can be placed in the bottom of the dish to make it shallow enough that juveniles can climb out.  For adults, the gravel is usually not needed.  Avoid using sponges in your water dish because they harbor bacteria.

I'd estimate they are about two and a half inches long. I'm not sure how to age them yet. I was told they were near adults.

Okay. I'll try to get a larger dish then.

Scorpions are measured from the chelicerae (mouth) to the telson (stinger).  Adult emperors can be distinguished from juveniles by the color of the telson.  Adults will have a reddish brown telson, while younger individuals will have a white or cream colored telson.  Typically, the whiter the telson, the younger the scorpion.  We can confirm if you have adults or subadults when you get some pictures up.

Thanks. My male has a fairly red telson while the females is more yellowish.

The male from that sounds full grown and the female if she's the same size is likely 1 molt away from full grown. Hoe chubby is she? Can you see lots of the grey (skin) between her back plates?

The female is slightly bigger than the male. A lot chubbier. Yes, there is a good amount of grey skin on her sides.

That would indicate that she may be approaching a molt. Get those pictures going!!! But really if you keep the temps and humidity in the 80's for both she will molt just fine. And once she hardens up look for a semaphore. It looks like THIS

Okay. My house stays in the high 70s so I'll probably have to put a heater on the side of the tank. Also, to get the humidity up I was planning on spraying the tank with RO water. The screen kid is 90 percent covered with tape. Sound like a good or bad idea to you?
What's a semaphore exactly?

High 70's is good but you'll want to heat with an IR bulb or mat in the cooler months.spraying with RO is exactly what I do. sometimes I'll even just dump a cup or 2 of water into a corner to moisten the eco earth. If you pick up and handful and squeeze it tight you should get water leaking out of your hand. Maintain that and you'll be great.

A spermatophore (sorry I thought my computer knew how to spell it) is how the male knocks up the female. He dances with her and plants it then pulls her over it and she takes it into her genital opening and then 9-18 months later... babies.

Awesome! Thank you. I'll be on the look out for the spermatophore. I almost picked up a gravid female from someone who was temporarily caring for her but decided it would be best to just let my pair do their thing instead of presenting a new girl. 

Quick question on feeding. How many crickets do you guys feed and how often? I've been feeding four or five once a week. The first time I fed they only ate one and then I took out the rest. I fed again a few days later and they ate all five overnight.

Some pictures of my two scorps.
Male:


Female:

Nice, and the setup looks good!

However, please please please take the sponge out of the water dish if you have not already done so, the scorpion is perfectly capable of drinking standing water (indeed, they'll often submerge themselves for extended periods!) and sponges serve as a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty stuff. (Heck, watch what happens if you pour some hydrogen peroxide on it.)

As for feeding, I typically feed 2-3 large crickets every 10-14 days; half the time the emp doesn't even eat that. Every 3 weeks or so I'll offer him a super-worm (AKA, king mealworms) just to vary his diet.

Agreed with above. Take that sponge out. Don't listen to PetsMart or Petco or any of the major corporations. For some reason they think scorps drink like crickets. that sponge will do more harm than good.

On feeding.... 1 or 2 crickets per week will suffice, if even that many, as juveniles. Remove anything they don't eat after a day or two. They're not as opportunistic feeders as other species. Some species will take out anything in their enclosure that moves. Emps are not like this. Too many crickets will more just stress them out and possibly eat their exoskeleton. Crickets are evil.

Thanks. No worries, I took the sponge outa long time ago.

Okay, so a couple crickets each. Do they eat other things like wax worms?

Most definitely but those kinds of things should be more like treats or every now and then kinds of foods. They're more fatty, if I remember correctly. Roaches are great, too. Just stay away from the Madagascar hissers as they can climb glass. I recommend B. dubia or B. lateralis. Lateralis have better nutrients and don't get as big as dubia. Also, if you're breeding your own colony (recommended to save money) they procreate faster and smell different than dubia, which can be quite overbearing.

Okay. I know wax worms are pretty fatty and great for malnourished creatures. What about meal worms and red worms? I'm asking because with my other pets I feed many different things because it seems to be healthier.
Nutrition wise are roaches better than crickets?