New to the world of Exotics, first time Emp. owner

Howdy! So I've been looking in to getting into the world of exotic pets, and I found that an Emperor Scorpion would be perfect! I purchased a 4 1/2 gallon tank below is a picture of the setup. I also have a heating mat underneath the tank where her(?) hide is. The substrate is Eco Earth coconut fiber.

And here is Cupcake eating a cricket in her(?) water dish.


Basically I'd love feedback on the setup. What kind of a feeding schedule as I was told to feed her one cricket every other day. Should I feed her just the one, or continue feeding until she no longer wants to eat? The water I change daily to make sure it's fresh, I mist every morning as well.

Feedback and information, I'm glad I found you all, and I look forward to learning even more about them!

Welcome to the addiction!
Your enclosure looks good but definitely remove the heat mat from underneath as scorpions burrow to get away from heat so rather stick it to the side or better, use an infrared bulb. You can also add some more substrate so it can burrow a bit.
Feeding once a week is good.

Welcome to SF!

shadowfoot wrote:

remove the heat mat from underneath as scorpions burrow to get away from heat so rather stick it to the side or better, use an infrared bulb.

+1

I'll be removing the heating mat from the bottom, and attaching it to the side. The heating bulbs aren't really an option for me >.<

I was thinking about a way to keep the heat/humidity in the enclosure would be to put plastic wrap over 3/4 of the screen top. Would anyone suggest for or against this?

I think it will work, but it's probably not the most efficient or practical solution. You can try to cut some thin styrofoam tiles to fit exactly on the mesh screen. I have done this myself and wrapped them tightly in aluminiumfoil for extra insulation. It works really well and allows one to regulate temperature and humidity if needed. You can make the tiles small or large, smaller is more work, but allows for more accurate regulation.



This what i've made for my 24x18x18(60x45x45)terrarium.

dakuan wrote:

I think it will work, but it's probably not the most efficient or practical solution. You can try to cut some thin styrofoam tiles to fit exactly on the mesh screen. I have done this myself and wrapped them tightly in aluminiumfoil for extra insulation. It works really well and allows one to regulate temperature and humidity if needed. You can make the tiles small or large, smaller is more work, but allows for more accurate regulation.



This what i've made for my 24x18x18(60x45x45)terrarium.

That's a great idea! I will be doing that once I pick up some foam and I get home after work. Do you have any other suggestions for trying to improve the enclosure?

Might be worth it to check out Shebeen's [HOW TO] False bottom Emperor Enclosure with pool

Not sure if I'd have the height to make a false bottom.

Probably not with that small of a setup (which is fine for one scorp of that size, btw). Misting every morning is good, but it may not get all the humidity you need, depending on just how much you mist. It may a good idea to pour a bit of water in the substrate once per week-ish. Make sure the substrate is moist, but not pooling or super damp. I would recommend doing Dakuan's idea with the top of your enclosure, or, even easier but not quite as insulating, just pick up a roll of foil insulation tape from a hardware store and line the inside of the lid with that. Again, it's not going to retain as much humidity, but it definitely does the trick. Just remember to leave some open space so that the enclosure can breathe.

I agree with the thing on putting the heat mat on the side, but make sure it doesn't cover anything below the substrate line, though, because that could also heat up the substrate itself and cause similar problems to having it on the bottom.

Your setup looks good. If you want, you can add bits of wood and plants (fake or real) for Cupcake to climb on, but it's not a requirement by any means. Just adds more stuff to explore and a more pleasing to the eye kind of setup.

Good luck! I hope he/she works out for you.  Btw... if you post pictures of the scorp's underside where we can see those pectines, we can tell you if it's male or female.

TheKevil wrote:

Probably not with that small of a setup (which is fine for one scorp of that size, btw). Misting every morning is good, but it may not get all the humidity you need, depending on just how much you mist. It may a good idea to pour a bit of water in the substrate once per week-ish. Make sure the substrate is moist, but not pooling or super damp. I would recommend doing Dakuan's idea with the top of your enclosure, or, even easier but not quite as insulating, just pick up a roll of foil insulation tape from a hardware store and line the inside of the lid with that. Again, it's not going to retain as much humidity, but it definitely does the trick. Just remember to leave some open space so that the enclosure can breathe.

I agree with the thing on putting the heat mat on the side, but make sure it doesn't cover anything below the substrate line, though, because that could also heat up the substrate itself and cause similar problems to having it on the bottom.

Your setup looks good. If you want, you can add bits of wood and plants (fake or real) for Cupcake to climb on, but it's not a requirement by any means. Just adds more stuff to explore and a more pleasing to the eye kind of setup.

Good luck! I hope he/she works out for you.  Btw... if you post pictures of the scorp's underside where we can see those pectines, we can tell you if it's male or female.

Thank you very much sir! I appreciate the advice! Just as you asked I was presented with a very clear opportunity to take a picture.

And I also went with the tile idea:

Good job on the tile.

Cupcake looks to be male to me. Big ol' teeth on those pectines. I am not the best at sexing scorps, though.

Great looking tank! I'm also quite new to scorpions and your tank looks a heck of a lot better than mine!
 Although the wood isn't necessary, I've noticed my two climb on the wood I have in their tank quite regularly when they're out. 
And comparing your picture with my male and female I also agree that Cupcake is a male.

Update on my enclosure:


Added pothos to the space, the insulation works wonders, and it seems to be stabilizing between 28.5-29C which is 83-84. Heating pad is moved on to the side of the tank. Looking to rename him as cupcake doesn't really fit a male...

Bacon Cupcake. Lol.

Now is it only IR light that doesn't bother them as much? Or is there another kind of light that I can turn on so I can actually watch him in his enclosure and the light won't stress him out.

As far as I know just IR/red lighting. Now, as long as your lighting isn't UV it isn't gonna stress him out horribly to the point of being unhealthy or death or anything. People use heat lamps with their scorps all the time. IR is just better. Personally, I use heat tape and no lighting at all except ambient light. When I want to check on my scorps I use a red flashlight if the ambient lighting isn't enough.

Renamed him to Nero

Lol. Good name. I've got his step dad over here.

There is Nero contemplating the meaning of life.

Haha. Or he's wishing he had his lyre to play while he watches his tank burn.

I don't know about you guys but i think it is a female. Since the space between the two sets of pectines are wide for where it receives the spermatophore. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I just started scorpion keeping

here is the link :

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrTcYGtE3tSWkcAPBqJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIybWpvM2hyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZANlOTJkMjU3ZmE2NjNkMWMxZjY4NjU5MTE2ZGY1ZmZjNARncG9zAzIEaXQDYmluZw--?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dpectines%2Bemperor%2Bscorpion%26fr%3Dmcafee%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D2&w=720&h=540&imgurl=lunarfish.com%2Fscrapple%2FSCORPIONS%2FSexingEmperorScorpions.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scorpion-forum.com%2Ft3391-my-first-scorpion&size=66.4KB&name=Registration+date%3A+2008-12-21&p=pectines+emperor+scorpion&oid=e92d257fa663d1c1f68659116df5ffc4&fr2=&fr=mcafee&tt=Registration+date%3A+2008-12-21&b=0&ni=112&no=2&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11lv80iiv&sigb=13k7ec0n7&sigi=11r7im5be&.crumb=naYkatulQGL&fr=mcafee

Nice looking scorp and setup!

I had the issues keeping the RH high in my 10 gallon enclosure. Tried the foil / wrap solution for a bit but started getting fungus. I read on the forum a "how to" link for a gravel reservoir in the bottom of the enclosure that has worked very well for my needs. I added about 2" of gravel to bottom of my tank with a fill tube off to the side. Cover the gravel with window screen material (Home Depot or Lowes has this) and add your substrate. I added enough distilled water to just reach the substrate; the moisture will work its way up through the substrate and keep things nice and humid. As mentioned by others, the heat mat, if used, is placed on the side of the tank. I also have a 50W IR bulb.