Newbie Questions ;P Heat Lamp/Tank Size/Communal?

Okay so.. Excuse me, i feel like this going to be a little long-winded, so bear with me.

Early in the year, I decided I was going to get an Emperor Scorpion. It was going to be my first one, seemed like the logical choice. I called the local non-chain store that carries them, and they explained they'd been added to the endangered species list, but they had a single one in stock. I went in to buy it the next day, and as I was walking into the store... someone was walking out with my to-be-emperor.

I was a little frustrated, considered buying a redclaw they had in stock instead and eventually decided to wait it out. I REALLY wanted an emperor. 6 months passed with no new ones coming in, was looking around other places still no luck on finding an emperor.

Finally decided I was just gonna go with an Asian Forest Scorpion instead. It was a little bit of a last minute decision in comparison, petsmart up the street had had the same one in stock for almost two months, and I felt terrible every time I'd go in and seeing them curled up under the tiny little hide that had been provided with half their body stuck under the bright light. So I said to hell with it, bought them, and brought them home.

Problem is, I hadn't done much reading on Asian Forest Scorpions, and my tank temp is a little low. I have a heating pad that's doing the trick.. kind of.. but she stays on the side of the cage tucked into the corner by the heating pad rather than ever taking shelter in her hides. Granted, I've only had her about 24 hours and maybe she's still just stressed out, but I digress. I want to get her a heating lamp. Problem is where I have her. Is it alright for me to put an infrared heat lamp outside the cage shining through the glass rather than the top of the cage? I took a picture so you can see why I can't exactly put it above her cage.



Next two questions..

She's fairly small. About 2 and half inches not including her tail. I have her in a ten gallon tank with three crickets. I haven't seen her eat, though I'm assuming this is because she just got moved in to this tank. However, would just like to get some verification that a ten gallon tank is not to big for her.




I've read that they can be a communal species.. if I were to introduce another Scorpion in to her tank.. are there any special precautions I should take prior? Is it better to house her with the same gender? Anything else I should be concerned about?

Hello,

what temperature is your scorpion being kept at? Obviously, with the scorpion spending a lot of time next to the heat source it could be too cold in its enclosure. However, many of my scorpions will do this even when the temperature is optimal in the whole enclosure. Anyway, stick a thermometer in and see what it is at. High 20c's to low 30c's is what you want to be aiming for in the half of the enclosure closest to the heat source.

You should be able to achieve the correct temperature if you are using a large enough mat and your ambient room temperature isn't too cold. You can boost the temperature a little by adding insulation/reflective foil behind the mat.

I'm not sure how effective an IR bulb will be through glass. I've only ever used them above screened lids. You could test the effectiveness with a normal household incandescent bulb during the day, so as not to stress the scorpion. If it works then you could invest in an IR bulb. Also, there is nothing wrong with using a 'normal' bulb to provide additional heat during the day. A drop in temp. to the mid 20c's at night is fine and provides a day/night cycle for your scorpion. Don't forget to at the very least have a dimmer switch on the lamp, or even better a thermostat. You don't want to end up cooking your scorpion.

The enclosure is fine size wise. I would, however, think about increasing the depth of the substrate by several inches so that your scorpion can create burrows.

If your scorpion hasn't consumed a food item overnight you should remove it a try again several days/a week later.

Many Heterometrus sp. will cohabit without problems. If you do decide to keep 2 or more together, keep an eye out for any aggressive behaviour, provide plenty of hides and make sure they are well fed. I'd suggest getting everything spot on for your first scorpion before adding anymore.

Thanks for your advice, Callum. By the time you had replied, I had already fixed the heat source problem. Moved the tank and purchased a heat lamp that is now above the cage.

My scorpion finally ate something, so I decided I would add my second.

Added several more inches of Substrate, and removed the old stuff entirely so there would be no territorial issues.. or so I thought? I have no Idea if this is normal behavior.. they've been in the tank for a while, and I browsed through the forum for a bit to see what I could find, and I'm afraid they might be mating?  o_o;

I asked the folks at the store to take second scorpion out so i could sex and i was 100% sure they were female as well, but now I have my doubts simply because I don't know exactly what they're doing. But hopefully this image will help. The scorpion closest to the outside is old one, the one inside is new. They were originally on opposite sides and the new scorpion kept doing a weird tail wag type thing, though not actually striking at my original girl. Sorry my camera is so shoddy.

Er.. I retract my fears. new one finally backed off and decided to do a belly dance against the side of the glass and was definitely able to confirm for female.

Sorry about that.