Until recently I had four subadult emperor scorpions. Three are siblings, one is from a different bloodline (don't know which is which). The total was three males and one female.
All four would hide under the water dish together.
A few days ago, I saw one sitting at the far end of the tank for two consecutive days, as if the others had "kicked it out" of the communal burrow. I provided it its own hide and called it good.
Yesterday I took it to campus for an outreach, since it was the most easily accessible "large" scorpion in my collection. It was exposed to cold temperatures for about 20 minutes, but it was protected from wind and emps are known for being tough enough to not be bothered by such brief exposures.
It was sluggish when it got to campus, though it perked up a bit when brought in to warm temperatures. It was then found dead this afternoon. I don't recall if it seemed sluggish when I took it out of the communal tank, but it easily could have and I may not have noticed it.
So scorpions kick out their tankmate, and four-ish days later it's dead.
Has anyone else observed this? It reminds me a bit of those ants that will exile colony members infected with entomopathogenic fungi so they don't bring down the entire colony.
On the downside, I believe this may have been my only female; when my boys mature I'll have to get a few girls. (Which of course sucks because I wanted to do some captive breeding without getting more WC stock.)
