Question: Communal Tank Dos & Don'ts

I currently have two Emperors in separate enclosures due to them displaying a lot of aggression toward each other and even killing a third soon after I got the three of them. When I got them I don't think I had enough hides in their terrariums and that somehow led to the aggressive behavior, but I'm not sure.

I have recently been looking at a 6' x 18" x 18" terrarium that I would like to turn into a communal vivarium using the methodology shown here and here, but would first like to know what I should be doing and should not be doing.

How many Emperors could coexist in such an environment?

Do I need one hide per scorpion? If not, what is the common ratio?

Can I introduce my two formerly aggressive Emperors back into a community tank, or should I keep them separated?

Do I need a certain ratio of males to females? Because Ken the Bug Guy (where I got these three) sent me three males last time and I won't go back to him if I'm going to keep getting improper ratios.

Did I miss any important questions? I'm kind of new to this (a few months into the hobby) so any tips would be appreciated before I drop a few hundred dollars into a new set-up.

Also, if they do get into a stinging fight, will their venom kill each other or is it considered a 1/5 for everything and not just humans? Before I split my pair up they were striking at each other with their tails, but I assumed they were just constantly missing since neither of them fell over dead.

If I see fighting in a communal set-up do I just let it go and hope they settle down, or do I separate them like I did with this murderous pair?

scorpions are immune to their own venom (else they would die holding it in their bodies to sting with) so only danger is the physical damage from being stung and stress/pincher damage, second only buying 3 at a time without requesting a male/female ratio only gives you a very, very low chance of getting a mated pair. before bashing a supplier, we might need to think about the quantity of animals they have (more than the 3 you bought) and the fact you ordered 3, not 2 females/one male or any other ratio, you ordered 3 they sent you 3. since your P. imperitors were fighting then you probably dont have enough area/hides/food for them. how big is the tank you have these 3 in now? and how many hiding places do you have? you should have atleast 1 hide more than the number of scorps but if i had 3 in the same tank i would put atleast 5 hiding spots, that way if one doesnt like the spot hes in, he has a free spot to go to so he doesnt have to fight for a new one.

if you did what i did, it seemed to work

i had a male, wanting to mate and one molt ahead of the female, it only mattered because he treats her incredibly nice despite her being too young to mate, and they sleep together and i hope get along once she molts and mates. she was a total before he pinched her and she calmed down. so yeah, right now, they are sleeping next to each other in the warm corner. its cute :p

that was just my situation, and my scorpions. all have different personalities, and their hunger has alot to do with it.

from all i've been told and read up, put the female(s) in first, to let them settle, then introduce the male at the opposite side of the tank.

i have a 6' x 18" x 18" terrarium and i swear i can only fit in 2 emp scorpions. providing 2 hiding spots and a water dish of course. that alone takes up all the space, they barely have room to run around but i placed the bark and rocks in a way that the scorpions can climb over them giving them more room.

phan, do you have a pic of the enclosure?

the lycan mikey wrote:

phan, do you have a pic of the enclosure?

sorry my phones camera is not the best in the world...

looks good...
lol id keep it simple...
i wanted mine to stay simple, but i kept getting ideas...lol

its ok i just got my scorps like not even a week ago haha im just triyng to give it the best environment i can get. but i was wondering if having the 2 hides so close together would cause any problems? and the bark hide that i have, u can see all the way to the back of it as u can see in the picture. should i put substrate and fill up the hole on the other side so it feels like an actual hole? i am just leaving the hide in there for now to see if the 2 scorps would have any problems because they both sleep in the rock one but sometimes the little scorp would go under the bark hide.. dont ask me why LOL

nahh man if theyre not fighting, and actually being civilized towards each other...its perfect...

i wish my 2 males wouldnt have had world war 3 in my big tank, cause now i have to seperate tham and it puts off on me getting a leopard gecko =(
but oh well...theyre my babies and ill do anything possible for my fav pets =)

yeah its actually pretty funny that they dont fight cause the big scorp im assuming he/she is an adult cause it is very lazy and barely goes anywhere. the little one is always moving around and eating crickets. but the thing is, i read somewhere and a guy was housing 2 emp scorps in the same tank and he would just put in crickets and let them roam around until the scorps got hungry and would hunt for them. i was just wondering if this is bad for the scorps or the tank

uhhh....i have no idea...
i wait about 2 weeks in between feedings and than ill toss like 4 crickets each into the tanks and they usually stay right on the edge of their hides waiting for them to get to close...

on a very rare occasion, i can grab a cricket and actually put it in their claws and they'll eat it right away...

everybody on here says not to leave them in for more than 24 hours, so id just follow that general idea...i leave mine in for about 48 becuse my first one always eats 4-5 crickets in that time period...

i think most people say to take out the crickets because it could hurt the scorpions? im not sure..

mine havent had a problem...
but i wont leave crickets in ther longer than 2 days

Leave them in for too long and you cause the risk of springtails, mites or undue amounts of stress to the scorpion (Particularly if it is young)

I house 2 males together. The best ratio is 2 females to every 1 male. If the males that you purchased came from a already communal group, they will most likely stay communal. My 2 males came from 2 different pet stores, but since they were in a group at both places, they fought and pushed a little bit now they sleep on each other and are always next to each other.

really??
mine just fought for about 15 minutes before i got worried and pulled the bigger one out and dropped him in my old 10 gallon...

i just didnt want one killing the other...

Ehhhh if they are about the same size it should be ok. I mean it may look horrible but you never know. I had the same problem with my first one. I sold him and bought the 2 i have now and they are best friends. The only times they have itty bitty fights is when one decides to stay in a different hide for the day, and when he comes wandering over to where the other one is. And normally my bigger one goes and tells him whos boss and then its solved. only takes about 10 seconds and there good to go.

hmm...i might try again and just let em go for an hour an see what happens...

Trust me, you will be able to tell whether its fighting, rather than a little scuff over territorial issues.

idk dude...the only thing that tripped me out, was the multiple tail strikes flying from both sides...
i know the venom isnt going to hurt one another being the same species, i just really like them...
im not really a fan of conventional animals...an i just dont want anything to happen to them...
that and the guy at the pet store has a tendency of exaggerating what he gets in...
hes supposed to have 4 brand new emps in and he hasnt had them yet...an that was like 3 weeks ago...
so getting another might be a minute...
the only upside to that dude is he said to bring him scorpion requests by scientific name and he can get me whatever i want...
but we'll see when i ask him if he can get me an LQ and a B. Jacksoni at the same time

if you dont have any females, that might be why they dont fight.

and dont do LQ or B jacksoni yet.

try some more species that are similar, but less dangerous (flat rocks, desert hairies). dont go straight to buthids from emps.

......ok..either its too early for my eyes to be open or im reading that completely wrong dude.

"if you dont have any females, that might be why they dont fight."

1st off, theres no female...
2nd, they do fight without the female...

that one statement has me completely confused...

lol i dont care if they're dangerous or not....
if i get either of those two species, it'll be completely for my viewing pleasure...
i know for one sure thing, if i get either, im not playing with either of them like i do my emps.

Yes but it is just to build up your experience before you decide to go for one.

Get an intermediate species first. It doesn't matter whether you will only be looking at them, you need to build your knowledge further before you are ready.

You may be rolling your eyes at this, but trust me, it is the best thing to do.

lol nahh i only roll my eyes at truly ridiculous statements...

and that very true statement doesnt appear to fall into that category...

i guess it could wait...
besides i hear that those two sp. are a little more expensive, which doesnt matter, but yeah you're right...i should have more experience