emp behavior observations (also seeking advice)

I was hoping to receive some advice concerning the set up of my scorpion's habitat after some observations I've made about his behavior. First I should explain that I brought him home last Monday and was happy to see that he appeared hardly stressed from the move (He caught and ate 2 crickets, drank and splashed around in his water dish, and began a burrow under his hide log within the first 48 hours). Before bringing him home I filled a 10 gallon tank with 1.5 inches of moist coco fiber substrate, attached the recommend size heating pad to the side of the tank, and placed a hide (parallel and 4 inches away from the heat pad), water dish (on the opposite side of the tank from the heat pad), and thermometer in the tank. After reading many of the posts on this forum I realized that 1.5 inches of substrate was not going to be sufficient and needed to add more. By this point my emp had already started making a shallow burrow underneath the log and while he was at the other end of the tank I made the decision to add several more inches of substrate to the tank (without dumping it on him obviously). In doing so I disturbed his original borrow. Since the addition of substrate he seemed to start burrowing again until two days ago when I noticed that he PUSHED the log away from the glass wall that I placed one end against. He has moved one corner of the log a total of 4 inches! I'm not sure if this is common behavior, but I was pretty impressed. Now I've noticed that he is spending the entire day outside the log and against the wall with the heat pad. I'm in Colorado and although our winter is cold and very dry I have maintained the tank temperature between 77-80 degrees and keep the substrate moist at all times.

So now some questions,

1. does it seem he prefers to stay close to the heat pad rather than under his log because the tank temp is on the low end for him?

2. if so, should I invest in a heat lamp as well and what bulbs are recommended?

3. by moving the log is he trying to move his burrow closer to a source of heat and should I disturb his log again and move it so one end is against the wall with the heat pad?

4. Has anyone else known their scorpions to move objects in their tanks?

Another interesting thing I've witnessed my scorpion do is place the end of telson against his water dish and use his metasoma to push the rest of his body up the corner of the tank. He balances like this while scuttling for a while.

My emp sometimes stays by the heat pad and sometimes stays in her hide when the temperature is kept at a constant 25 - 30 celcius.
So i guess sometimes they just prefer it or might need the heat if they are cold or coming up to a molt or gravid or something.

I don't use heat lamps as i do not need them but some people find it difficult to maintain the temperatures on their mats and therefore like to get lamps so i cannot recommend any.

Emperors have commonly been known to push around objects in their enclosure so its nothing to worry about really. He might be trying to get to the heat or might be making it easier for him to burrow or something

I am pretty new at keeping emps myself but through research I feel confident in answering your questions...

Keeping the tank temp between 77-80 degrees should be fine. That is the temp my tank is at and it doesn't seem to be a problem.

If you do decide to get a lamp I would recommend getting a ceramic bulb. I like them because they last forever (so you don't have to buy new ones all the time) and because they are a pretty efficient heat source. They are a little bit more expensive than a red bulb but worth it.

From everything I have read, emps like to move things around in thier enclosures. Most likely this means that your emp is happy and settling in. Don't go moving everything back around the way you like it, it's the emps home. Either way it's completely normal behavior. :HeathJoker:

As has been stated, tank relocations are more or less normal.

Additionally, Connie noticed her scorps smushing themselves against the heatmat even when the ambient temperature was quite warm -- think of it as a cat sleeping on top of the heat vent even if the room is warm.