a few questions about my two new emp's...

OK so below is some of what I posted with my pics on that board but seeing as how that thread got a lot of chat and no real answers to my questions I'm posting it here.


ok so today I went to petco and finally bought me two scorps...I will be adding 6-8 more in the next month. had the viv setup for about 2 weeks now....wanted to make sure we have the temp and humidity are perfect before I being home the scorps... Ya I'm weird like that...still going to build a custom stand but that will be in a week or two.... anyway had a few things happen that I didn't expect from what all I have read on here.. I'm going to kinda list them so you guys can let me know what you think....


First as I said I bought them at petco they admit to not know anything about them.....they had 6 emps in a 5 gallon tank with 1/4" of substrate they know what they are doing wrong...but anyway.....they let me pick the two I want so first I picked the biggest one... got him in the container and sexed it... turns out from what this site has tough me it's was a male and I really wanted a female so I deside to take two.. I pick the second largest ones and it looks like a gravid female... so get it in the next container and sure enough female..... I tried to get pic for the site to double check my sexing but they just wouldn't come out clear....

now by the pics am I correct that I got 2 adults?

does one of them look gravid to your guys?

ok so I place them both in the viv and one found the burrow I started...you can see that in one of the pics above....the second one chose to walk around a bit then found the burrow.. they seamed to have a small tussle because the one that found the burrow right off had already started to burrow more... ya less then 10 minutes in the viv... from what I have read that is quick.... so after a minute the second emp (female) back out of the burrow eating a cricket... wow she was eating in under 10 minutes in the viv there again I read this not normal...

with the male already burrowing did I just do the viv right or did I just get one that started early?

with my female eating starting eating early like she did (petco had crickets running loose in the tank with all the emps.) so I figure she wasn't that hungry?

now they have been in the tank half hour to an hour yet they are both out running around checking out the tank.... boy are they active... their tank is currently 84.6 f humidity I'm not sure of the meter I got is pissing me off... but with the false bottom I'm sure it's good.....I got an email back from the digital meter and they told me about a factory flow and how to fix it..it worked





Tank is currently sitting at 83.8 and 89% so that should be good from what I have read on here... if not please correct me....

I'm really just a noob on these forums, so take everything I say in stride, but from the sounds of it, you have a good setup going.

When I got my scorp she spent the first couple hours exploring, and was eating in the next 30 minutes.

She's been happy as a clam for the last month or so. If mine is any indication, yours seem to be doing the natural order. Some burrow, some don't. Some hide, some explore.

Your temp is fine. (My tank usually sits around 78-83 [damn those canadian winters]). Your humidity also seems good, although it is a little on the high end, so if it starts dropping, you have awhile before it becomes a concern.

Again, I can only speak from personal experience, so take my advice as a generality. I'm sure more members here can be more specific about your questions.

I'm with Kerrby on this. I don't have any emps but some H. Spinifers and a few other sp. If they eat off the jump it is probably a good thing although from what I've read on this forum and other places emps will go with out eating for longer periods of time and this isn't the least bit out of the ordinary. Same with the some burrow and some don't. Also the activity is good and normal, they are just exploring their habitat. Sounds like you have some healthy and happy scorps. I didn't see the pics though so if I don't stumble across them else where I hope to see some more up here.

Also setting up your viv's and making sure that they are what the scorps need before bringing them home is the smart, considerate and responsible thing to do. I have done the same thing with all of my pets other than the ball python I have adopted, but that got sorted away the following morning.

The humidity (and hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong on this) is safer to go more humid than less. The main thing with higher humidity is making sure they are not in a swamp. Meaning that the substrate should not be puddling or wringing wet. It should be moist though and if you squeeze it in your hand you could probably pack it like a snowball. This will be a good indication for proper humidity and just as importantly will make for the perfect condition for burrowing. I have read that others will recommend using the color of the substrate as rough indicator also. If you are using Eco Earth or something similar it gets a light brown when it dries out and is a dark brown when wet.

Dracennights wrote:

OK so below is some of what I posted with my pics on that board but seeing as how that thread got a lot of chat and no real answers to my questions I'm posting it here.


ok so today I went to petco and finally bought me two scorps...I will be adding 6-8 more in the next month. had the viv setup for about 2 weeks now....wanted to make sure we have the temp and humidity are perfect before I being home the scorps... Ya I'm weird like that...still going to build a custom stand but that will be in a week or two.... anyway had a few things happen that I didn't expect from what all I have read on here.. I'm going to kinda list them so you guys can let me know what you think....


First as I said I bought them at petco they admit to not know anything about them.....they had 6 emps in a 5 gallon tank with 1/4" of substrate they know what they are doing wrong...but anyway.....they let me pick the two I want so first I picked the biggest one... got him in the container and sexed it... turns out from what this site has tough me it's was a male and I really wanted a female so I deside to take two.. I pick the second largest ones and it looks like a gravid female... so get it in the next container and sure enough female..... I tried to get pic for the site to double check my sexing but they just wouldn't come out clear....

now by the pics am I correct that I got 2 adults?

does one of them look gravid to your guys?

ok so I place them both in the viv and one found the burrow I started...you can see that in one of the pics above....the second one chose to walk around a bit then found the burrow.. they seamed to have a small tussle because the one that found the burrow right off had already started to burrow more... ya less then 10 minutes in the viv... from what I have read that is quick.... so after a minute the second emp (female) back out of the burrow eating a cricket... wow she was eating in under 10 minutes in the viv there again I read this not normal...

with the male already burrowing did I just do the viv right or did I just get one that started early?

with my female eating starting eating early like she did (petco had crickets running loose in the tank with all the emps.) so I figure she wasn't that hungry?

now they have been in the tank half hour to an hour yet they are both out running around checking out the tank.... boy are they active... their tank is currently 84.6 f humidity I'm not sure of the meter I got is pissing me off... but with the false bottom I'm sure it's good.....I got an email back from the digital meter and they told me about a factory flow and how to fix it..it worked





Tank is currently sitting at 83.8 and 89% so that should be good from what I have read on here... if not please correct me....

blood red telsons indicate theyre adults...anything lighter is sub adult =)

everything else sounds good to me...
just give them time and theyll get so comfy that you probably dont see them for a few days

Dracennights wrote:

wanted to make sure we have the temp and humidity are perfect before I being home the scorps... Ya I'm weird like that

Not weird at all, just very smart. That's exactly the type of thing enthusiasts like myself want to hear other owners saying - shows your commitment and devotion to the animal that you're keeping and shows your giving it the respect it deserves. Nice one

If it doesn't eat straight away don't panic. It will take a while for it to settle in before it feels comfortable enough to eat.

LOL my female I watched eat two crickets within 10 minutes of being placed in her new home... then again two nights ago we watched her chase after another cricket... yet the male I'm not sure if he has eaten yet.... I do what some of you may or may not like I leave cricket in the tank all the time. but then again it's a 40 gallon breeder tank with 12 crickets and 2 scorps so they have plenty of room to not be a issue.. plus I plan on putting 8-10 in the tank in the end so I want to get used to keeping crickets in the tank to keep issues between the scorps to a minimum....I do keep cricket food and water in the tank also for then.. but I don't keep more then 12-15 in the tank at a time... I have done the same thing with every small animal I have raised.... like my turtles and lizards...

watch out for cricket mating

cricket mating? never had them stay alive more then a week maybe 9 days..lol

mine never lasted longer than 30 hours...

LOL so far I have had the scorps and 12 crickets about 3 days and I just saw 2 crickets...

If you put any female crickets in, make sure you damage the ovipositor before hand otherwise they'll be laying lots & lots in your tank which is the perfect conditions for them to do so.