My first scorpion

Baking... good idea lol. What temperature and how long?
And that tank looks awesome.

We didn't realize how expensive this would be.. we can't afford to buy anything else right now (just got a 5 gallon tank, a turtle hide thing (best I could find.. I feel bad because it's too heavy for her but I helped her move it until she seemed satisfied), a clamp lamp, water dish, sponges, Desert Blend, and crickets). but I want her to be as happy and content as possible.

Oh and to measure temperate I just stick my hand in there... I think I'm fairly good with this because I make bread the same way and I always activate the yeast on the first try without killing it.

thanx

just bake for about half hour on 200, im sure shes happy enough as long as temp and humidity is good, that care sheet says 80-90 for temp but it should be more like 70-83,

sponges?

anything will do for a hide cut up a plastic container and bury it a bit covering it in substrate so its dark

The sponges are for water (mostly for crickets because from what I read scorpions get most of their water from food) and to help maintain humidity.

Alright, I think her cage is a bit hot so I turned off the light for now.

people recomend you dont use sponges as they are breeding grounds for bacteria, its more desert scorpions that are adapted to get the water they need from there food but most people still provide them with a water dish, emps deffinatly need a water dish they tend to drink quite often and like to lay/submerge themsevles in it too so should be big enough for them to do so

I go for 2 -3 times a week for scorplings and started out feeding my adults that way but after a couple of months they cut back themselves. Now they eat sometimes 2x a week sometimes 1x a week. As said before I don't have an emp but have read on hear over and over and it may even be in some of the people signatures, lol, emps are known to go off food for a month or more at time for no reason at all and it is perfectly normal. She probably was pretty stressed in the pet store, I have not seen one in a pet store with near enough substrate or sometimes even a hide. So I could see eating a lot less while in those conditions. It'd probably be good to give her as much as she wants to eat and then figure out how much she eats in a sitting and start feeding her that much 1 or 2x a week. That would be my suggestion. If they keep eating at 3-4 times a week, it should be fine just watch your scorps size so it doesn't get fat. If it's not fat it should be fine eating that much too. That's my 2 cents anyways, hope this helps

Oh my god I asked the girl at the pet store if the sponges would grow mold or bacteria and she said no. -_- Bah, they misslead me so much.
My scorpion can still drink and get the water she needs from the sponges, right?
If not I'm going to freak out because that was two days with almost no water. D:

iitomodachi1 wrote:

I go for 2 -3 times a week for scorplings and started out feeding my adults that way but after a couple of months they cut back themselves. Now they eat sometimes 2x a week sometimes 1x a week. As said before I don't have an emp but have read on hear over and over and it may even be in some of the people signatures, lol, emps are known to go off food for a month or more at time for no reason at all and it is perfectly normal. She probably was pretty stressed in the pet store, I have not seen one in a pet store with near enough substrate or sometimes even a hide. So I could see eating a lot less while in those conditions. It'd probably be good to give her as much as she wants to eat and then figure out how much she eats in a sitting and start feeding her that much 1 or 2x a week. That would be my suggestion. If they keep eating at 3-4 times a week, it should be fine just watch your scorps size so it doesn't get fat. If it's not fat it should be fine eating that much too. That's my 2 cents anyways, hope this helps

Thanks
And yes her tank was super small, almost no substrate, and no place to hide. She also seemed very ticked off with the employees... yet she is INSANELY docile I can't believe how mad she was there... She hasn't gotten ticked at me even once she's so sweet.

I don't know for sure whether or not she's pregnant. They said she was but they told me a lot of missleading things... and honestly they probably heard me talking about how cute baby spiders were and saying I'd want to breed tarantulas if I ever got one. So they might've just said she was pregnant to give me more incentive to buy her (though they didn't need to... I right when I saw my husband holding her).
Like I said, she is slightly chubby, but after seeing more pictures of other female scorpions she seems thinner.

generally ive found pet store dont have a clue we had the same problems when we got our first emp, was told it didnt need heat at all and it would be fine in the box they sold it to us in (which had like a cm of substrate in it!) also told us if we use a heat matt to put it underneath which is a huge no no

its far safer to listen to the people on here they know from experience and that is how we learnt everything

def get a water dish in asap use anything for now bottle lid or jar lid anything... emps drink quite a lot

231bex wrote:

generally ive found pet store dont have a clue we had the same problems when we got our first emp, was told it didnt need heat at all and it would be fine in the box they sold it to us in (which had like a cm of substrate in it!) also told us if we use a heat matt to put it underneath which is a huge no no

its far safer to listen to the people on here they know from experience and that is how we learnt everything

def get a water dish in asap use anything for now bottle lid or jar lid anything... emps drink quite a lot

yeah its very rarely you find a pet shop owner who knows what there chatting about, not only with scorps but with anything lizards , snakes etc.......... i use jar lids with most of my scorps, why pay £5 for water dish when you can use anything. or maybe im as tight as a camels arse in a sandstorm

231bex wrote:

generally ive found pet store dont have a clue we had the same problems when we got our first emp, was told it didnt need heat at all and it would be fine in the box they sold it to us in (which had like a cm of substrate in it!) also told us if we use a heat matt to put it underneath which is a huge no no

its far safer to listen to the people on here they know from experience and that is how we learnt everything

def get a water dish in asap use anything for now bottle lid or jar lid anything... emps drink quite a lot

Yeah at first they told me she didn't need any heat... then they told me she did.
It still needs to be fairly shallow water, right? Her water dish is like a centimeter thick.

Lol, Manser

Manser wrote:

231bex wrote:

generally ive found pet store dont have a clue we had the same problems when we got our first emp, was told it didnt need heat at all and it would be fine in the box they sold it to us in (which had like a cm of substrate in it!) also told us if we use a heat matt to put it underneath which is a huge no no

its far safer to listen to the people on here they know from experience and that is how we learnt everything

def get a water dish in asap use anything for now bottle lid or jar lid anything... emps drink quite a lot

yeah its very rarely you find a pet shop owner who knows what there chatting about, not only with scorps but with anything lizards , snakes etc.......... i use jar lids with most of my scorps, why pay £5 for water dish when you can use anything. or maybe im as tight as a camels arse in a sandstorm

Well, I'd assume that managers or owners of pet stores usually will have one or two things they are into and may be very knowledgeable on that but with inverts it is a small and exclusive group that is really into these. Best to take anything you get from the shop with a grain of salt and plan on cross referencing everything. In fact I would cross reference everything anyways. People make mistakes all the time. But if you have 4 or 5 sources saying the same thing and they are reputable sources chances are you are on to something

As for being cheap I use gatorade tops a lot otherwise I spend $0.60 or whatever on 3" terra cota pot saucers

"Best to take anything you get from the shop with a grain of salt and plan on cross referencing everything."

Yeah that's why I did research and joined this forum. xD

It's a shame pet stores probably won't hire me. When I was growing up my family usually had at least 14 pets, and I'm willing to research anything I don't already know.
Pet stores are my next targets for applications. But no one will hire me... actually, only one place even bothered interviewing me (they were doing group interviews).

yeah its definatly worth doing research on pets before you buy them. ive had one person from a pet store that emp scorps were from Australia lol keep trying with the jobs penny and something will come out, im actully going through a career change from an electrician to being a Vet.

I always see everyone saying scorpions don't like to be handled so I've only let mine out twice, but I feel like she could be happier.
What should I do? I want to buy her a bigger cage when we have more money... and more things to put in it. I know it's normal for them to try and climb up the walls, but should I let her out more?
Also, is she happy eating just crickets? Isn't that like a restricted vegetarian diet for a scoprion? (ironic that I say this because I'm vegetarian... in fact, I'm almost vegan, but my pets are not).

This will make me sound crazy, but would it really be so bad to just let her run around for a little bit every day, under close supervision? We barely have any furniture and I'd lock the cats out obviously.
I know, I'm nuts, but I try to keep my pets as happy as possible.

They don't need to be let out at all they are happier left alone, also you can vary there diets with other things such as locusts, cockroaches and occasionally meal worms as a treat ( as they are quite fatty)

Yea, keep them in the same environment as much as possible so they get used to it, my emps and cavi's took a while to get used to their environment. About 3 or 4 months before they felt comfortable enough to burrow.

Alright, thanks guys.

I guess it's just that typical worry everyone has when they first get a scorpion. >.<
It's much like losing your virginity, because you wonder "am I doing it right?" no matter how much.. research you've done.

.......... That was an interesting analogy.

Kristopher wrote:

.......... That was an interesting analogy.

+1

As for the making the scorps happy, what size tank do you currently have? If it is a bit small you could maybe piece something together but as Chrome said let them get used to one. If you rehouse them for a better more permanent enclosure go for it. If you have a big enough enclosure and as you said before you like to research, do some research on the natural environment that you find that species in. Try to make the enclosure as natural as possible. You will should have fun doing that and get to be involved with the scorp that way with out having to handle them. This is probably the best way to make them 'happy' or keep them as minimally stressed as possible.

I know it's tempting to try and hold them, but the are probably happiest left alone. Some others will handle theirs but most pictures you see are one off pix and it is not an reoccurring thing to do with the scorps. It happens rather infrequently and so a picture is taken and shared. I haven't had to hold one but trust me at first I wanted to dig them out of burrows all the time, I just couldn't get enough. But still just let them be and really enjoy the times I do catch them out. Just my opinion, hope it helps

+1 to iitomodachi1

It is very tempting not to handle our scorps, especially Emps (which are mostly doctile and often allow us to carry them on our hands). But sadly they cannot comprehend our adoration by our touch the way like how cats/dogs do.
I couldn't said it better then iitomodachi1: if you want them to be happy, create the most natural enclosure for them and keep them well-fed. The handling part is happiness just for us i guess

"Running around" isn't part of what would make them "happy," anyway -- a scorpion's niche in nature is to hang out in a hole in the ground eating bugs that wander through. Anything else is just stressful for them.

That being said, if you want to make your scorp as content as it can be in captivity, just give it plenty of room to burrow, warm temperatures, and enough prey to satisfy its appetite.

Her tank is five gallons

I think 5 would suffice by Id really recommend moving to a 10 for 1 or 2 scorps that size, you also want enough substrate in there which doesn't leave much room in a 5. Those are my thoughts anyways.

Alright, thanks.