The Heckboy Scorpion Photo Thread

So here's my first P. Imperator, chilling in its new home.


Nearly as I can figure, I have a sub-adult female, going by these photos (taken while crawling upside down on the wire lid)



And here she(?) is hanging out by the coconut hide, seems to like that corner




I have yet to get around to naming this thing, but I'm in no hurry - I'd like to get to know its personality first.

Hard to tell for sure from those shots, but looks female to me. Males have an oval shaped genital operculum, and females are more heart shaped. Pectines on males are also more feathery looking.

Here's a reference for you. CLICK

Streettrash wrote:

Hard to tell for sure from those shots, but looks female to me. Males have an oval shaped genital operculum, and females are more heart shaped. Pectines on males are also more feathery looking.

Here's a reference for you. CLICK

Thanks.
Yeah, I compared it to the reference photos, and the pectines definitely say "female", but the operculum looks pretty oval-shaped to me, which is where my slight doubt comes in.
I don't know if it'll be more obvious with the next moult... my kids are all over me to name this thing NOW lol.

Could be. The operculum is the most reliable way of sexing them. The female operculum will have a very distinct point at the bottom, and there will be little triangles next to the point. I'm sure you noticed that in the photo's. As it says, this should be apparent from instar 4 and on, so unless your scorp is under an inch the operculum should have it's adult shape. It is possible that the pectines will not fully be formed until it's a sexually mature adult though.

Welcome to the forum by the way!

very nice sub adult Panzer! Try to post a pcture of the underside if you want help. What about, Blacky? No? Too obvious?

Now that I finally got a decent pic of her underside (not easy - maybe she's modest, lol), she's clearly a she...


And a couple of bonus shots - just because.

Lounging in the "sun"...


I like this shot for a good view of the eyes and mouthparts...


And the enclosure.... got the idea for the DIY PVC pipe clips on this very site.
The "vegetation" came from a dollar store - $1.25 for the plastic grape vine, $1.25 for a pack of 9 suction cups with hooks.
The tank was somebody's throwaway (small leak near the top - not an issue here!)
The water dish and skull were stuff I already had.
The coconut hide is DIY - cheaper to just buy a coconut and make this than to buy it at the pet shop. Plus I got to eat the coconut.
The lid is likewise DIY. And I even thought to put a little tab on one end for ease of lifting...
The only thing that really cost anything (besides the scorpion) was the lamp, and I love built-in dimmer switch; allows the leeway of a larger, hotter bulb - you can just turn it down if it's a bit much.

nice one! Practical, large and economic. I would add more substrate though

pluto wrote:

nice one! Practical, large and economic. I would add more substrate though

Yeah, thought about that.
This is as much as I had at the time though (leftover from the kids' hermit crabs), since I wanted the setup more or less done before I got the scorp.
She hasn't even attempted to burrow yet, but I intend to build a false bottom setup soon anyways. Then she can have a nice deep sandbox to play in (figuratively, of course).

Nice setup you have there. Gorgeous looking Emp too

Nice set up beautiful female emp +1 on the substrate though deffo need 4-6" in there

Thanks guys - she is rather pretty, isn't she?
And that false bottom setup is done now. She finally has that nice deep sandbox to play in. Pics here:
https://scorpionforum.darkbb.com/t11p225-show-off-your-enclosures

May I ask what wattage bulb you are using and how often? What temps are you getting?

Annababe, I have a similar emperor set up using a 10 gal tank. I use a 75W IR bulb on a dimmer.
According to the box, the bulb has the following heat rating: 96.8F @ 6", 87.8F @ 12",
82.4F @ 18". I dim the bulb down to obtain around 88F on bulb side of the tank during the
day. At night, this temp drops down to around 84F. I live at the south end of SF Bay, so the
temps here are much cooler than in Tucson. We're having a heat wave right now: the mercury
is expected to hit 88F .

Heckboy, nice set up and great looking scorpion. I'm glad you found the clip idea useful.

Annababe wrote:

May I ask what wattage bulb you are using and how often? What temps are you getting?

Mine's a 50 watt IR bulb and it gets between 86-88 on the hot side turned up to full on cooler days. It's actually dimmed right down atm, since it's after 11 PM as I'm typing and it's about 77 in the house with all fans on.

And thank you shebeen for that idea. It's awesome, looks cool, and cost nothing. I very much like to make/modify stuff rather than buy it whenever possible. Drives the family crazy.

Just wanted to share this pic of my 10 year old holding the scorp.
Hell of a time getting focused, since she just wouldn't sit still. The scorpion, I mean, not the kid - she was totally chill.

Adding a new pic to the thread of the boys just hanging out - thought this shot looked really cool with the IR light.

Brave girl you got there, i meant, your 10 year old

& yes, that a great shot under IR lighting.

GS wrote:

Brave girl you got there, i meant, your 10 year old

& yes, that a great shot under IR lighting.

+1.

GS wrote:

Brave girl you got there, i meant, your 10 year old

& yes, that a great shot under IR lighting.

She completely loves the scorps. Although she's a bit of an arachnophobe, strangely enough. Working on slowly curing that though.
She wants to be a vet, and she does have a certain unique way with most animals. Not only does she love handling the scorp, she wants one (at least) of her own.
And honestly, now that I seem to have a gravid female on my hands, I may give her a couple of her own.
I know for a fact that she can and will care for them well enough - she keeps hermit crabs successfully.
As easy as they are to keep, they're actually slightly more maintenance and work than Emps.
Temperature and humidity are about the same, except you don't have to change scorpion food daily, nor have to mix up saltwater for them along with fresh water.
She makes me proud.