Our new babys

So, after almost a year of watching crickets get tore up by my Olive Drab, and the addition of a 3i baby African Flat Rock, I got the go ahead to purchase 2 baby Emperors. Both female. And let me tell you, I couldnt be any happier than I am right now. Its been less than 12 hours and theyve already had one cricket, been out of the hide exploring the tank, and tried numerous times to climb the side of the tank to escape. Busy little girls they are. Im going to try to house them together. They are of the same brood so they have been together since day one. I think this is going to work. I love my Olive Drab and African Flat Rock but these two little ladies I got yesterday have already stole a part of my heart. Best of all is the fact that my wife named them, so I know its only a matter of time before she decideds to hold them. I will post pics as soon as I change them to JPG file. The only ones I have are off my cell phone. But I will get them up so they can be admired by all. YAAAAAAY MEEEEEE.

Our 2 new ladies, Sazzy and Fhaty

Not the best pics and im sorry for that but you get the idea.

Congratulations

I love mine too. So, what are their names?

Their names are Sazzy and Fhaty.

So.... I feel like Ive been cheated. When I made the purchase of these Scorps, I had in mind to get everything they would need. Got the enclosure, food, heat light, cork bark. Had every intention of getting Excavator clay from ZOO MED, was told, "Do not buy that. Your scorps wont burrow, and if they do, it wont be for a long time." Just a little bit ago I looked into the hide all the way to the back, no scorpions. They had burrowed into the substrate clean to the bottom of the tank. Now I feel bad because I could have started it out the way I should have, without listening to a salesman. Which struck me odd because he talked me OUT of it. Shouldnt he have tried to get me to buy it?
I dont know. What I do know is that now I want to give them what they need and deserve, a compactable base to burrow into. Should I wait until the 6 months is up when it needs to be changed and do it then or risk disturbing them and do it now? I forget what its called, but the substrate that they are in now is the brown fiberous stuff that you soak in water. Temp is 87.2 degrees and humidity is 81%. Daytime, aproxx time 15:30 hours. (just so we all know thats daytime temps and humidity)

You're using the correct stuff--coco fiber (a common brand is eco-earth). Emperors are obligate burrowers, so your tank should have 4-6 inches of packed moist coco fiber as the substrate. How deep is your substrate now?

Excavator clay, when moistened, will dry rock hard. Many keepers of burrowing desert scorpions mix excavator clay with sand (30/70), moisten it and let it dry to create a substrate firm enough to hold a burrow. But, this is for desert species where the substrate is kept dry. The salesman was right searing you away from the excavator clay, but should have told you that emperors are burrowing forest scorpions and need a deep moist substrate like coco fiber.

Well then im happier about the decision to not sell me the clay. The emp tank has about 3 inches of substrate right now, but I can get more. This is the enclosure.



and this is my Flat Rock enclosure


My little African Flat Rock is in the deli container.

Doubling the depth of the substrate wouldn't hurt, but your tank looks pretty good as it is and you're emps are still juveniles, so they'll probably be fine or the time being. Once they get bigger, you'll want to add more substrate. When you do, pack it down well. I don't think you can over pack coco fiber. The tighter it's packed, the better it will hold burrows.

You also don't need to replace your substrate every 6 months. You might want to replace the top inch once a year, but there's really no reason to dig up and toss out the rest. The exception would be if you've got meal worms or roaches burrowing into it and you're worried they might attack your scorps during a molt.

Thank you for the advice shebeen. Its nice to have as much information as possible, and you guys got that here. Well rounded group of ppl.

Shebeen has given some good advice indeed.
I do want to comment on your flat rock's enclosure. Its awesome!
Seems like a paradise with many options of "motels" for her to stay in. Nicely done

congrats your your new scorps

Thanks everyone for the remarks, the hides for my Flat Rocks came from stones off the railroad tracks, after a soap and bleach scrub to get the oils off the rocks I boiled them and then cooked them at 200 for 5 hours. And about 12 hours of fitting them together so the crevices were small and snug, and gluing them with elmers glue I had a decent rock hide out.

Well worth the time involved doing it yourself.

Well worth it indeed!