Climbing the walls

All my scorpion does when it comes out of its burrow at night is try to climb the walls...is there anything i can do to give him something else to do?

one of mine was doing that last night, with half a cricket shoved in her mouth. they are exploring their environment when they climb walls and go around the tank to find a way out, i don't think there is much you can do about it

Some reading materials for you.

Frequently Asked Questions about Emperor Scorpions (P. Imperator)

Raising Forest Scorpions [ General Forest Scorpion Caresheet ]

lol he tried to climb the same corner for like 7 hours last night.

I'm new to the forum and Scorpion keeping, I was about to raise a topic when I found this.
I've had my first Scorpion for about two months now. (Emperor I think but cannot tell the difference between my P. Emp and pictures online of the AFS so also if anyone can help me with properly identifying her I'd be very grateful!).

Anyway,

She has seemed happy enough up until two days ago and she's been sulking in the corner of her tank ever since.. she hasn't moved an inch from there, I just came home from work and she's stretched out vertically trying to scale the wall. Normally she's in her house or walking about the substrate but never done this before.. should I be worried?

Cheers!

botsnubble wrote:

I'm new to the forum and Scorpion keeping, I was about to raise a topic when I found this.
I've had my first Scorpion for about two months now. (Emperor I think but cannot tell the difference between my P. Emp and pictures online of the AFS so also if anyone can help me with properly identifying her I'd be very grateful!).

If you post pics in the Scorpion ID section, we can ID it for you. If you google pics of P. imperator and Heterometrus species, you should be able to see the difference in the shape and granulation of the chela (claws.) The telson is also a different shape.

botsnubble wrote:

She has seemed happy enough up until two days ago and she's been sulking in the corner of her tank ever since.. she hasn't moved an inch from there, I just came home from work and she's stretched out vertically trying to scale the wall. Normally she's in her house or walking about the substrate but never done this before.. should I be worried?

Nothing to worry about.

Scorpion19981000 wrote:

botsnubble wrote:

I'm new to the forum and Scorpion keeping, I was about to raise a topic when I found this.
I've had my first Scorpion for about two months now. (Emperor I think but cannot tell the difference between my P. Emp and pictures online of the AFS so also if anyone can help me with properly identifying her I'd be very grateful!).

If you post pics in the Scorpion ID section, we can ID it for you. If you google pics of P. imperator and Heterometrus species, you should be able to see the difference in the shape and granulation of the chela (claws.) The telson is also a different shape.

botsnubble wrote:

She has seemed happy enough up until two days ago and she's been sulking in the corner of her tank ever since.. she hasn't moved an inch from there, I just came home from work and she's stretched out vertically trying to scale the wall. Normally she's in her house or walking about the substrate but never done this before.. should I be worried?

Nothing to worry about.

Thanks for that mate, I think I've sussed it now.. the pictures I was using as reference, the granulation of the two specimens Chela were very similar!! Not sure what the problem was but I put a cricket in the tank and when I came back from work she was back under the foliage.

I am new to scorpion keeping. My Emperor seems to keep trying to climb out as well. I do not have any fancy black lights or heat light on the cage. Its just a plain carrying cage. Should I go get a cage that does not have breath holes all on the side and top, because that is what he/she climbs on? Also I do not know how to tell whether it is a female or male? How should I properly pick up my Emperor? I am very new to this and would very much like help so in the future I can get more and understand better than I do now. Thank you.

EmperorJr. wrote:

I am new to scorpion keeping. My Emperor seems to keep trying to climb out as well. I do not have any fancy black lights or heat light on the cage. Its just a plain carrying cage. Should I go get a cage that does not have breath holes all on the side and top, because that is what he/she climbs on? Also I do not know how to tell whether it is a female or male? How should I properly pick up my Emperor? I am very new to this and would very much like help so in the future I can get more and understand better than I do now. Thank you.

Welcome to the forum. You may want to Introduce Yourself.
Here are some links that should help you:
[HOW TO] Sexing Pandinus spp and Hetermetrus spp
[ASA] Raising Forest Scorpions

As for "picking up you emperor", I assume you mean how to transfer it to a different enclosure/container. I really don't pick scorpions up unless I have to. I don't handle them. It causes them a great deal of stress. When I have to, I take a 12 inch pair of rubber tipped forceps, [The rubber helps to get a better grip on the scorpion's exoskeleton. Forceps are used to not get pinched or stung by the scorpion, obviously. (Emps can pinch pretty hard with their chela by the way.)] and pick the scorpion up by it's metasoma. (Tail.)
Here's a link on how to transfer scorpions: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/content.php?36-How-to-Safely-Transfer-Scorpions

What kind of cage do you have? I'm having a hard time understanding from your post.

Thank you for a quick response. Its just a standard cage I would say. Clear see-through maybe a half of a foot tall. It has I guess, breathing holes on all of the sides and the whole lid which is green is the same way.

It's still a bit hard for me to picture it. Is it a plastic cage? Like a "Kritter Keeper" or something similar?
If it is, it should be fine. Don't worry about it climbing the walls, it's normal behavior.

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You should probably get a taller tank. Emps like to burrow and there should be around 4 inches of substrate to allow for that. You could use the same type of enclosure, but it would have to be taller.
Also, you may want to look into what's called a false bottom set-up. It's basically a layer of gravel below the substrate. (There are other options besides gravel, just search "false bottom setup" in the search box.) Just pour water down into the gravel layer, and capillary action will pull the water into the substrate above, thus keeping it moist. The advantage to this is that you never have to mist/spray the tank, just pour a small amount of water into the gravel layer. The disadvantage is that the gravel makes the tank quite heavy. (There are lighter alternatives to gravel though.)

I'm still quite new to the hobby, but I've seen a lot of enclosures similar to the one pictured above. However, they didn't have lids. As EmpJr said his/hers tries to clime out regularly. I dont see how these others I've seen havent gotten out. Most of them are adults, too. These are normally people making informational videos too. How to handle, how to transfer, a good moult, etc. Yet, they don't know an P. Imperator needs 4" of substrate? Very odd indeed. That was a shot at the people ive seen on Youtube not you EmpJr. :3

@EmperorJr If you can't get a taller tank, there's a few things you could do to improve the one you have. Your tank, by the way, is what we refer to as a large kritter keeper. For your scorpions' safety, as well as your own, you'll need to move your scorpion to a temporary container before undertaking these suggestions.

1) Use clear packing tape to seal up all the vent slots on the side of the tank.

2) Remove the substrate under your water dish so the dish sits on the bottom of the tank. You might also want to add a layer of pebbles to the dish to make it shallower.

3) Remove the half log hide. It's much too large for what you need. Instead, fill that half of the tank with substrate up to the bottom of the vent slots. Slope the substrate down to a depth just below the top of the water dish. You want the substrate at one end of the tank 4-5 inches deep and the substrate at the other end about 2 inches deep with a sloping hill side in the middle. Make sure your substrate is damp and well packed. If it's loose, it won't hold burrows and tunnels.

4) Scorpions don't need a big cavernous hide. They prefer cramped quarters, so for hides, you can use pieces of a broken 3 inch terra cotta flower pot or small pieces of slate or cork bark or even half of a plastic solo cup with the bottom remove. Embed the hides in the hill side near the top. Or, one near the top and one near the bottom. Use your finger to start a small scrape or burrow under each hide. Your scorpion will take care of digging out the rest.

5) Use clear packing tape to seal up 80% of the vent slots in your top. Sealing the vents on your tank and top will help retain moisture so you won't have to mist or add water your substrate as often.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

@Ramenuzumaki Perhaps they removed the tops to take photos and video? If not, they're asking for trouble. All scorpion enclosure should have a secure top, not just to keep the scorpion in, but also to keep pets, falling objects and curious fingers out. Scorpions are also excellent escape artists. Some people have reported seeing them use their chela to climb the wires of temperature and humidity probes. Pretty tricky.

shebeen wrote:

@EmperorJr If you can't get a taller tank, there's a few things you could do to improve the one you have. Your tank, by the way, is what we refer to as a large kritter keeper. For your scorpions' safety, as well as your own, you'll need to move your scorpion to a temporary container before undertaking these suggestions.

1) Use clear packing tape to seal up all the vent slots on the side of the tank.

2) Remove the substrate under your water dish so the dish sits on the bottom of the tank. You might also want to add a layer of pebbles to the dish to make it shallower.

3) Remove the half log hide. It's much too large for what you need. Instead, fill that half of the tank with substrate up to the bottom of the vent slots. Slope the substrate down to a depth just below the top of the water dish. You want the substrate at one end of the tank 4-5 inches deep and the substrate at the other end about 2 inches deep with a sloping hill side in the middle. Make sure your substrate is damp and well packed. If it's loose, it won't hold burrows and tunnels.

4) Scorpions don't need a big cavernous hide. They prefer cramped quarters, so for hides, you can use pieces of a broken 3 inch terra cotta flower pot or small pieces of slate or cork bark or even half of a plastic solo cup with the bottom remove. Embed the hides in the hill side near the top. Or, one near the top and one near the bottom. Use your finger to start a small scrape or burrow under each hide. Your scorpion will take care of digging out the rest.

5) Use clear packing tape to seal up 80% of the vent slots in your top. Sealing the vents on your tank and top will help retain moisture so you won't have to mist or add water your substrate as often.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

+1

@Shebeen: After i read "Excellent escape artists" I was going to mention that I saw pisc of someone's emp climbing the wire, but you had mentioned it haha.

Thank y'all. Very helpful. but i don't add water or anything. Its just there. I will try to get a bigger tank tomorrow after work and rearrange things inside the tank. I am only a couple days in now, that's why i joined this site. To learn things.

if you ever have any questions feel free! we're always here to help

Okay, i gotta couple quick questions. What is this moult thing I am seeing? I'm thinking about getting another one of opposite sex to mate, is this a good idea or bad? And just curious have you ever been stung by an emperor?

I never have but many people on the forum have. They compare it to a bee sting. im pretty sure scorpion venom has Anaphalaxis in it, so if you're allergic to bee stings i'd be very cautious. If not still be cautious but a P. Imperator wont kill you. Most say once they remove the sting it doesnt even hurt, and after 5-10m they cant even remember/find the sting site!

a moult, or moulting is the process in which a scorpion, or other invert, sheds their exoskeleton. The scorpion itself grows within the exo, but the exo doesnt grow with it, so they have to shed the old one in order to keep growing. it's actually quite facinating to watch. mine shed inside his burrow so i didnt get to see it, but i kept his moult here on my desk haha.

as far as breeding personally i'd wait. get more comfortable with your little buddy. love your pet hole, and take great care of him, or her. the best thing you can do right now is to learn everything you can, and be comfortable with taking care of it. if you're still new, and learning I really wouldnt start breeding just yet. it would be like running headlong into a street with a blindfold on. there is a chance youll make it across, but the odds are youll get hit by a car.

breeding is very difficult, and specific from what i read. you need to keep stress to BARE MINIMUM. That means no moving things, no moving the enclosure, pretty much no nothing. Also once the slings moult to 2i youll need to feed them very specific ways which i wont get into right now. also once the mommy is in mother mode she can be very protective of the slings, and if you stress her out she may even go all bat nuts and toss them off her back and just quit! you could even stress out one of the slings into getting off or falling off and she may not pick them back up. they'll either die or she'll eat them. she does lose a lot of energy giving birth as they stop eating if im not mistaken.

im still super new but this is just what ive read, and remember. in my personal and honest opinion id just stay with your current P. Imperator, and just settle with that for now. Once you've got a handle on things, then think about breeding. I've been thinking about breeding but im WAY not ready yet, and ive been doing this for over a year haha. :3

EmperorJr. wrote:

Thank y'all. Very helpful. but i don't add water or anything. Its just there.

Your P. imperator should have a source of fresh water available at all times. The water dish should be large enough for the scorpion to get its body into, but not so deep that it can't climb out. Many people place a layer of pebbles or aquarium gravel in the bowl to make it shallower and give the scorpion something to walk on. With a shallow bowl, you can keep it filled to the brim which is easier than estimating the water depth in a deep bowl.

Thanks for the tips. Very helpful.

Couple questions. I updated his cage and made it like the person on page 1 said. Worked out pretty good. But I am going to get a bigger 10 gallon fish tank tomorrow after work. I picked it up yesterday for the first time, kinda exciting but creepy. What all should I put in the new tank? Are fake bushes okay? How should I be able to get a good look at his stomach to tell the sex? Should I hold it long enough to tell or what? How can I tell how old my new emperor is? I know its a lot of questions? I am asking but I'm curious and wanting to learn.

for a good tutorial on how to make a lifelike enclosure check here

as far as age i dont think it can be accurately determined unless you know the date it was born, or have all the moults it had shed

you can sue fake plants, but many on here say real ones look much better. they do, but fake ones can be cheaper, and easier to work with

to look at it put it in a delicup or plastic containter with either a PERFECTLY transparent bottom or lid. if its the bottom just look up. if its the lid flip the container upside-down so the scorp is ont he lid and look up
you can even post pics and we can help you identify the sex

as far as handling you really want to handle your scorp as little as possible. it really stresses them out, and there is always the possibility of dropping, pinches, or stings :3
if you MUST handle them do it while sitting down so if they fall they only fall a few inches into your lap

hope this helps

this is just with my very limited knowledge. im sure there are other seasoned pros out there who can add to this