First emperor scorpion need help :)

Hi I'm new to the forum and my scorpion after about a month dug a hole on the edge of his glass tank and buried his water dish -.- so now that he will most likely be starting to burrow should i remove the half log from his tank? and i have a infrared heat lamp where would this best be placed? btw this is my first scorpion of any kind so yes i am a noob, Id also like to know a good way to get the scorpion out of the tank to clean it with out getting pinched lol im a little afraid of grabbing him if u have some helpful knowledge id be very happy to hear it

Welcome to the forum!

I'm pretty busy at the moment, so my advice right now is to search the forums and read through the how-to and caresheets sections.

I'll add more tomorrow if I can.

h welcome to the forum an congrat's on you first scorpion.

a few of mine bury their water bowl's when they dig out a burrow i just dig out the bowl an replace it on top of the substrate they have moved.

leave the bit of wood in there as it will use it as extra cover/hiding place just make sure it can't fall down on top of the scorpion.

not sure with the IR bulb as i keep all mine in a heated cupboard but the best way to remove the scorpion for cleaning is to use a cricket tub, place the tub end up on the substrate and guide him into it using the lid then once it's in there gently tip the tub so it's upright an put the lid back on, do the opposite to get him back in there gently tip the tub up an let him crawl out

Chris is right on about moving them. I use that exact same method. I used a deli cup or small critter keeper. Which ever is empty at the time.

If you have a metal screen or lid you can put your bulb in it's metal shade right on it. If you have plastic screening or a plastic lid be careful it doesn't melt it. I put my lamp on one half my Emp enclosure and it gets up in the 90's on that side but keeps the far side at 74 or so. My Emp is gravid so she is staying at the hot side of her tank. The water dish is over on the cool side so it doesn't evaporate too fast.

chrisc wrote:

h welcome to the forum an congrat's on you first scorpion.

a few of mine bury their water bowl's when they dig out a burrow i just dig out the bowl an replace it on top of the substrate they have moved.

leave the bit of wood in there as it will use it as extra cover/hiding place just make sure it can't fall down on top of the scorpion.

not sure with the IR bulb as i keep all mine in a heated cupboard but the best way to remove the scorpion for cleaning is to use a cricket tub, place the tub end up on the substrate and guide him into it using the lid then once it's in there gently tip the tub so it's upright an put the lid back on, do the opposite to get him back in there gently tip the tub up an let him crawl out

that is good info!

Thanks for all the help guys, but my scorpion doesnt take to kindly to being moved lol after he buried his water dish he was just hangin out on top of it and was staying there and i had to move him to get him some water he was VERY aggressive and id like to be able to pick him up some day with out getting stung or pinched any tips on how to get my scorpion to not be as aggressive?

he also moves around a lot more than what other people describe their emperor scorpions doing during the day, could this be because he doesn't like his environment or something?

holman1998 wrote:

Thanks for all the help guys, but my scorpion doesnt take to kindly to being moved lol after he buried his water dish he was just hangin out on top of it and was staying there and i had to move him to get him some water he was VERY aggressive and id like to be able to pick him up some day with out getting stung or pinched any tips on how to get my scorpion to not be as aggressive?

No problem, that's what this forum is for.
No I reckon he wouldn't they can get defensive:)

I think the scorpion is still settling in... such a big move causes a lot of stress and it might trigger his agression a bit faster.

Also, as many Emps... as many characters... some of them are very docile others are a bit more... skittish;)

I recommend giving your scorpion a little time to get settled in. I personally have not, and will not handle my scorpions, because I think they are more of a display pet. But if you want to handle yours, when it is settled in, you could try and place a cup over him and a little coaster under it and then placing it on your flat hand. Then give it some time to relax and let it move around. Of course do this in a secure environment and close to a flat surface so the risk of falling and the scorpion having an accident is minimized.

take care,

Joe

holman1998 wrote:

he also moves around a lot more than what other people describe their emperor scorpions doing during the day, could this be because he doesn't like his environment or something?

What's his environment like? A photo or two of your enclosure can tell us a lot.

im not afriad of getting pinched or stung by my emps, so i just kinda scoop them up with both hands.

ive picked them up with one hand before cuase i was holding a camera with the other.

i just lay one hand flat and use the other hand to scoop it onto my hand, i never picked them up by there stinger before.

once there in your hand they sometimes depending on the scorp, it will move in quick jerky movements if its unconfortable, but usually and a minute or two they calm down

other times ive held my emps and they acted normal.

but i dont really hold my scorpions unless i have to remove them when i give them new coco fiber substrate

once in a while i get worried about them being alive if there in there burrow forever and i will end up digging them up to make sure there all alive.

one time i was holding my big male scorpion for like 20 minutes, towards the end he started pinching my pinkie finger.

holman1998 wrote:

Thanks for all the help guys, but my scorpion doesnt take to kindly to being moved lol after he buried his water dish he was just hangin out on top of it and was staying there

is the substrate in his setup damp?
just wondering if he is sitting on the substrate that will have soaked in the water if the rest of the substrate is a little dry

here's how to make a false bottom that will keep the humidity up without needing to pour/spray water in the enclosure as often, wait until he has settled in for a good few week's before digging him out an redoing the setup though
for now if it's a little dry pouring water on the substrate or spraying will up the humidity
http://www.scorpion-forum.com/t12-how-to-build-a-false-bottom-enclosure

another good thread here with pic's showing how to get the scorpion into a cricket tub
http://www.scorpion-forum.com/t8418-how-to-correctly-handle-a-scorpion

once it's all settled in an you want to hold it get it into a cricket tub an let the scorpion crawl out onto your hand while low to the floor/over a bed this way your not picking him up an to him your hand is just something to walk on, have a spare tub ready just incase it does a runner then you can put this tub over the scorpion so it doesn't dissapear

https://i.servimg.com/u/f74/18/13/50/86/img_4616.jpg
https://i.servimg.com/u/f74/18/13/50/86/img_4617.jpg
https://i.servimg.com/u/f74/18/13/50/86/img_4618.jpg
https://i.servimg.com/u/f74/18/13/50/86/img_4620.jpg
https://i.servimg.com/u/f74/18/13/50/86/img_4621.jpg

heres some pictures of my scorpion and his enclosure, i really dont know much about scorpions he was a gift from my girlfriend on christmas because we seen them in the mall and i said they were cool lol so i didnt really get any time to prepare for knowing what he needed and stuff and i realized now that he needs more substrate in his enclosure