The Newest Addition to My Collection!

[kmsgameboy]

I went to Repticon with a friend this past weekend and saw that they had quite a few Emperor Scorpions. Long story short one man there was selling a single scorpion in a tiny critter keeper. The price tag was $8 for the Emperor and the enclosure and had been marked down from $10. As my friend and I walked around I would stop and look at this lone scorpion. When the day was coming to a close the man saw me once again eyeballing the little guy and said I could have him for $5! I couldnt turn down a deal that good and so whipped out a 5 and snatched the little critter keeper. By the time I got home I was starting to worry for my new pet. I have a feeling that this guy had recieved the scorpion in a trade and didnt know how to take care of one. The enclosure was much to small, he seemed stressed from the bright light and having no place to hide and was very thin. Once I made him a new home he actively ate and drank everything I gave him. Now that he has made himself at home is it safe to add a female to his turf? Also, what are some other large species that are good to keep?

 

[crk]

Congratulations on your new Emp! They are a highly undervalued species. It should be ok to add a female, but when I added an Emperor into an existing colony I usually removed the existing residents and moved hides around. This disorients them a little and they don't view the newcomer as a potential meal. Emperors are pretty communal but I think it makes it a little easier and safer for the new one, to move things around and place the scorpions back into the enclosure at the same time. That way if she wanders into his hide he doesn't grab her by mistake. Make sure they are both adults, if one of them molts it is very likely that the other will take advantage of an easy meal in the form of a freshly molted tankmate. This is all contingent, of course, on the fact that the enclosure is large enough for them and there is at least one more hide than there are scorpions.

IMO African Flat Rock Scorpions (Hadogenes sp.) are a great large scorpion to keep. They like an arid environment with a small vessel for water and a few flat rocks for them to hide between. You can also use cork bark flats for hides if you prefer. Asian Forest Scorpions (Heterometrus sp.) are also large and require a humid environment similar to that of Emperors. They're more high strung and apt to sting though.

Good luck with your new addition and I hope this helps!

Chris

 

[kmsgameboy]

Wow thanks for all the info. I knew you could keep Emps together but my understanding was that size was more a factor rather than age. Im not sure how old mine is but he surely isnt an adult...his body is only about 2" long at the most. Right now he is in something more fitting for a single scorpion but I plan on upsizing if I do add another.

 

[crk]

No problem. if you're going to keep them together before maturity, you're right, they should be around the same size. The only thing you have to worry about is cannibalism when one of them molts. In my experience they're not all that cannibalistic, but the possibility does exist.

 

[kmsgameboy]

I had read that emps dont have to be adults in order to mate. Is this true? I would like to try to mate mine at some point. Is there any way to tell when they are ready to mate?

 

[kmsgameboy]

Also Ive been looking for a place to buy scorpions and havent had a whole lot of luck. Would you happen to have any ideas?

 

[kmsgameboy]

Well sadly it seems as though Fluffy as died. Im not really sure what happened. He was eating and drinking well and acted fine. The only strange thing I noticed was that yesterday he was out of his hide during the day. When I got home from work this morning I went to check on him and he was laying limp next to his water dish with a small puddle of water under his tail. Its a shallow dish so I really dont think he drowned. I have no idea what happened but am really sad...he hardly lived with me over a week.

 

[kmsgameboy]

Ok...uppon closer inspection I have just found that he was not laying a puddle of water but a pool of his own "blood". He has a hole in the last segment of his tail and in his stinger. I have NO Idea how this could have happened to what seemed to be a perfectly healthy SCORPION! The only prey thats in there is a lobster roach sub-adult thats a fraction of his size!

 

[Malti]

sorry for your loss..

did he kill himself? or was he attacked?

 

[mantidsaresweet]

That is very strange I'm sorry for your lost.

Maybe he was already infected with something before you bought him. Could be a reason you got him so cheap but I have no idea really. Just sad.

Hope you get a new one sometime from a reliable dealer.

 

[kmsgameboy]

Im kind of wondering if he had some kind of parasite. I have yet to find anything in his enclosure other than that little roach but I dont see how a roach could have killed him this way. Whatever it was really messed his tail up and he lost a lot of fluid through the opening.

 

[kmsgameboy]

Im kind of wondering if he had some kind of parasite. I have yet to find anything in his enclosure other than that little roach but I dont see how a roach could have killed him this way. Whatever it was really messed his tail up and he lost a lot of fluid through the opening.

 

[mantidsaresweet]

It's a shame man

If you're looking for different scorpions then I would check out arachnoboards.com if you haven't already. They seem to have quite a few people caring for them (at least more than on here) and I see them for sale pretty often.

Again sorry for the loss, never a good thing.

 

[kmsgameboy]

I would still like to try my hand at raising scorpions though this experience really has me kind of doubting my ability to care for one. Im not sure what Im going to do now but I have joined the arachnoboards and have been searching for a reliable and affordable sorce of scorpions. I did find over the weekend that one of my local pet stores is selling several emps and one seems to be gravid. I hoping to maybe pick her up in the next week or so. I plan on burning everything inside of fluffy's enclosure since I dont know if he was wild caught just in case it WAS some sort of parasite that killed him. *sigh*

 

[Idolofreak]

Im kind of wondering if he had some kind of parasite. I have yet to find anything in his enclosure other than that little roach but I dont see how a roach could have killed him this way. Whatever it was really messed his tail up and he lost a lot of fluid through the opening.

Okay I just talked with Entomo-logic (Super experienced entomologist), and he said to him it sounds like a parasitic worm, and it's probably still in the scorpion. That's the reason he has that hole in his tail. Sucks.

 

[kmsgameboy]

Okay I just talked with Entomo-logic (Super experienced entomologist), and he said to him it sounds like a parasitic worm, and it's probably still in the scorpion. That's the reason he has that hole in his tail. Sucks.

Thats what I was thinking. I measured the heat and humidity and it was 77F with 88% so there shouldnt really be an issue there. I did notice that there WAS still a cricket in his enclosure so I guess if he died the cricket could have chewed on his tail but would he have lost all that body fluid AFTER death? A scorpions GI track does run through its tail so it would explain the location of the hole and the stiffness of that area if it was a parasite.

 

[Idolofreak]

Oh yeah he wanted to know what you used for substrate?

 

[kmsgameboy]

Oh yeah he wanted to know what you used for substrate?

The only thing I had on hand was sphagnum moss and pine chips. I realize that wood chips arent the ideal substrate for scorpions but it had to do the job until I could get some sand and/or eco-earth. Sadly he didnt live that long.

 

[Ryan.M]

Don't let this one shotty experience with a scorp ruin it for you man, they are far too awesome!

Your humidity was fine, your temp was fine, and your substrate was fine. Thus, it wasn't your fault! Like others have said if there was a hole in his tail, it couldn't have been self-inflicted, so it was most likely a parasite. I'm guessing the guy who sold it to you either had his scorps in horrendous conditions, or it was wild-caught.

Check out Kenthebugguy.com, he usually has great deals on scorpions and a great selection. I think your best bet would be the desert hairy, flat rock, or another emp.

Good luck bro!