Got an emp!

[Hydrolicious]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjMdioiifrY

...No, not that kind! Thank FSM my computer still works.

Anyway, I got myself an emperor scorpion. I've had the tank set up for a while as I've been prepping for one, but finally got around to picking one up. I got it at the same place that I got my BP, seeing as their care is unbelievably great.

I have 3 inches of sanitary potting soil as a burrow-able substrate, with a smidge of cypress at the top to make things look aesthetic. I have him housed (alone) in a 5 gallon aquarium that I refurbished just for this purpose, with a custom plexiglass lid (w/ a humidity slider I installed over the vent) that I made. I've got the original aquarium hood, that I outfitted with a 15 watt fluorescent black light. I've got a small heat mat on the back of the tank (outside) which is also blacked out with some stick on star-paper I found laying around. I made his hide out of an old corner-dish my brother used for his geckos and frogs, which I promptly took a hacksaw to allow entry. There are some pieces of balsa wood in there, as well as a water dish with stones at the bottom to prevent drowning. Humidity is maintained at 50-60%, and the temperature gradient ranges from 75-90.

Whoo-boy. Did I cover everything?

Now, here are pics, for all your viewing pleasures.

Empty tank

Tank in use

My cricket house

Caught him drinking shortly after introducing him to the house

In his hide

Attacking the camera!

[Alexandra V]

Congrats on the new addition! He looks great you're doing everything well, though in my experience supplemental heating is really unnecessary, and he'll do perfectly fine at room temperature.

Make sure you keep us updated with pics of him! There aren't too many members on here with scorps.

[redstormlax12]

Looks like a great setup for him. I currently deal with two emp's at the pet store I am working at. They are definitely interesting! Congrats on the addition.

[Hydrolicious]

Congrats on the new addition! He looks great you're doing everything well, though in my experience supplemental heating is really unnecessary, and he'll do perfectly fine at room temperature.

Make sure you keep us updated with pics of him! There aren't too many members on here with scorps.

Really? I thought the whole idea with ectotherms is that they can't produce their own body heat, and therefore require an external source. Regardless, I live in Minnesota, and room temperature gets pretty darn cold. It's like 65 in my bedroom in the day. Night temps are what? About 60?

May I ask why it's unnecessary with scorpions, specifically? I'm curious, that's all.

[Alexandra V]

Really? I thought the whole idea with ectotherms is that they can't produce their own body heat, and therefore require an external source. Regardless, I live in Minnesota, and room temperature gets pretty darn cold. It's like 65 in my bedroom in the day. Night temps are what? About 60?

May I ask why it's unnecessary with scorpions, specifically? I'm curious, that's all.

They are ectotherms but but most scorpions, tarantulas and invertebrates (with the exceptions of a few select species) are fine at regular room temperatures about 68 - 78 F. That's how I keep all my T's and my good friend keeps his scorps the same. Generally if you're comfortable at the temperature of the room then your inverts will be too.

I don't know the specific science behind it all, but inverts have been found to not even really need a heat gradient like reptiles do, even though they don't generate their own body heat. They just seem to be very good at adjusting their metabolisms and activity levels to suit the temperatures they are kept at.

[Maixx]

Very cool. I recently had my wifes "Hell no! No bugs!" restriction lifted with her soon to be an exwife.
My father was an entomologist and raised many different "bugs" from scorpions to spiders (t's and other), but my favorite were the scarab and rhinoceros beetles he had.
I've been looking at getting a couple forest scorpions like the emporer, Asian forest or a Red claw emp.
Thanks for sharing!

[Hydrolicious]

Really? Well then. Thanks for the daily dosage of esoteric knowledge.

I guess I can save a little on my mother's electric bill, lol.

[Hydrolicious]

I turned off the heat mat, and the temp is still at about 80 with the UV black light on. Without a doubt, I really don't need it. Thanks for that. It goes to show how a little know-how can go a long way.

Now I just need something to silence those crickets when my music isn't on.

[Alexandra V]

I turned off the heat mat, and the temp is still at about 80 with the UV black light on. Without a doubt, I really don't need it. Thanks for that. It goes to show how a little know-how can go a long way.

Now I just need something to silence those crickets when my music isn't on.

Haha I got used to the crickets chirping, so used to it that it's going to be hard for me to get to sleep without the little buggers singing away in my closet once I switch to dubias They're so cool under black light! Have you seen that yet? They're definitely awesome creatures.

[Hydrolicious]

Yeah, I have one set up. He glows a real deep blue if you leave it on a while. Otherwise it's a turquoise. It's ghostly...

Oh, that reminds me. How should I feed my crickets? I tried tong feeding him for a few minutes, but he kept pushing the cricket away. Is this normal?