Emperor Scorpion questions

[Jaffster]

I have been hearing a lot about IR lighting.
What wattage bulb I'm going to need to keep his climate the same as my 50Watt basking spot lamp.

His temp right now has been staying pretty steady at 86-88F when the lamp is on and 78F through the night

Humidity has been sticking about 80-82% with the lamp on and about 90-92% humidity with the lamp off overnight.

I'm getting him a new P.imp friend from Georgia, this lady is giving him away to me.
Waiting to see the shipping costs, plus I get his whole setup for $30 if I want it.

With him being more aggressive right now is its wise to put in a new P.imp?
I'm excited


Edit:
Now, with an IR light setup, will he think it is night time 24/7, or will he just go off ambient light?

I think they just go off ambient light. Of course, there's other factors which help your Scorpion know if it's day or night like the temperature for example.

I'm sure there will be some 'checking out' of eachother but once you're through that they should be fine assuming you have sufficient hides. If they are male & female then you could well see mating behavior straight away. If you post a picture up of the pectines of each Scorpion before you put them together, we'll be able to tell you the sex of each.

Also, be sure that both are mature. I know these Scorpions are communal but if/when molting comes around it's best to have it alone for that time.

PS. Pectines are the brush like teeth underneath the scorpion, just put it onto a piece of glass and get a good picture from underneath.

 

[Cyris69]

Will do

I know my current P.imp is a male, that was this first thing I checked when I got home.
Thanks for the reply
I will post an image of him later, I'm going to let him settle for about a week before I start bothering him again. I think 3 tank changes(climate too) has been stressful enough for 1 week.
When I receive the other P.imp I will take a pic as well

I used this photo to determine if it was male or female by his pectines

Now, about the wattage of an IR bulb/ should I just use a 50 watt like my basking light?
When will I know if it is mature or going to molt, I think I read something about the stinger and the sac like shape part it is attached to turns brown?

 

[Cyris69]

I hope it's a female, I want babies
Are their gestations really 9 months?

 

[Rosenkreuz]

I hope it's a female, I want babies
Are their gestations really 9 months?

Give or take, yes.

 

[Cyris69]

IR lighting

So anyone know what wattage IR light I should get?
is there a thread here about caring for baby p.imps in their 2nd - 3rd instar?

 

[~Abyss~]

Just like to add that I did great having up to 5 scorpions in one 10 gallon tank. It was 2 H,spinifers and two P.imps. No deaths or fighting accured. I just got rid of them tough. And yes there is a thread it's a sticky.

 

[Rosenkreuz]

So anyone know what wattage IR light I should get?
is there a thread here about caring for baby p.imps in their 2nd - 3rd instar?

75W should do just fine. I have a 50W, and I'm actually finding it alittle too weak to keep the temps where I want them. I'm planning to get a 75W myself, and use the 50W for the B. jacksoni I'm getting (who'll be housed in a smaller setup, so a lower wattage should be fine). You can always adjust the distance to increase or decrease temps.

 

[Cyris69]

Great, finally someone to answer my ? on IR lighting and wattage, thanks.

 

[Cyris69]

Ok, I thought he had begun to burrow.
He tends to spent most of his time in the day time when the heating lamp on over to the right(cooler) side of the tank under the pot. When the light goes out he spends the rest of the night under the piece of bark and the broken pot above it if you look at the most current tank setup.

I know someone earlier mention it may take a week or so before they begin to burrow but I was wondering maybe my heat is to high or they do indeed take a week or so before burrowing?

But where he spends most of the day its only 3-4" of substrate before he would hit the rocks and where he sends most of the night its around 5-8" or substrate.

I just want to know when he might burrow and maybe he isn't because his needs aren't quite met yet?

Thanks

 

[Aztek]

Ok, I thought he had begun to burrow.
He tends to spent most of his time in the day time when the heating lamp on over to the right(cooler) side of the tank under the pot. When the light goes out he spends the rest of the night under the piece of bark and the broken pot above it if you look at the most current tank setup.

I know someone earlier mention it may take a week or so before they begin to burrow but I was wondering maybe my heat is to high or they do indeed take a week or so before burrowing?

But where he spends most of the day its only 3-4" of substrate before he would hit the rocks and where he sends most of the night its around 5-8" or substrate.

I just want to know when he might burrow and maybe he isn't because his needs aren't quite met yet?

Thanks

Mine took a month to burrow.

 

[Rosenkreuz]

Nobody can say how long before your scorpion decides to burrow. Mine burrowed all the time, but the last time I made any changes to her setup (I added some more coco-fiber substrate), she refused to burrow after that. I think it may have to do with her in pre-molt at the time, but who knows? Don't stress out about your scorpion not burrowing. It will when it wants and not before.

 

[Cyris69]

Good to hear!

Yeah, I'm not stressing just curious or worried, but now I know its not a big deal.

I just switched my light to a 75watt Exo-Terra IR
Man, it gives me an eye ache looking in the tank

I haven't noticed that great of a heat increase, yesterday it was 90F today its around 85F so I'm not sure how it got to 90F.

I have reset his day/night cycle to 14 hours of IR and 8 hrs of no IR or heat.
Since he can't see IR I assume he knows if its day or night based on ambient light from my window(which there isn't really much light) and by knowing its hot during the day and colder at night so i don't think im going to use a visual light source anymore.

***
Also, I'm getting two-three juvenile P.imps in their 3rd instar September 19th.
Is there any special needs other than have the same setup as my adult just miniaturized?
They guy I'm purchasing them from on The Venom List says they are still about 1-1.5" and they should molt in about 2.5 months since they just molted

How should I have the setup to accommodate the juveniles?
Is it fine to move them into Cyris's tank without worrying he will eat them?
When will it be safe to transfer them into Cyris's tank?

How should he send me the P.imps in the box? What kinda containers inside the box?
Is it safe to send three of them in the same container during shipping?

 

[Cyris69]

Heat! Ventilation

Ok, is it safe to cover 95-98% of the top of the tank with GLAD Saran rap(Plastic Rap)

It has raised my temperature from 82-85F to 92+-F and the humidity to 90+-%

Is that a safe temp , and humidity for 24/7?
Is that little ventilation safe?

I went to Good Will and bought a cheapy table lamp(for visual light no heat) to set on the auto power timer and leaving the IR on 24/7.

Is that safe?

 

[BadBikaDamo]

The glad wrap idea is a common one and seems to work fine. I would suggest checking your night temps though, mines on a thermostat and drops to around 60F at night, and they seem more active then when I used to run it higher.

Damo

 

[Cyris69]

Hmm

So, i should have the IR light on just for a set amount of hours?

On the non-lite side of the tank its only 80+-F Air Temp around 75+-F ground temp.

Here are my pics






This is my Auto Timer
Set for, ON 14Hrs | OFF 8Hrs
Currently the Table lamp is set for this, the IR is on 24/7
I can put them both on the timer if I need to have the IR off and not on 24 hrs a day.

 

[BadBikaDamo]

Maybe you could try a 100w ceramic bulb (there is no light with these) and monitor the ground temps. A good thermometer probe is a worthwhile investment as you can check temps in the hot zone, further away, in the hide etc. Keep your IR bulb for emergencies.

 

[BadBikaDamo]

Also, I personaly wouldn't introduce scorps of different sizes to each other, they are prone to fight for territory at first (then end up in the same hide in my case) and it should at least be a fair fight. (quite distressing first time I saw this).

 

[Cyris69]

Yeah, I just got another 10gal tank just incase they fight or when I get my juvenile P.imps

Can you send me a link to the type of bulb your talking about?
I have a 50watt Zoo MED basking heat bulb(Visual, IR) just like a regular bulb.

Why shouldn't I use my IR round the clock, just curious.

 

[BadBikaDamo]

There is no difference in usage of IR / cerramic bulbs except some (as I thought you had mentioned) don't like the constant light and can find it irritating. As for why you shouldn't keep it on 24/7, thats up to you, I just keep my setups cooler at night to try to emulate natural conditions.

As for posting a link, embarrisingly, I've not figured out how to do that, I'm an old bloke with a new computer.:8o

May I add, some people, I think, get stressed going for the 'perfect' setup. You seem to have pretty good basics, just let the rest evolve.

Damo

 

[Cyris69]

Adding images:
Just copy and past a link here, don't worry about uploading a photo.

You can also right click on the image you want from another site and select "Copy Image Location'"

Then for most forums including this one just use this format but after your "Copy Image Location" paste it between

[IMG]"Image Location"[/IMG]

[IMG]"http://domain.com/pics/image.jpg"[/IMG]

Thats it, but don't use quotes!

May I add, some people, I think, get stressed going for the 'perfect' setup. You seem to have pretty good basics, just let the rest evolve.

It's true, it is stressful going for perfection, I'm just new to the whole arachno "scene" and want my guy to have it prefect.

That is some great advice, indeed let it evolve with time not all at once.