Looking After Scorpions

Emperor scorpions are from forests in Africa, for this reason, they like it warm, around 26-28 degrees Celsius, and humid, between 70 and 90%.

They are generally nocturnal; though occasionally move about in the day. They also like to hide under logs or in plant pots. A few think they are miniature JCB´s and dig deep tunnels in the substrate.

As with all animals, they need water, a shallow water dish that they can easily climb out of is very important; otherwise they can become lethargic, or even dry out and die. The scorpions that like to think of themselves as miniature JCB´s often fill this with substrate.

Substrate should be damp peat or potting soil at least 3 inches thick to allow burrowing.

Heating of the tank the scorpions live in is import ant, but how to do it is somewhat difficult. When a scorpion becomes too warm, it burrows to cool down, meaning heat mats under the tank can confuse them, causing them to dig deeper, and thus getting warmer. Attaching the heat mat to the side of the tank solves this problem, as to a lesser extent does only having the heat matt under half the tank.

Scorpions are carnivores, living on a diet of crickets, mealworms, locusts, and occasionally a de-thawed pinkie mouse. While not required, it is considered good practice to feed the crickets high quality food to ensure they have many nutrients inside them. As a rule, what the cricket eats, the scorpion also eats. Calcium is important for the exo skeleton, and cricket food is available containing calcium to ensure they get enough.

How much each scorpion requires in terms of prey items will vary, but a good ´guide´ is between 2 and 3 crickets a week in a healthy individual. As a rule, the cricket should be at least half the size of the scorpion, if it is too large, the scorpion may be injured trying to subdue the prey, or even run away from it.

Scorpions grow via moulting. Their exoskeleton is a hard armour coating in human terms, and thus doesn’t grow much. To allow the scorpion to grow, from time to time it will under go moulting, whereby the old skin is shed, and a new layer is formed beneath. Emperors usually moult 7 times before reaching adulthood. After moulting the scorpion is extremely vulnerable as its new exoskeleton is very soft. A cricket could even bite and hurt it, so they are best left alone. 4 days is usually long enough for the exoskeleton to harden.

Emperors can generally be considered communal, but a few are anti-social and won’t accept cage mates, these should be kept separate to avoid injuries to your animals. Other than these troublesome individuals, as long as the scorpions are roughly the same size, no problems should arise from keeping them in the same tank. As a precaution, always supply extra crickets to avoid fights over food.

Emperor scorpions are big, black heavy animals, but despite the appearance aren´t aggressive or nasty. Due to the relatively calm nature of most individuals, they can be handled*. They can grow to around 6 inches long, although 8 inches is not unheard of.

As a matter of keeping a scorpion enclosure in good condition, remove any uneaten crickets after 24 hours, change the water dish daily, and watch out for any mould. Mould results from low ventilation and leftovers from the scorpion’s meals. Keeping the tank clean, and allowing some ventilation helps keep this under control. If it becomes a problem, change the substrate.

*The sting isn´t just for show. Even calm, safe species such as Emperors do possess venom of sorts. Not any more painful or dangerous than a bee sting, though like a bee sting, allergic reactions can result.