Emperor Scorpion, Pandinus imperator, Care – Part 1
One of the world’s largest scorpions, the emperor is also the most widely kept, and captive born specimens are readily available. Other than females with young on their back, emperor scorpions are rather mild-mannered. The sting may be painful, but is not considered dangerous to healthy adults.
Physical Description
Females may reach 7 inches in length and, when gravid, exceed 50 grams in weight (by way of comparison, the average house mouse weighs 20 grams); males are slightly smaller. Both sexes are jet black in color.
Range and Habitat
Emperor scorpions thrive in areas of high humidity, and are generally associated with rainforests. There are some reports of populations living in wet savannas and human-influenced habitats as well. They are native to northwest and north-central Africa, with their range extending from Mauritania south and east to Zaire.
Status in the Wild
Wild populations have been little-studied, but concern over huge exports in the early 1990′s led to the listing of this species on CITES II. Those in the US trade are largely captive bred, although animals “ranched” in Togo and Benin are sometimes imported. The closely related P. dictator and P. gambiensis, uncommon in the pet trade, are also listed on CITES II.
CAPTIVE HUSBANDRY
The Enclosure
Provide your scorpions with as much space as possible. A pair can be kept in a 10 gallon aquarium, but larger is always better; a 20 gallon can support 4-6 animals. The screen cover should be secured with cage clamps.
Physical Environment – Habitat Type and Terrarium Decorations
Emperor scorpions inhabit extensive burrow systems in the wild, and should be given the opportunity to burrow in captivity. Under such conditions, they will exhibit a wide range of interesting behaviors – far more so than if kept in a simple terrarium. When able to construct secure burrows, captive scorpions become quite confident and therefore more likely to show themselves.
Emperors also take readily to artificial caves and hideouts excavated below driftwood and other structures. I once created a very interesting exhibit by partially burying a number of artificial caves at different levels within the substrate of a 55 gallon aquarium. The resident colony of emperor scorpions dug pathways between the various cave entrances and established a complicated maze of “avenues” – more reminiscent of rodent runways than anything one might associate with an invertebrate. I highly recommend this type of set up for your scorpions – please write in if you’d like more specific information.
Substrate
Excavator Clay Burrowing Substrate is specifically designed for fossorial animals and is a great choice for burrowing scorpions. A few handfuls of Jungle Earth Reptile Bedding should be mixed in to help retain moisture.
Click: Emperor Scorpion, Pandinus imperator, Care – Part 2, to read the second part of this article.
Thanks,
Frank Indiviglio
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about 6 months ago
Thanks for your help Frank. I really do appreciate it and I think you are a great guy for answering everybodys questions. Thanks again.
about 6 months ago
Hello Shane,
Very nice of you to say that, much appreciated. Please let me know how all goes, and enjoy the articles,
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio
about 6 months ago
Hello,
So my 2 emporer scorpions have been living together for about 5 or 6 months with no issues and seem to have been great pals. But just resently my smaller one, which from what i can tell is male, has molted. This was about 2 weeks ago after the molt the 2 of them were fine but now suddenly they are fighting alot in the last 2 days. do you have any ideas to why the sudden change in thier behavior? she appears to be getting fatter maybe she is moulting soon and doesnt want to be bothered? as far as i know she is not pregnant. what should i do?
about 6 months ago
Hello TJ, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks for your interest in our blog.
Scorpion fighting can be related to a number of things, not all of which we understand, but here are a few possibilities:
Mating looks a lot like fighting, especially in the early stages when they are testing each other out (“first date” type stuff!).
Since she is heavy, it may be that they already mated…or perhaps she bred before you came to own her. Scorpions can retain sperm for months, possibly years, and so may give birth at unexpected times. In either case she might battle with the male…Emperors are quite social and pairs stay together in the wild, but in captivity that is not always the case.
It may also be that he reached maturity with the last molt, and is trying to mate, but she is not in breeding condition yet. As you suggest, shedding could also be involved.
Sometimes they need more room as they mature – deep substrate in which they can burrow, extra caves and such may help. It would be best, however to split them and re-introduce after a month or so. Before re-introducing, add substrate and hide spots, or set up a larger terrarium. If she is carrying young, the stress of being with the male may cause her to lose the clutch or to consume the young once they appear.
Good luck and please keep me posted…take notes if possible – we still have a lot to learn about these interesting little beasts.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
about 6 months ago
Thanks for the advice, I’ve set up a temporary hold for the male incase the fighting doesn’t stop soon, currently they are together but it seems if he makes a wrong move shes trying to crush him.
Before the moult he was in his young adult stage so maybe he has reached that maturity. All his color isnt back yet but his telson is a darker color which I’ve heard is a way to estamate age.
Her weight gain does seem odd not like a premoult because she is still eating and has eaten quite a bit this feeding. I’ve heard sometimes you can see the embryo’s in her side but there is none of that yet.
I guess we can only hope for the best. Im fairly new to these pets but I love them I learn whatever I can and do tons of research I would hate to loose one of them.
about 6 months ago
Hello TJ,
Thanks for the feedback – With the new info in mind, I would lean towards thinking she is carrying young. I’ve had scorpions give birth without showing many signs, so don’t cont on seeing bulges, etc. along her sides.
Definitely would separate as stressed females nearly always fail to produce young or consume them,
Good luck, enjoy and please let me know how it goes, and if you need more info.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
about 5 months ago
hi Frank!
i have a 55gallon tank that i would like to set up as you described in Part1 with a deeper substrate to allow for cave burrowing by my Emperors. i am completely redoing my tank setup after a complete wipe out that took all five of my Emperors, two of which were pregnant females. I’m not sure what happened; i’ve never had this happen before. i did move into a new(to me) home in a different state but everyone handled the move well (it was months ago) and then two weeks ago, one after another they have all passed. the pollen count here is higher and i wonder if that may have been a contributing factor? but other than that nothing about their lives were changed. i thought i would start over with three, and a more “natural” habitat that would allow them more digging room (previously they only had about 5″ coconut husk). any thoughts? ideas? feel free to email me if you need more info or feel i need more info than can be contained in this thread. thank you.
about 5 months ago
Sorry to hear about your loss.
I have not run into a major die-off like that either. However, a co-worker who moved several hundred tarantulas for some distance by car lost a huge number of long term captives..he’s an experienced spider researcher and so all the conditions were perfect. It seems they are extremely sensitive to vibrations, and it caused some kind of internal “havoc” (no details known yet) – I expect scorpions would be as or even more sensitive. Most of his died fairly quickly, but some did pass after a few weeks. Perhaps the disturbances caused by the move impaired your scorpions’ immune systems, and left them open to attack by bacteria/disease etc.?
Scorpions can contract diseases even if well-kept, and we know virtually nothing about that (interesting research for a dedicated scorpion keeper..hint, hint!)
Think back about other things that may have gone on since you moved in – floor stripping, painting, extra cleaning, etc – maybe something chemical?
Were any of the animals new to the group – some parasites take awhile to incubate/develop?
Your new set-up sounds like an exciting prospect – with so much room you should have plenty to observe. A male and 2 females would be fine, but if you plan on a bigger group (5-6) eventually it would prob be better to introduce all at once
I’d definitely use night-viewing bulbs, as you will be able to see lots going on in such a nice set-up. Covering the glass with black paper may encourage them to burrow near the glass – you can lift the paper to get a look at what’s going on below-ground once in awhile.
Good luck, enjoy your new home and scorpion and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
about 2 months ago
Hey Frank, I have noticed my nerw batch of Crickets laying eggs in my Emperor’s substrate. Should I be worried?
about 2 months ago
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks for the note…usually the adult crickets find the eggs and consume them. But should be no problem if some hatch, the nymphs are actually pretty good scavengers. They may be able to escape through the screen top, however.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.