How to Care for Your BUGSnSTUFF

Emperor Scorpion (Pandinus imperator)

 

We always appreciate it when folks who own a BUGSnSTUFF BUG-Pet treat it with respect, so here are some guidelines for caring for your new pet:

 

P          Emperor Scorpions live in forest floors in Western Africa. You can use a coconut bark bedding mixed with some sand and perhaps moss. Give it a piece of bark to hide under if it wants to. Make its home a nice place to live! And don’t forget...COVER THE CAGE – it can climb!

 

P          These Arachnids like being sprayed with water sometimes, but they also need a water dish. You should keep a small water dish with aquarium filter floss (the white cottony stuff in aquarium filters) – it won’t need to be sterilized or changed often. You could also use a sponge or paper towels. Boil the sponge to sterilize it. The sponge or floss will keep your animal from drowning and will lengthen the time between adding water. Some Sphagnum Moss in one area of the cage will allow you to control the moisture level – you can spray the moss every so often and it will retain water.

 

P          Give your Emperor Scorpion regular, filtered sunlight (in a north facing window), or use a Vitalight^®, Repti-Sun^®, or comparable UV source light for 13-15 hour a day. (We use a timer. You can get one at most hardware stores or Walmart for about $5)

 

P          Normal, room temperature is fine for your Emperor Scorpion. Avoid cold drafts or super hot conditions – direct sunlight for long periods with no shelter might hurt your Emperor Scorpion.

 

P          Emperor Scorpions can be handled safely. This species is generally calm and difficult to agitate, but as with any animal with weapons, they may use them. Scorpions could pinch (which doesn’t hurt much) or sting (which hurts like a bee sting in this species). They will always rather pinch since it takes less energy than making more poison after a sting. If you are not immediately comfortable handling your new Emperor Scorpion, try using thick gardener’s gloves to get used to it. Despite their impressive size, these animals are delicate and should not be dropped, so it is important always to treat them with respect! ALWAYS wash your hands after handling a BUGSnSTUFF BUG-Pet !

 

P          Feed your Emperor Scorpion crickets and occasional Super Mealworms (both available at BUGSnSTUFF). You might wish to keep the crickets overnight and offer them a variety of foods (apples, potatoes, cat food, etc.) to vary the Scorpion’s diet. Scorpions binge feed – you should offer them 3-5 crickets once a week. If your Scorpion eats those right away, you can offer it another one or two. Don’t leave a bunch of crickets in the cage that aren’t being eaten! They smell when they die and may nibble on the Scorpion before then!