# Feeding Emperor Scorpions?



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

How often do you feed your's ive read online,that adults will eat about 3-6 crickets a week?

How often do you feed yours?

I chuck about 6 crickets in for my two adult scorpions,to make sure they dont argue,which is a problem because they dont actually eat them all in the week,which means the female crickets end up laying eggs in thier tank and then the babies hatch because the humid and heat ect,this has happened twice now and its getting on my nerves.

For the babies which ive got two ive been pre-killing a adult cricket for them every 3 days or so depending if they've eatting the previous one.


Also ive gotten a pregnant golden scorpion,and she doesnt eat at all,i always offer her a cricket or tried pre-killing some and putting them near her burrow and she doesnt even bother with them,i cant remember when she's had her last meal,she's still healthy and always pop's out to drink water sometimes,just wondering if this is normal because she's pregnant?

Here's a old picture.


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## TEENY (Jan 4, 2008)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> How often do you feed your's ive read online,that adults will eat about 3-6 crickets a week?
> 
> How often do you feed yours?
> 
> ...


Simple thing with the cricks would be to pull off thier omnipositer ( the long tube on back) for egg laying. 
My emps are only tiny but they have about 6-7 mini mealies and a few cricks a week between them.

The preg one prob doesn't have any room for food tbh. I am sure she will eat when they are out. If she is still drinking then i assume all is well


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

TEENY said:


> Simple thing with the cricks would be to pull off thier omnipositer ( the long tube on back) for egg laying.
> My emps are only tiny but they have about 6-7 mini mealies and a few cricks a week between them.
> 
> The preg one prob doesn't have any room for food tbh. I am sure she will eat when they are out. If she is still drinking then i assume all is well



I feel cruel just crushing the crickets heads when feeding them to the babies,i cant imagine pulling thier bits off lol,Legs aint soo bad but the thought of that..
Its a brilliant idea but wont be able to bring myself to do that.


Yea its quite annoying because id love her to have a meal,but she just wont so these babies better hurry and get out,ive estimated her date and april she should hopfuly have them,I bought her in sept,and she was long pregnant before that off the actual owner who i never met,because i bought her from a pet shop and they didnt know how long she was.


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## ladyboid (Nov 25, 2007)

I feed mine roaches so i tend to give them pre killed anyway .. 
I would just keep feeding prekilled if they take it, then its stops the crixs laying eggs.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

You should be feeding you emps only 4 or 5 large crix a month each!

Anything more and they will get over weight and unhealthy. : victory:


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

ladyboid said:


> I feed mine roaches so i tend to give them pre killed anyway ..
> I would just keep feeding prekilled if they take it, then its stops the crixs laying eggs.


Ive tried pre-killing them for the adults but they wouldnt eat them the Adults ive got are WC so i feel like id be taking the whole wild feeling away if i pre-kill them,where as they are use to catching them,but they wouldnt take them unless they were alive.

My mum wont let me have roachesin the house,we see them enough in work and she hates them,so thats a no go zone.
Unless i dont feed them as many crickets or buy mealworms,but i thought mealies dont hold much (goodness) in them,i thought so anyways.


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## buddah (Dec 23, 2009)

i feed my scorp one large cricket a week and somtimes leave it a few weeks between feeds, mine would pop if i gave it that many every week.


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Muze said:


> You should be feeding you emps only 4 or 5 large crix a month each!
> 
> Anything more and they will get over weight and unhealthy. : victory:


A Month? Whats with these bloody websites giving wrong information,good job ive decided to ask,no wonder they werent eatting the crickets often then.
The one is slightly bigger than the other one,but i hope thats a female (with babies)Not saying she's pregnant,but she does look quite fat,i hardly see them unless i look in the tank for them,or at night if they decide to come out.

Okay well good job ive asked at this time,i wont give them as much.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

buddah said:


> i feed my scorp one large cricket a week and somtimes leave it a few weeks between feeds, mine would pop if i gave it that many every week.


:notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> A Month? Whats with these bloody websites giving wrong information,good job ive decided to ask,no wonder they werent eatting the crickets often then.
> The one is slightly bigger than the other one,but i hope thats a female (with babies)Not saying she's pregnant,but she does look quite fat,i hardly see them unless i look in the tank for them,or at night if they decide to come out.
> 
> Okay well good job ive asked at this time,i wont give them as much.


If she is preggers (and she does look it) she wont be up for eating...its normal : victory:

She looks like she's about to drop any minute btw lol (the golden)


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## ladyboid (Nov 25, 2007)

I only feed mine about 1-2 times a month. 
I have found that emps are scavengers as much as hunters ( if not more) so feeding them prekilled is not taking anything away from them.: victory:


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Muze said:


> If she is preggers (and she does look it) she wont be up for eating...its normal : victory:
> 
> She looks like she's about to drop any minute btw lol


I hope she is,i love the babies,ive got 2 babies (from someone on here) bought them july,and i love them to bits,the one molted afew days ago and his little stinger has gotten big,and he's very defensive when i give him water.

She's being housed with a male,she could of been pregnant before i bought her,because i bought her from a local pet shop and thye were housed in a big tank and there was like 18 scorpions in there,a couple of males aswel,i asked them to sex them all so i could choose two,and they did bless them.

Should i house her in another tank away from the male,so he wont eat her babies,if she does have them?


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> I hope she is,i love the babies,ive got 2 babies (from someone on here) bought them july,and i love them to bits,the one molted afew days ago and his little stinger has gotten big,and he's very defensive when i give him water.
> 
> She's being housed with a male,she could of been pregnant before i bought her,because i bought her from a local pet shop and thye were housed in a big tank and there was like 18 scorpions in there,a couple of males aswel,i asked them to sex them all so i could choose two,and they did bless them.
> 
> Should i house her in another tank away from the male,so he wont eat her babies,if she does have them?


It was the golden i was referring too..she looks like she's ready to pop.

If you've got a better pic of your emps i'll see if i can tell you. Ive personally always separated when i think the babies are due just to be on the safe side, tho babies can take 9 to 12 months or so to be born


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Muze said:


> It was the golden i was referring too..she looks like she's ready to pop.
> 
> If you've got a better pic of your emps i'll see if i can tell you. Ive personally always separated when i think the babies are due just to be on the safe side, tho babies can take 9 to 12 months or so to be born



Yea shes in a tank to her self,always hiding appart from when she wants water.
I was looking at my emperor got them both out,need to sort thier tank out because its rubbish and ive got those stupid friut flys about again so im gonna rehouse them into another tub so ive gotta move them,ill get some shots of them now.The one emp is bigger than the other.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> Yea shes in a tank to her self,always hiding appart from when she wants water.
> I was looking at my emperor got them both out,need to sort thier tank out because its rubbish and ive got those stupid friut flys about again so im gonna rehouse them into another tub so ive gotta move them,ill get some shots of them now.The one emp is bigger than the other.


Ok cheers hun :2thumb:

Yeah fruit flies are a pain in the bum! :lol2:

Just noticed you said one is very defensive if this carries on after a week or so (as its just moulted) then its a sign that it could be preggers


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

The Top Left hand picture is the female that i think maybe is pregnant.
The two bottom images are just the same image but with both of them together to compare sizes.










Just sorted out thier home (Going to buy a rub tomorrow to house them in because thier tank is soo open the fruit flies keep getting in).so good job i got some good images before they went back into hiding.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

Its quite difficult to tell with those pics. But when Emps are heavily pregnant the white/grey membrane in between the sternite and tergite plates on the top and bottom (and sides) of the back of the scorp can be seen (as long as this isnt due to over feeding).

Also mine used to get really arsey when she was preggers and try and pick a fight with everything in the tank. If she's been kept with that many males there is a good chance she is. She does look rather chunky round the middle to me lol.


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

it's a myth that scorps will become overweight and unhealthy.
scorps in the wild will gorge when food is available, some species to the point of looking like they'll pop. then they stop eating and hide and digest.
you don't have to get them to that point, but fat scorpions are generally pretty pleased with life.

feed them as much as they'll eat, then maybe remove the uneaten crickets and give them to something else.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

corpselight said:


> it's a myth that scorps will become overweight and unhealthy.
> scorps in the wild will gorge when food is available, some species to the point of looking like they'll pop. then they stop eating and hide and digest.
> you don't have to get them to that point, but fat scorpions are generally pretty pleased with life.
> 
> feed them as much as they'll eat, then maybe remove the uneaten crickets and give them to something else.


really? then account for the overweight scorps ive had here then please?

They were rescues


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## Colosseum (Aug 8, 2008)

*


Muze said:



Its quite difficult to tell with those pics. But when Emps are heavily pregnant the white/grey membrane in between the sternite and tergite plates on the top and bottom (and sides) of the back of the scorp can be seen (as long as this isnt due to over feeding).

Click to expand...

*


Muze said:


> Also mine used to get really arsey when she was preggers and try and pick a fight with everything in the tank. If she's been kept with that many males there is a good chance she is. She does look rather chunky round the middle to me lol.



This is correct you will see like little whit blobs appearing this will be a indication to a gravid Emp.

Regards to feeding 3-4 crickets a month or less will be fine anymore you will have a overweight unhealthy lethargic Scorpion.

Also i note you have a piece of cardboard in there for a hide this will cause all sorts of problems, it will be a breeding ground for mold and bacteria leaving you a strong chance of mites which can cause Mycosis, irritation and even death, so i would ditch that for starters.


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Muze said:


> Its quite difficult to tell with those pics. But when Emps are heavily pregnant the white/grey membrane in between the sternite and tergite plates on the top and bottom (and sides) of the back of the scorp can be seen (as long as this isnt due to over feeding).
> 
> Also mine used to get really arsey when she was preggers and try and pick a fight with everything in the tank. If she's been kept with that many males there is a good chance she is. She does look rather chunky round the middle to me lol.


I hope she is,well i guess ill wait afew more months,ive been hoping she'll breed with the male ive got with her now,but i havnt seen them dancing,but i am looking for another female emperor to be housed with them,but im going to buy thier new rub tomorrow before i get any more emp's.



corpselight said:


> it's a myth that scorps will become overweight and unhealthy.
> scorps in the wild will gorge when food is available, some species to the point of looking like they'll pop. then they stop eating and hide and digest.
> you don't have to get them to that point, but fat scorpions are generally pretty pleased with life.
> 
> feed them as much as they'll eat, then maybe remove the uneaten crickets and give them to something else.



Mine eats afew but leaves the rest of the crickets run around in the tank and sadly lay eggs,drives me nuts but im going to keep thier food down to once a week,at least then they wont be over fed.


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

what was actually wrong with them?
you just let them digest for a while and they go back to normal.

they don't always get a good gorge in the wild, obviously, but they can handle it. they stop eating when they're full, if kept at correct temporatures.


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

corpselight said:


> what was actually wrong with them?
> you just let them digest for a while and they go back to normal.
> 
> they don't always get a good gorge in the wild, obviously, but they can handle it. they stop eating when they're full, if kept at correct temporatures.



Nothings wrong with them i was generaly asking how often people feed thier emp's.
But then the question went onto if the one emp was pregnant,and we was also talking about my golden scorpion (which is pregnant).


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

corpselight said:


> what was actually wrong with them?
> you just let them digest for a while and they go back to normal.
> 
> they don't always get a good gorge in the wild, obviously, but they can handle it. they stop eating when they're full, if kept at correct temporatures.



its not healthy for any animal to be overweight...or are you saying different?


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## Colosseum (Aug 8, 2008)

Overfeeding reduces Scorpions life's, also contributes to a lot of molting problems, its not a myth its factual 

But the OP wanted advice on feeding which i have given, hope it helped.


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Muze said:


> its not healthy for any animal to be overweight...or are you saying different?



Dont worry i wont be over feeding them,i know this comment is directed to corpselight,btw.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

Pied Piper said:


> Overfeeding reduces Scorpions life's, also contributes to a lot of molting problems, its not a myth its factual
> 
> But the OP wanted advice on feeding which i have given, hope it helped.



:2thumb::notworthy:


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Pied Piper said:


> Overfeeding reduces Scorpions life's, also contributes to a lot of molting problems, its not a myth its factual
> 
> But the OP wanted advice on feeding which i have given, hope it helped.



:2thumb: Yep thank you all who've stayed and chatting and gave me abit more infomation to go on with.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> Dont worry i wont be over feeding them,i know this comment is directed to corpselight,btw.



Yes it was hun, nowt wrong with yours : victory:


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

Pied Piper said:


> Overfeeding reduces Scorpions life's, also contributes to a lot of molting problems, its not a myth its factual
> 
> But the OP wanted advice on feeding which i have given, hope it helped.


that isn't true either. they fast longer while they digest.
this is not just my experience, it's the experience of others who have been keeping them yeeeears and years. it's also in Manny Rubio's book Scorpions.
i've quoted a source in literature to back me up...can you do the same?

the fact that the scorpions are leaving some prey to reproduce (which admittedly is a pain) means they're just full enough.

to Muze:
i am not sure we can apply the term overweight to inverts like scorpions as you can with mammals or reptiles. it isn't stored fat, it's food they're digesting. when they're done with it, they'll defecate and want more.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

corpselight said:


> that isn't true either. they fast longer while they digest.
> this is not just my experience, it's the experience of others who have been keeping them yeeeears and years. it's also in Manny Rubio's book Scorpions.
> 
> the fact that the scorpions are leaving some prey to reproduce (which admittedly is a pain) means they're just full enough.
> ...


my OH has been keeping them many years as you know and he subscibes to the overfeeding is bad theory 

as do i...as do many others, such as Oli, who i personally have a great deal more respect for than people who come out with such nonsense. Overfeeding is bad for any animal, its common sense.


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## Colosseum (Aug 8, 2008)

I'm personally not here to argue, i was replying to the Op's thread.


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

Muze:
well i'm glad that works for your OH...but that isn't what i've read or observed or heard. 
instead, i've seen fat scorpions turning down food, moulting just fine, and living active lives.

and i'm guessing you are saying you have "more respect" for Oli (whoever he is) then me. frankly...that doesn't bother me. you're entitled to your opinion of anyone you like. the OP asked for help, i provided advice as best i could, backed up by study and observation and talking to knowledgeable folk.

the OP is concerned about baby crickets hatching out. well...obviously if the adults are not being eaten, they've had enough. take out the excess crickets as i said before.
if a scorpion isn't eating everything, check your temps...and if they're high enough, it means the scorpion's full. as with spiders, remove excess. simples!


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

me either :flrt:


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

corpselight said:


> Muze:
> well i'm glad that works for your OH...but that isn't what i've read or observed or heard.
> instead, i've seen fat scorpions turning down food, moulting just fine, and living active lives.
> 
> ...


My scorpions aint fat tho? They are healthy and fine,the female might be pregnant thats all.
If you read through the thread ive happly sorted out my problems with the crickets,hence me limiting the feed to weekly instead of every other day.
The temp's are prefect if you must know,im not happy with the fact you've came onto this thread and most likely havnt read it through,everything has been sorted and ive thanked the people who've gave me the adivce.

End of topic please,i dont want other people to come on here or you make this into a agrement ive gotten the advice ive needed and dont need anymore thanks.


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

arguing? of course not. but a forum is for debating, and the OP needs info from perhaps different perspectives to give a more complete view of the information available.


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## Muze (Jun 20, 2007)

corpselight said:


> Muze:
> i provided advice as best i could, backed up by study and observation and talking to knowledgeable folk.
> !



Yep...me too :2thumb:


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> My scorpions aint fat tho? They are healthy and fine,the female might be pregnant thats all.
> If you read through the thread ive happly sorted out my problems with the crickets,hence me limiting the feed to weekly instead of every other day.
> The temp's are prefect if you must know,im not happy with the fact you've came onto this thread and most likely havnt read it through,everything has been sorted and ive thanked the people who've gave me the adivce.
> 
> End of topic please,i dont want other people to come on here or you make this into a agrement ive gotten the advice ive needed and dont need anymore thanks.


erm...i was trying to help out as well, Domino.
i'm glad everything is sorted. i never said your scorps were in bad condition, they looked fine. i was just answering the question as i read it.
i'm sorry if you took what i say the wrong way, it was not intended to slight your keeping. i read something incorrect so far as i know, and i corrected it. it's good to know as much as you can...or else why ask the questions?
also, you evidently didn't read what *i* said...they CAN be fat, it's a good thing to be fat!!! they will digest and defecate and repeat the cycle!
again i am glad you're sorted but don't get snappy at people trying to help: victory:


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

corpselight said:


> arguing? of course not. but a forum is for debating, and the OP needs info from perhaps different perspectives to give a more complete view of the information available.


I am the OP,and im happy with the advice ive had.
End of please.


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

corpselight said:


> erm...i was trying to help out as well, Domino.
> i'm glad everything is sorted. i never said your scorps were in bad condition, they looked fine. i was just answering the question as i read it.
> i'm sorry if you took what i say the wrong way, it was not intended to slight your keeping. i read something incorrect so far as i know, and i corrected it. it's good to know as much as you can...or else why ask the questions?
> again i am glad you're sorted but don't get snappy at people trying to help: victory:



Just wanted to know how often people feed thier emp's.And ive found a plan that works for me.
I wasnt being nasty or anything i just get wound up easy,sorry and i didnt mean to.:2thumb:


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

no worries mate: victory:


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