Yet another communal question.

[Rich.Harrington]

Just a quick one as I can't find anything elsewhere. I've seen the odd post, article etc about Cyriopagopus sp. (singapore blue) being a communal species (not just tollerant), can anyone confirm or deny this with any certainty?

[Nicola Dolby]

From what I gather, Cyriopagopus sp. are not communal, though I stand to be corrected. You see the problem is that when we get groups of spiderlings they are all happy together. Then as juveniles they are all happy together and people start saying "This species is communal". Then after the next moult they've nearly all gone and there's a big fat female sitting in the middle of the tank feeling very happy with her last meal!!! The only way to be certain of communality is to wait until they are adults and see how they interact then. However do not try putting two or more independantly grown adults of the same sex togetther unless you are prepared for possible bad news. I tried this with 2 female P. formosas, a notoriously communal species, and they went for each other immediately. The trick is to grow them together and keep your fingers crossed!

[Richard Shah]

From what I gather, Cyriopagopus sp. are not communal, though I stand to be corrected. You see the problem is that when we get groups of spiderlings they are all happy together. Then as juveniles they are all happy together and people start saying "This species is communal". Then after the next moult they've nearly all gone and there's a big fat female sitting in the middle of the tank feeling very happy with her last meal!!! The only way to be certain of communality is to wait until they are adults and see how they interact then. However do not try putting two or more independantly grown adults of the same sex togetther unless you are prepared for possible bad news. I tried this with 2 female P. formosas, a notoriously communal species, and they went for each other immediately. The trick is to grow them together and keep your fingers crossed!

Damn tarantulas are so cannibalistic! What happened with those two P. formosas of yours??
In the future I'd love to get three emperor scorpions and have them together in a tank!

[Oli Dodds]

In the future I'd love to get three emperor scorpions and have them together in a tank!

Like this?

[Richard Shah]

Like this?

That is quite sick lol! They share hides rather than have their own?? How big a tank would I have to have to keep three in? Do you reckon 24 by 8 by 8 inch would be big enough for three scorp.s? I wouldn't think so myself and so would probably need to invest in a larger tank.

[Oli Dodds]

If i remember correctly, the tank im using for them is 24x8x8. They seem to enjoy the tank size, as you can see from all three sleeping together, however, im thinking of getting a slightly larger tank with more hides for them.
They should be ok in that tank size, but bigger is better in my opinion, especially if housing a few individuals, as lack of space, although rare, can lead to fighting and cannibalism.
Colin is the man to talk to about scorpion colonies I think- he isnt human, he is every book ever written about inverts DISGUISED as a human, eh Colin?

[Colin D Wilson]

Colin is the man to talk to about scorpion colonies I think- he isnt human, he is every book ever written about inverts DISGUISED as a human, eh Colin?

Well thanks for the compliment, i've concentrated on a few specialised areas of the hobby but i wouldn't say i am an expert though. (You can have 10 brownie points though Oli )

imperators are quite easy to keep as a community, plenty of hiding places (for the odd one that wants to be solitary for a while) and plenty of substrate for them to dig and move around seems to be the key to success. Food, i've found, is best half live (free roaming) and half dead in a bowl (for the lazy eaters), a large, shallow water bowl (about as wide as a scorp is long) needs to be provided.
I have six living in a 48 x 12 x 15 at the mo (2.4.0 imperator) and all females are again showing signs of bearing young in the future.

Colin

[Richard Shah]

If i remember correctly, the tank im using for them is 24x8x8. They seem to enjoy the tank size, as you can see from all three sleeping together, however, im thinking of getting a slightly larger tank with more hides for them.
They should be ok in that tank size, but bigger is better in my opinion, especially if housing a few individuals, as lack of space, although rare, can lead to fighting and cannibalism.
Colin is the man to talk to about scorpion colonies I think- he isnt human, he is every book ever written about inverts DISGUISED as a human, eh Colin?

Well thanks for the compliment, i've concentrated on a few specialised areas of the hobby but i wouldn't say i am an expert though. (You can have 10 brownie points though Oli )

imperators are quite easy to keep as a community, plenty of hiding places (for the odd one that wants to be solitary for a while) and plenty of substrate for them to dig and move around seems to be the key to success. Food, i've found, is best half live (free roaming) and half dead in a bowl (for the lazy eaters), a large, shallow water bowl (about as wide as a scorp is long) needs to be provided.
I have six living in a 48 x 12 x 15 at the mo (2.4.0 imperator) and all females are again showing signs of bearing young in the future.

Colin

Thank you thank you; so then my tank is big enough! Well thank you, you two! Very helpful, I wish I could convince my mum that they are not bad at all; but I dnt mind - I'll use this info for reference to when I get my scorps in the future!
Cheers!

[Oli Dodds]

In my opinion your much more likely to get bitten by a grammostola/brachypelma then stung by an imperator
(And thats unlikely indeed!)

[Richard Shah]

In my opinion your much more likely to get bitten by a grammostola/brachypelma then stung by an imperator
(And thats unlikely indeed!)

I know, but there is no arguing the case lol!!!!!

[Rich.Harrington]

So all scoprians and other things not of Cyriopagopus sp. origin, am I to understand the general concencus is that Cyriopagopus sp. are not even tollerant let alone communal?

[Nicola Dolby]

Hello there. Richard the P. formosas are fine. I just banged on the side of the tank with a plastic tub and they stopped fighting to see what the fuss was! I whisked one out, quick, and they now have a lovely big tank each to prowl in. Seriously they are so cute. Here's a recent picture of one

[Oli Dodds]

Gorgeous formosa Nicola, really nice

[Richard Shah]

Those are some nice colours! That is a good looking T, in terms of its colour and size. It is a good thing they didn't fight to death and you amanged to intervene!