Looking For Pics Of Scorpian Setups

reptiles4life · 01-27-04, 04:57 PM

Hey,

I am just curious on how u guys house your scorps, i have a couple of emperor myself.

Thanks,
Kody

Yve · 01-29-04, 09:43 PM

i'm new to keeping scorpions but here is a pic of my first enclosure. It holds an emperor. I have an inch of washed gravel as a base. Then about 3" of 50%peat & 50%organic soil for substrate. Most of the ventilation holes are hot glued, the container was not meant for a humidity loving creature so I had to make some adjustments

Theres a clear plastic tube hot glued to one corner of the enclosure, which leads to the gravel layer. I pour water in there whenever needed till its about 1/2" deep. This will slowly evaporate keeping the housing at a good humidity level without drenching the soil. The only reason its a 'temporary' enclosure is because it is not deep enough...I'm getting an aquarium this weekend and doing the same thing to it but with a deeper substrate so the scorp. can burrow(6"). The hiding boxes are clay pots submerged in the soil a few fake plants(another pot under the plants) and a water dish...oh yah...a hygrometer and digital thermometer. I'm using a heat lamp which some people recommend and others don't....I haven't had trouble with it so far...it simply hangs over the tank. I would actually like to hear more from people on how they heat they're inverts and what is best for this type of enclosure.

m1k3_88 · 01-29-04, 10:06 PM

What wattage light are you using above the enclosure, is it a red buld? I am looking into possibly getting an emp but only if i can get the enclosure set up nicely b4 the toronto expo. 1more question, waht are the temps at? Thanks, Mike

CHRISANDBOIDS14 · 01-29-04, 10:13 PM

I use a UTH. Thats possibly the nicest temporary setup i have ever seen! LOL.

Chris

skinheaddave · 01-29-04, 10:21 PM

Several setups, including a few of my older ones, can be seen here.

Cheers,
Dave

Yve · 01-29-04, 10:41 PM

thanks Chris....wait till I get the permanent one done!lol....creating the enclosure is half the fun....I can't wait to build some more mini environments!

Mike, I'm using a night light....its similar to a black light...its 75watts which is a bit much but I keep it about 2 inches away from the top of the enclosure and the temp inside is mid-high 80's.
I've read that uth is a better choice...in a rack system...but in this type of enclosure the only way I can think of attaching it is sticking it to the side...and I'm thinking that may be too hot....unless ofcoarse its a tall tank then maybe I can stick it on higher than the scorp can touch. Some input on this topic would be appreciated

m1k3_88 · 01-29-04, 10:52 PM

So Yve, a 10gallon with 5-6'' of potting soil with temps of mid-high 80's wit a small water dish and a hide would be a good start for an emp? Ive also heard that they are a communal species, so is there anyway of distinguishing sex? I would like to get 2, but if i couldnt insure 2 females, then would 1emp be ok in that tank?

arachnomania · 01-29-04, 10:58 PM

invertes and other animals burrow (amongst other reason) to escape heat therfor UTH isn't an ideal choice. You definately need to either heat the entire room or use a spot light per enclosure. No need for me to show pics of my scorpion setups as i only keep dry area species and they are kept simply on sand.

Yve · 01-29-04, 11:43 PM

oh no! I was unclear...what I read was that the rack had heat tape attached to a wall on the rack. thanks for the heads up RObert

I also read....somewhere in my crazy searches..lol...that uth can be attached to the side of a tank...but I'm skeptical of that idea because of the amount of heat that it emits. I've had my emp. for a week and she's eating and her temp and humidity is good so I'll leave her heating as is unless someone can point out a more beneficial system.
Mike, there is a way to distinguish the sexes(I don't know how) and the person you buy it from should be able to do this for you.
I think one emp. would be o.k. in that tank....the gravel part really helps with humidity as well, I wouldn't omit it. Throw in two hides if you can....

...I'm not a minimalist!lol

NewLineReptile · 01-30-04, 12:17 AM

I just keep mine on sand and use a low watt heat bulb on his 10 gal tank.

Brandon

arachnomania · 01-30-04, 10:38 AM

Brandon,
SAND?????????? How long have you kept it like this? Emperor's need very HIGH humidity. Just wait till skinheadDave gets to see this thread, LOL

skinheaddave · 01-30-04, 10:57 AM

Hehehee. Thanks Rob.

Yep, sand is a no-no for emperors. It is quite descicating and can be a death sentence for scorpions not properly evolved to deal with conditions like that. Check out this thread for tips on housing P.imperator.

Cheers,
Dave

SaIiLdVaEnR · 01-30-04, 01:09 PM

Ditch the sand and put in some peat moss, soil or vermiculite. I wouldn't think that sand would provide a high humidity, especially if it was dry. I would be surprised if it lasted a few months on sand.

Aidan

manville · 01-31-04, 01:44 AM

alright speaking about sand is it ok for a flat rock scorp to live on sand?

skinheaddave · 01-31-04, 03:35 AM

The key with a flatrock (assuming Hadogenes troglodytes) is to provide stacks of flat rocks. Slate works really well. Just be sure to silicone or otherwise secure the stones so that they can't slip and crush the scorpion. Since it will spend almost all its time in the stacks, what you put in the rest of the enclosure doesn't matter so much. We have an H.troglodyte that has done well on the red sand you get at the pet store (we got it for free) for a couple years now. He is always in and among his slate, though.

Cheers,
Dave