Am I On The Right Track?

[LiveInFear]

I am the only person I know who keeps scorpions so I have no one to converse with about my set up, and how I am doing. So, I turned to the internet and found you guys! I have had 2 female Emperors for about 4 weeks now and everything has been going O.K. so far. I have a 3'x2'x2' tank, about 2 inches of bedding and logs and other hiding places. I feed them 4 tiny mealworms and 2 super worms a week (usually they don't eat them all), and try to shelter them from any harmful UV light. Now, the reason for me posting is… I have an open lid setup, and I noticed I lose ALOT of heat and ALOT of humidity. I have 2 heat lamps, one 125watt ceramic heat bulb on top of the cage in a dome suspended from the ceiling on the warm side, and on the cool side I have a under cage heater (it produces NO HEAT, I only use it to keep the substrate warm) and also suspended form the ceiling about 4 inches from the top of the cool side I have a 60watt ceramic heat bulb in a dome that turns on for only one hour in a 3 hour cycle (off for 2 hours, on for 1 hour). The hot side reaches as high as 90 degrees but usually sits around 88-89 and the cool side is usually around 78 degrees accept for the hour the heat bulb is on then it goes as high as 81-82 (the only reason I have that bulb is to keep that side at a stable temperature. If I didn't have it the temperature drops into the low 60's). Aside, from my heating I am also wondering about my humidity as I mentioned before. I mist 3 times a day, once VERY HEAVY before I leave for work, once lightly when I come home, and once VERY HEAVY again before I go to sleep. By very heavy I mean I use all the water in my squirt bottle which is the equivalent of 275mL on my heavy sprays. Although I do this my humidity only goes as high as 60% and usually stays around 40% all day unless it was right after a mist (before you ask, yes I have a shallow open dish for water, but it doesn’t seem to contribute to my tanks humidity level). I don't know if my humidity readings are 100% accurate because the humidity gauge is about half way up the wall of the tank. I do however know that my bedding loses all its moisture by the time I come home from work (9 hours after a heavy mist). If I mist any more at one time I will be literally making puddles but it only takes 20- 30 min before all the humidity is gone again. I also want to know why my scorpions seem to be coming out less now. I used to see them in the day a little bit, but now I NEVER do. Then they were coming out at 11:00pm and every night its getting later and later till they come out is there a possibility the lack of humidity is effecting their desire to leave their hiding places? I would also like to know if you all mist with distilled water. I keep ALOT of distilled water in my bar fridge just for misting, I’m very concerned about the growth of bacteria in my drinking water , misting water, and in my cage. Lastly how often do you replace your bedding? I read someone suggesting once every week but that would cost A LOT. PLEASE, feel free to give me some pointers and help me out, your my last hope for some real answers.

 

[Eurypterid]

I don't have a lot of time right now, but I can make a few comments. And I'm sure others will chime in here as well. It sounds like you temps are fine. The one thing I'd lose would be the undercage heater, for a couple of reasons. First, if your scorps ever do feel too warm, their natural tendancy is going to be to burrow in order to get away from the heat. If it's warm down there too, it's not going to help them much. Also, by far your largest reservoir for moisture is going to be the substrate. Heating it from underneath is going to drastically increase the rate at which it dries.

I'd also consider making some changes as far as your substrate. I didn't notice if you mentioned what you were using, but it should be something that holds a lot of water. The two things that are most commonly recommended are peat and shredded coconut husks. I prefer the peat, but both substrate materials have their fans on this board, and either will work well. I'd increase the depth to at least 6 inches. With a 2' cage height, you have plenty of room. This will help hold in even more moisture, and also emps are burrowers. They are happiest by far when they can dig themselves nice deep burrows. The substrate should definitely not be allowed to dry. It should stay somewhat moist, like the floor of a forest covered by leaf litter. You really shouldn't need to change your substrate at all, unless you notice it growing mold. Just clean up feces or left-over food as needed.

Removing the undercage heater and increasing you substrate depth may solve your humidity problems, but you may also want to consider a cage cover. My experience is that this is by far the best way to deal with humidity. No matter how much you mist, an open cage is going to lose a lot of moisture, especially with all those heat sources.

 

[Empi]

I agree you need a plexi glass cover for your tank.Your humidity should be aruod 80 all the time. maybe you should also put a couple more inches of substrate in there. I use potting soil. Other than that I think your setup sounds good. Welcome to the forum.

 

[LiveInFear]

I use a coconut fiber potting soil that absorbs water better then anything I have ever seen (it’s made by eco- earth). The only issue is the stuff costs and insane amount of money. Luckily I bought plenty because I was told I would need to change the bedding as frequently as once every 6 weeks. NOW THAT I KNOW I may never have to change it again (unless moldy) I can use the remainder of the soil in the tank, I also have a very thin layer of bark on top of the soil. I noticed in another thread someone suggested placing fish bowl gravel at the bottom of the tank and using a tube to add water to the underside of the substrate. I thought this was a GREAT idea, should I go for it? How should the set up look, 1 inch of gravel on the bottom, 1/2 inch of bark, 3 or 4 inches of potting soil, then my thin layer of bark again? Ill definitely lose my under tank heater. Keep the suggestions rolling people, you are the experts!

P.S. Thanks for the welcome!!!

 

[Empi]

How should the set up look, 1 inch of gravel on the bottom, 1/2 inch of bark, 3 or 4 inches of potting soil, then my thin layer of bark again? Ill definitely lose my under tank heater.
P.S. Thanks for the welcome!!!

That sounds about right. I have a heat pad under my tank annd it does not dry it out. It helps hold the heat. But it is better to have it on the side of the glass. As long as you have it on one side and not in the middle. Since you are going to put 3 or 4 inches of soil I would not worry about it.

 

[The Bear]

Im still very new to scorions but When I was having humididy problems I covered the top 90% with plastic wrap to keep most of the humidity in because I have a screen top. If you have extra room you could put in another water dish.

I think the gravel bottom is a great idea, when you poor hot water especialy down the pipe it increases humidity well. I suggest one to one and a half inches of gravel.

 

[LiveInFear]

Should I use some of the larger polished rocks in conjunction with the small fish gravel? Won't this water get dirty fast? Or does that not matter at all? I also want to know what the tubing should look like… should I have just a straight tube in the corner of the cage, or have a long pipe in the middle of the cage with holes drilled in it? Also if I do use just a straight pipe should it enter on the warmer side of the cage?

 

[OneSickPuppy]

wow thats a lot of changing the substrate. i think the average changing here is a year or more.

 

[juggalo69]

Should I use some of the larger polished rocks in conjunction with the small fish gravel? Won't this water get dirty fast? Or does that not matter at all? I also want to know what the tubing should look like… should I have just a straight tube in the corner of the cage, or have a long pipe in the middle of the cage with holes drilled in it? Also if I do use just a straight pipe should it enter on the warmer side of the cage?

I use polished river rocks about 1/2 inch big. You should never have to worry about that water getting dirty I doubt your scorps will ever come into contact with it. I just use a piece of clear flexable tube about 1 inch around in the corner of my tank that my heater is in. I put some window screen over the top of the tube because I had problems with crickets getting stuck. I personally would suggest a plexiglass lid, one this will keep your humidity in, and two, coming from someone who has had escapees in the past, a lid is just a good idea. I just went to the hardware store and bought a piece of plexiglass for like $2 cut it to fit the top of my tank and drilled a bunch of holes for ventalation. Hope that helps.

 

[OneSickPuppy]

i can get plexiglass at the hardware store that cheap and cut it myself? im on my way to the hardware store to test your theory. if everything goes well, im very thankful to you juggalo. very very thankful as I could really use some good lids at a great price.

 

[LiveInFear]

I have a lid but its the wire mesh stuff, If I was to use the Plexiglas my scorps would surely bake due to the normally high temperatures of the room they are in. I will definitely use this river rock idea.

OK, to make sure I understand what im going to do... I am going to buy some of the 1/2" pollished river rocks and a small amount the smaller fish tank pebbles. I am going to place a thin layer of the fish bowl pebbles, then place about 1" of pollished river rocks ontop of it, then do i put the bedding right on it or should i put a layer of small stones then bark? or just the bark. anyone have any sugestions?

 

[juggalo69]

I have a lid but its the wire mesh stuff, If I was to use the Plexiglas my scorps would surely bake due to the normally high temperatures of the room they are in. I will definitely use this river rock idea.

OK, to make sure I understand what im going to do... I am going to buy some of the 1/2" pollished river rocks and a small amount the smaller fish tank pebbles. I am going to place a thin layer of the fish bowl pebbles, then place about 1" of pollished river rocks ontop of it, then do i put the bedding right on it or should i put a layer of small stones then bark? or just the bark. anyone have any sugestions?

They won't bake if you drill enough ventilation holes.
IMO skip the fishtank pebbles, you don't need them the rocks should be fine by themselves. I just have a 1 1/2 inch layer of rocks with some eco-earth coconut bark about 4-6 inches right on top of the rocks. Yes after time some of the substrate falls into the cracks between the rocks, but not enough to nullify their purpose. Oh yea by the way avoid using bark chips for your inverts it can mess up their feet somehow. There has been threads on that topic if you want to know more detail.

 

[LiveInFear]

I can't find that particular forum. That might explain why they aren't leaving their logs anymore. Should all bark be removed from the terrarium? or is it ok for me to put a little between the river rocks and the potting soil? or have some in the soil they burrow in?