Dune scorpion died :( now what?

Jurdon

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Messages
178
Sand Boa. Get rid of the heat lamp and you have a nice setup for another Dune or even a Desert Hairy.
Sand boas they may be called, but calcium sand kills. Aspen, or play sand if you can find it, is a lot safer. It sounds like this person’s bedding options are pretty limited, so of they can’t get a safer substrate, I couldn’t re
 

Daniel Edwards

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
164
Sand boas they may be called, but calcium sand kills. Aspen, or play sand if you can find it, is a lot safer. It sounds like this person’s bedding options are pretty limited, so of they can’t get a safer substrate, I couldn’t re
I never use calcium sand. I have clinically seen it impact a few geckos but so far that's it. When I worked pet retail i didnt stock it, and im in the veterinary profession now and dont recommend it. Usually if an animal grabs prey violently (i.e. lizards)... they ingest it. Inverts and snakes usually dont have the same problem, but better not test it.
 

Scorpionluva

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jul 15, 2013
Messages
925
Heat lamps severely dry out the air which can be extremely harmful to invertebrates.
Depends on how they are used
I've been using infrared heat bulbs for many of my arid species for years with great results
you need to place it on a short side of the tank from the outside to create the proper temperature gradient
I do however agree that you shouldnt use your infrared bulb on the top of your tank like you'd use it with a reptile or lizard
 
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KYguy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 31, 2018
Messages
40
you need to place it on a short side of the tank from the outside to create the proper temperature gradient
you mean shining through the side glass on one end? Instead on the top? <=I

Makes since so that the bulb isn't in direct contact with the tanks air. If this is what you mean of course.

As a precaution I gave a good spray and upped my humidity 75-80 and it should settle to around 65-70 for the night until I can come up with the means of proper light placement tomorrow.
 
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Scorpionluva

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jul 15, 2013
Messages
925
you mean shining through the side glass on one end? Instead on the top? <=I

Makes since so that the bulb isn't in direct contact with the tanks air. If this is what you mean of course.

As a precaution I gave a good spray and upped my humidity 75-80 and it should settle to around 65-70 for the night until I can come up with the means of proper light placement tomorrow.
Yep that's what I mean this way they have a hot side and a cold side and the infrared doesn't dry up your air like it would when mounted on top of your tank
 

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
3,091
vaejovidae often remain active year-round, no heating needed for any north american scorps.
 

KYguy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 31, 2018
Messages
40
Yep that's what I mean this way they have a hot side and a cold side and the infrared doesn't dry up your air like it would when mounted on top of your ta
Makes sense, thanks for all the stellar advice. So good to have so much knowledge in the members here. It really helps us newcomers.
 

Tim Benzedrine

Prankster Possum
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
Messages
1,496
Yep that's what I mean this way they have a hot side and a cold side and the infrared doesn't dry up your air like it would when mounted on top of your tank
That's how I keep one of my Asian forest scorpions. I have a 40 watt nano ceramic bulb placed in close proximity to the side of the 5 1/2 gallon tank. It's probably not as energy efficient as a heat pad on the side, but it was all I had available at the time of setup, and seems to work pretty well so I left it that way. It won't be that long before I can turn it off for the season.
 

Dry Desert

Arachnoprince
Active Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2016
Messages
1,552
So I wouldn't recommend it.
It is the most ridiculous thing yet - sticking a heat lamp on the outside of a glass tank - no wonder it cracked. From what I can glean from this forum most people seem to think that keeping Asian Forest scorpions or Emperor scorpions they need to be kept at around 70 degs and in a semi bog and that any kind of heat lamp will evaporate all your substrate and leave your scorpion a dried up crisp. Emperor scorpions come from the Middle East as well as Africa, Asian Forest are from Asia amoungst other places where it is extremely hot also.Regarding humidity - humidity is caused by water - ie rain - condensating on very hot surfaces. Therefore if you have a very hot enclosure humidity can be maintained by spraying - rain in the wild. At the moment I have 32 scorpions all thriving and breeding and all kept under ceramic or glass heat lamps and no heat lamp is any more than 12 inches above the substrate. Some are kept at 22/25 Deg C some are kept at 30/33 Deg C.all controlled by individual day/night thermostats. Heat mats on the side of tanks will not maintain temperatures in the northern hemisphere / cold countries.
As an additional note calcium sand Is Not harmful to scorpions, only reptiles that ingest the sand with their prey, scorpions do not ingest sand with their prey,they liquify their prey and suck the liquid juice.
 
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