Heterometrus spinifer sling question

[Zac0904]

1) Can slings (2i) drink from the substrate or do i have to put a water dish?


Since i found something on arachnoboard about a scorp sling who drowned due to water cohesion. Hence i am not so sure whether or not to put a water dish, though ive moistened the substrate.


2) Also can they eat from dead adult dubia roaches?


I have separated the mother from her slings, but before whenever i feed the mom a roach. She would kill it and leave it for her young to feed on the roach. Now that ive separated the mom from the young. Is it possible for the slings to eat if i crush the head of an adult dubia roach and put it inside the sling enclosure for them to feed on?


Sorry these may be newbie question, its because i am. Anyway, thanks in advance.

 

[Zac0904]

arachnoboards.com/threads/how-much-water-does-it-take-to-drown-a-scorpion.305059/

1) Can slings (2i) drink from the substrate or do i have to put a water dish?


Since i found something on arachnoboard about a scorp sling who drowned due to water cohesion. Hence i am not so sure whether or not to put a water dish, though ive moistened the substrate.


2) Also can they eat from dead adult dubia roaches?


I have separated the mother from her slings, but before whenever i feed the mom a roach. She would kill it and leave it for her young to feed on the roach. Now that ive separated the mom from the young. Is it possible for the slings to eat if i crush the head of an adult dubia roach and put it inside the sling enclosure for them to feed on?


Sorry these may be newbie question, its because i am. Anyway, thanks in advance.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

1) Can slings (2i) drink from the substrate or do i have to put a water dish?


Since i found something on arachnoboard about a scorp sling who drowned due to water cohesion. Hence i am not so sure whether or not to put a water dish, though ive moistened the substrate.


2) Also can they eat from dead adult dubia roaches?


I have separated the mother from her slings, but before whenever i feed the mom a roach. She would kill it and leave it for her young to feed on the roach. Now that ive separated the mom from the young. Is it possible for the slings to eat if i crush the head of an adult dubia roach and put it inside the sling enclosure for them to feed on?


Sorry these may be newbie question, its because i am. Anyway, thanks in advance.

You will probably do perfectly fine without a waterdish because scorpions get their water from their food. And yes, scorpions will eat freshly killed feeders. Best thing to do is try it.

I fear a bottlecap waterdish or similar item will trap the babies and drown them with surface tension.

 

[FrankiePinchinatti]

As far as the older thread that was linked goes, counter intuitively having a slightly deeper water dish is safer as far as surface tension goes, as long as they can climb out. Such a thin layer of water with the slick surfaces of the plastic lid and the scorpion's belly creates quite a bit more surface tension than if the water was, say, 5-10 mm deep. You can also avoid having them stick due to water tension by using a dish that has an uneven or rough surface, or putting small rocks/gravel in the bottom. As others have mentioned, having a bottle cap seems to work well in most cases. It is deeper, but the diameter is small enough that they can still hang on to the edge and then pull themselves back up. Of course I wouldn't use one for super tiny species that would be able to completely fit into a bottle cap though. And this is also dependent on if it is a desert, forest or tropical species, if they are desert I wouldn't even bother until they were bigger (if at all).

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

Here is a thread that addresses your same concerns: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/surprise-young-heterometrus-petersii.255927/