Substrates/heating for desert scorps?

[Ehaze]

Alright, I am going to get a scorp tomm, or monday, this will be my first, so im gonna pop my cherry...

things i already have, Thermostat (controls heat), Heat tape, ceramic heating bulbs, black heating bulbs, UVA/UVB bulb.

any tips on what i should feed? thanks!

 

[Ehaze]

Sorry, also, what is the best place to buy cheap scorp supply. thanks!

 

[rasputin]

in Colorado your options are limited on a good source for scorpions unless...ahem...you find someone that breeds scorps. I don't trust the pet shops out here that carry scorps but it's not my place to start trashing them by name. otherwise, you're looking at finding a breeder online or scanning through the ads posted on the boards or you could put up a WTB (want to buy) for a specific species. be sure that you study up on the species before you get it.

as far as feeding scorps, it's easiest to stick with crickets. as I stated earlier, I no longer trust pet shops for much of anything and that includes feeders and substrates.

 

[ChainsawMonkey]

Suggestion! H. arizonensis, and I know where to get them cheap.
http://www.shopspiderpharm.com/servlet/Detail?no=393

The most expensive one there is 8.95 plus shipping. They are in great condition, in fact, this is where I purchased mine from. They are wild caught but they do some kind of quarantine thing for like a month before they put them in the preverbial outbox.

 

[Ehaze]

can anyone help with heating?? do they like a heat pad, or a heat emitter, or a heat light

 

[theteacher]

H. arizonensis is a good choice. When making the cage, just make the desert . . well. . a desert. Deserts are not always soft sand as a matter of fact the sand is packed and dried for great burrowing. You can wet your sand let it dry. A timer on a bright hot light (the sun) would work well during the day. You probably don't need any other heating as the desert cools down at night anyway. Crickets work well but don't overfeed as they only find prey that large occasionally in the wild. These are great scorpions so enjoy.

 

[Vietnamese510]

do not get a heat pad beacuse they dig under there so they can get away from the heat i have 7 hadrurus arizonensis already and they all dig down pretty far,

you can use a red heat immiter, just dont let it go over 90 Degrees

 

[JungleGuts]

if ur gettin a true desert scorp get sand or that fake sand stuff most pet stores carry. Also get a red heat bulb, some say the black ones are bad for the scorp. Going with "no heating" like someone said is a very bad idea. You can go half a day with the heat off and half with it on to simulate the cooling of the desert at night. Do 12 hour cycles on and off. Heatlights help keep humidity down, and to much humidity in a desert scorps viv will probably cause it to get mycosis and die.

 

[scotty]

How much do heatlights bring down humidity?

I live in Alberta which has virtually the same humidity levels as Arizona, 35%. Will a heat lamp dry out the habitat too much? What is the best humidity for these scorpions?

 

[rasputin]

if ur gettin a true desert scorp get sand or that fake sand stuff most pet stores carry. Also get a red heat bulb, some say the black ones are bad for the scorp. Going with "no heating" like someone said is a very bad idea. You can go half a day with the heat off and half with it on to simulate the cooling of the desert at night. Do 12 hour cycles on and off. Heatlights help keep humidity down, and to much humidity in a desert scorps viv will probably cause it to get mycosis and die.

I don't personally recommend the fake sand (calcium carbonate) for inverts. I leave the heatlamp to one end of the enclosure and leave it on 24hrs - the idea is to allow the scorpion in question to thermo-regulate at it's own discretion. I've never run into issues with mycosis

How much do heatlights bring down humidity?

I live in Alberta which has virtually the same humidity levels as Arizona, 35%. Will a heat lamp dry out the habitat too much? What is the best humidity for these scorpions?

just mist the cage ever so oft. I like to keep my desert sp at an overall 50% but offer them one side dry and one side moist (generally not exceeding 60% on the moist side) - to accomplish this I put the heat lamp to one side as stated above.