Which Enclosure?

[tiptoeTs]

I'm going to be picking up a gravid heterometrus longimanus in the near future and cannot decide which enclosure I should go for. This will be my first scorpion and project like this.
I want to do a live, planted vivarium that will be eye catching as a display, but also suitable for a group. I plan on rehoming most of the scorplings, but I do want to keep 2, maybe 3 depending on what everyone has to say on enclosure size.

Option 1: The exo terra habbisphere. It measures 18x12x12 and has built in led lights and I love the bowed glass front.

Option 2: Regular exo terra 18x18x18. I enjoy the front access on this over the top and back access of the habbisphere, but it's not as pleasing to look at.

Option 3: Your suggestion if neither of these are suitable for my project.

I don't want to use any heat bulbs, but I do plan on having a side mounted heat mat. I keep my house at 73°F year round, though it does dip down to 70 if the husband gets ahold of the thermostat, so I'd like to be safe with the heat mat just in case. With the habbisphere, it does have led lights, but I don't think it gives off any heat.

If anyone has anything similar for their scorpions, feel free to share!

 

[pannaking22]

Things to keep in mind here:

1. They're nocturnal, so you may or may not get to see them very often.

2. If given the proper substrate depth, there's a chance they'll start burrowing and that will probably rearrange things in your enclosure.

That said, I think a planted viv for these guys would be pretty neat. The heat pad on the side will probably be appreciated. It sounds like you've got the care idea down and have been doing the research to make sure they'll be happy, so good on you! My vote would be the habbisphere so you can always look at it and enjoy your work.

 

[pannaking22]

Oh, I forgot to ask, how secure is the top of the habbisphere? You wouldn't want the scorps to pop the lid off on you!

 

[tiptoeTs]

Oh, I forgot to ask, how secure is the top of the habbisphere? You wouldn't want the scorps to pop the lid off on you!

Thank you for your reply! Them hiding is why I wanted to do a planted tank so I'd still have something to look at when they're not out and about, rather than just an empty looking enclosure like with my Ts. As for the lid, that I'm unsure of. I've watched a few videos and it doesn't seem to have any latches, and is just held down by the weight of the lights underneath. I can't find any in stores either so I'm going to reach out to the company and see what they say or if I could make some sort of lock.

 

[darkness975]

I'm going to be picking up a gravid heterometrus longimanus in the near future and cannot decide which enclosure I should go for. This will be my first scorpion and project like this.
I want to do a live, planted vivarium that will be eye catching as a display, but also suitable for a group. I plan on rehoming most of the scorplings, but I do want to keep 2, maybe 3 depending on what everyone has to say on enclosure size.

Option 1: The exo terra habbisphere. It measures 18x12x12 and has built in led lights and I love the bowed glass front.

Option 2: Regular exo terra 18x18x18. I enjoy the front access on this over the top and back access of the habbisphere, but it's not as pleasing to look at.

Option 3: Your suggestion if neither of these are suitable for my project.

I don't want to use any heat bulbs, but I do plan on having a side mounted heat mat. I keep my house at 73°F year round, though it does dip down to 70 if the husband gets ahold of the thermostat, so I'd like to be safe with the heat mat just in case. With the habbisphere, it does have led lights, but I don't think it gives off any heat.

If anyone has anything similar for their scorpions, feel free to share!

Not the best idea to intentionally move a gravid female. Hopefully the stress won't have any ill effects on the embryos.

Exo Terras work well for some arboreal critters (invertebrates and vertebrates) but for a burrowing Scorpion I find that they do not allow for a sufficient amount of Substrate. It's your call on that front. But if you do go with an Exo Terra, remove the background material so it does not climb up it and fall to its death.

Also, if the screen lid prevents the retention of sufficient humidity (a likely scenario) then you will need to cover half or more of it with saran wrap to keep the humidity in.

Honestly, in my opinion, you're better off with a different type of Enclosure.

My $0.02

 

[tiptoeTs]

Not the best idea to intentionally move a gravid female. Hopefully the stress won't have any ill effects on the embryos.

Exo Terras work well for some arboreal critters (invertebrates and vertebrates) but for a burrowing Scorpion I find that they do not allow for a sufficient amount of Substrate. It's your call on that front. But if you do go with an Exo Terra, remove the background material so it does not climb up it and fall to its death.

Also, if the screen lid prevents the retention of sufficient humidity (a likely scenario) then you will need to cover half or more of it with saran wrap to keep the humidity in.

Honestly, in my opinion, you're better off with a different type of Enclosure.

My $0.02

I was actually just wondering if moving a gravid female would be detrimental or not. Perhaps it would be better to just get a pair and do the breeding myself?

Do you have any brands of enclosure you prefer? I'm not very handy or I'd just make my own. I've seen some stunning forest vivariums, but they're usually a typical exo terra or not branded which leads me to think they're either home made or custom.

 

[darkness975]

I was actually just wondering if moving a gravid female would be detrimental or not. Perhaps it would be better to just get a pair and do the breeding myself?

Do you have any brands of enclosure you prefer? I'm not very handy or I'd just make my own. I've seen some stunning forest vivariums, but they're usually a typical exo terra or not branded which leads me to think they're either home made or custom.

I don't use anything fancy for rain forest species. Glass aquariums with the mesh lid ventilation restricted usually does the trick. A glass aquarium can still be terraformed into beautiful Terrariums.