Worried about my new Emperor

[jm2628]

So I wanted to post some pics of my setup to see what you all think.

With my previous emperor scorpion, who sadly died of old age, I used a heat mat on the side of the tank. My apartment isn't cold but it is on the ground floor and we are basically walking on a cold slab of concrete.

Long story short, I decided to use an infrared heat lamp this time around. The thing that worries me is that the new scorp doesnt seem to want to burrow. He just hangs out on the surface, whether he is on the cooler shady side or directly in the light from the IR lamp.

From the research that I've done, UV radiation is not a big concern with IR lamps, but I'm still worried that he just sits in the light.

Is this a behavior anyone has dealt with before? Should I dig him a burrow? Thanks in advance!

Edit: I'm in the process of looking for a lower power heat lamp, the current bulb being a 250w. That is also why the lamp is so far away, it's extremely hot. The black lid also absorbs a lot of the heat

 

[Nickz123]

250w is craziness! What are your average temps in your apartment without the light??

 

[arachnidgill]

How big is the scorpion? Doesn't look like there's enough room to burrow. I would fill the enclosure at least half way and add a hide.

 

[darkness975]

So I wanted to post some pics of my setup to see what you all think.

With my previous emperor scorpion, who sadly died of old age, I used a heat mat on the side of the tank. My apartment isn't cold but it is on the ground floor and we are basically walking on a cold slab of concrete.

Long story short, I decided to use an infrared heat lamp this time around. The thing that worries me is that the new scorp doesnt seem to want to burrow. He just hangs out on the surface, whether he is on the cooler shady side or directly in the light from the IR lamp.

From the research that I've done, UV radiation is not a big concern with IR lamps, but I'm still worried that he just sits in the light.

Is this a behavior anyone has dealt with before? Should I dig him a burrow? Thanks in advance!

Edit: I'm in the process of looking for a lower power heat lamp, the current bulb being a 250w. That is also why the lamp is so far away, it's extremely hot. The black lid also absorbs a lot of the heat

It needs:
The sponge removed from the water dish ASAP
More substrate - moist all the way through
A hide

Use a thermometer gun to measure the actual temperature inside the Enclosure to make sure that it is not cooking it in there (despite the distance from the enclosure you would be surprised the ability those lamps have to dry things out).

 

[Vanisher]

Buy a small electric radiator with termostat and heat up the room to 23-25 degrees celcius instead! This lamp will likly kill the scorpion directly or indirectly by drying things out, including the scorpion! In the wild they have their cool moist burrow to get away from the heat, in a terrarium they have not

 

[jm2628]

How big is the scorpion? Doesn't look like there's enough room to burrow. I would fill the enclosure at least half way and add a hide.

The scorpion is about 2" right now. We've actually redone the enclosure, it's now moist all the way through and around 6" deep.

It needs:
The sponge removed from the water dish ASAP
More substrate - moist all the way through
A hide

Use a thermometer gun to measure the actual temperature inside the Enclosure to make sure that it is not cooking it in there (despite the distance from the enclosure you would be surprised the ability those lamps have to dry things out).

Some questions.
Sponge is removed, but why this? I thought it was to prevent accidental drowning.

Also would you recommend a ceramic heat bulb over these red IR bulbs? The bulb is off for today I moved him to a warmer temporary spot.

I added more substrate for a total of about 6" he is still very small yet. Also It is moist all the way through.

Buy a small electric radiator with termostat and heat up the room to 23-25 degrees celcius instead! This lamp will likly kill the scorpion directly or indirectly by drying things out, including the scorpion! In the wild they have their cool moist burrow to get away from the heat, in a terrarium they have not

It was definitely drying out the tank, I kept on top of it, misting throughout the day but yeah I would rather not have to.

 

[darkness975]

The scorpion is about 2" right now. We've actually redone the enclosure, it's now moist all the way through and around 6" deep.



Some questions.
Sponge is removed, but why this? I thought it was to prevent accidental drowning.

Also would you recommend a ceramic heat bulb over these red IR bulbs? The bulb is off for today I moved him to a warmer temporary spot.

I added more substrate for a total of about 6" he is still very small yet. Also It is moist all the way through.



It was definitely drying out the tank, I kept on top of it, misting throughout the day but yeah I would rather not have to.

The only purpose that goes sponges serve in the water dishes of invertebrates is to attract mold and bacteria, essentially creates a death trap.

As long as the dish is shallow enough that it can climb out it will be okay. We also do not recommend stones in the water dish because crud can become stuff in the pores of the rock.

 

[jm2628]

Update: bought a ceramic 60w heat bulb

 

[JoshBC]

250W is wild, I can see why you had that so far away. I honestly didn't know they made them so powerful. I've never needed more than 75W. @darkness975 is correct. Sponges are a bacteria trap. If you have drowning concerns, might I suggest putting some pebbles in the dish instead. Great you're on here sharing your concerns though. This site has proven to be an invaluable resource for me over the years.

 

[jm2628]

250W is wild, I can see why you had that so far away. I honestly didn't know they made them so powerful. I've never needed more than 75W. @darkness975 is correct. Sponges are a bacteria trap. If you have drowning concerns, might I suggest putting some pebbles in the dish instead. Great you're on here sharing your concerns though. This site has proven to be an invaluable resource for me over the years.

Yes it was way to powerful. The black lid of the enclosure luckily absorbed most of the heat so it wasn't super hot in the enclosure. I replace the bulb with a 60w ceramic heat bulb and it is much more manageable.