# Mixing zoomed excavator clay with sand for Hadrurus arizonensis



## VictorHernandez (Sep 15, 2012)

How would I measure the percentage? Do I just guess?
I hear it has to be 30% clay mixed, but do I just mush it up with water or something?
If I put 25lbs of zoomed sand (would this be 6inches in a 10 gallon?) I can divide 25 by 100, and that would be 0.25, and 0.25 times 30 (for 30%) would be 7.5 lbs, so I can just buy 10 lbs of clay for the sand. But I'm not sure if 25 lbs is way too much(sounds like it..) How many pounds would 6in be for a 10 gallon?
Is maybe 10 lbs http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N5OM8S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER mixed with 6" of sand (?lbs?) good enough? how many 5lb sand bags would it take to fill a 10 gallon with 6 inches?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00109U5WI/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

THANKS!


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## shining (Sep 16, 2012)

When I made a mix of 30% excavator clay it was too hard for my H.Spinigerus and P.Liosoma. I made another mix of 25% ex.clay and that seemed to be the perfect mix. H. Arizonensis is an obligated burrower and stronger than both of the specimens I mentioned in the digging and moving things around so 30% clay might be better for it. That's the pe rcentage I've read the majority uses and some I've read had the same problems of the mix being to strong. 

To measure the ratio of each I just used a measuring cup and did my math from there but if your measuring in lbs, 30% of 25lbs is 7.5lbs and 25% of 25lbs is 6.25 lbs.

Blehk I just went over your post. . I'm retarded. Every 10lbs would make about 2" in a 10 gallon I believe. Or was that gravel? I keep fish too so I get mixed up. Hope somebody else can help instead of confuse you more.

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## VictorHernandez (Sep 16, 2012)

shining said:


> When I made a mix of 30% excavator clay it was too hard for my H.Spinigerus and P.Liosoma. I made another mix of 25% ex.clay and that seemed to be the perfect mix. H. Arizonensis is an obligated burrower and stronger than both of the specimens I mentioned in the digging and moving things around so 30% clay might be better for it. That's the pe rcentage I've read the majority uses and some I've read had the same problems of the mix being to strong.
> 
> To measure the ratio of each I just used a measuring cup and did my math from there but if your measuring in lbs, 30% of 25lbs is 7.5lbs and 25% of 25lbs is 6.25 lbs.
> 
> Blehk I just went over your post. . I'm retarded. Every 10lbs would make about 2" in a 10 gallon I believe. Or was that gravel? I keep fish too so I get mixed up. Hope somebody else can help instead of confuse you more.


lol thanks for the information. If 10lbs would be 2", I guess 25 lbs of sand would be maybe 5"  or less, thats good. and clay would add more, so possibly around 6", good for hadrurus I presume.


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## vespers (Sep 16, 2012)

With mine, I simply mixed a 10lb bag of Excavator Clay with a 25lb box of Zoo Med Desert Reptisand. Add water, mix, let dry. Done.

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## Greenjewls (Sep 16, 2012)

Keep in mind these scorpions live in sandy washes with very little (minimal) clay content because the digging is easy.  They can dig in harder substrate but they will dig less/slower.  10% clay should be plenty. Also keep in mind playsand at Home Depot is wash sand, mimics closely their natural habitat and is MUCH cheaper than sand at the petstore.  Good luck!

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## VictorHernandez (Sep 17, 2012)

Greenjewls said:


> Keep in mind these scorpions live in sandy washes with very little (minimal) clay content because the digging is easy.  They can dig in harder substrate but they will dig less/slower.  10% clay should be plenty. Also keep in mind playsand at Home Depot is wash sand, mimics closely their natural habitat and is MUCH cheaper than sand at the petstore.  Good luck!


thanks, I'll try that. I just hope it doesn't contain any harmful chemicals, so it won't kill a scorpion.
what's the best brand or kind? I see different ones available.


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## Greenjewls (Sep 17, 2012)

The playsand at Home Depot is really for kids to play in... so it better not have any chemicals in it!  The Pavestone brand is $3 for 50lbs, that would cost you $70 at Petsmart!

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## VictorHernandez (Sep 18, 2012)

Greenjewls said:


> The playsand at Home Depot is really for kids to play in... so it better not have any chemicals in it!  The Pavestone brand is $3 for 50lbs, that would cost you $70 at Petsmart!


Is it a bad idea to keep some medium sized desert rocks in the cage? I was thinking that if a burrow collapsed, that the scorpion would be killed...


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## ShredderEmp (Sep 18, 2012)

Scorpions are excellent diggers, the burrow wont collapse unless a larger being causes it. My Pandinus imperator has dug under a slab of granite that would squash him if he wasn't a good home builder

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## VictorHernandez (Sep 19, 2012)

So I will put in some desert rocks. I was thinking about putting in a 10 saguaro (fake), but the substrate would be too deep. I will reserve that for a smeringurus mesaensis.


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## VictorHernandez (Sep 19, 2012)

Hadrurus species don't require a hot and a cold side, and a humid and a dry side right? I can just put the heat lamp in the middle, and mist over the entire area every week? and keep a single thermometer? But I think it would still be smart JUST to heat up ONE side..


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## Greenjewls (Sep 20, 2012)

I always just heat one side, so they can choose.  In the wild they seem most active at about 90 degrees and (surprisingly) 50% humidity.  They can survive extremely dry 3% conditions, but that doesn't mean they love it!

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## VictorHernandez (Sep 24, 2012)

I have heard of misting their burrow entrance once a week very lightly, and once a day during pre-molt. And also wetting down the substrate and letting it dry once in a while. Do you recommend doing this?


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## shebeen (Oct 1, 2012)

When mixing play sand with exacavator clay, I just use an old coffee cup.  Add 3 cups of sand and 1 cup of ex-clay to a bucket, repeat 2 or 3 times.  This will give you your 25% clay content.  Moisten mix in bucket, add to tank to a depth of 2-3 inches, tamp down firmly and allow to dry.  Drying time usually takes 3 or 4 days for a 2 inch layer of packed moist substrate.  Heat lamps help speed drying.  Repeat, working in 2 inch layers, until desired depth is reached.  

How much sand and ex-clay will you need?  Well, a typical 10 gallon aquarium is 20"x10"x12" (LxWxH), so 5 gallons of substrate will fill the tank to a depth of 6 inches.  Dry sand weighs 12 lbs/gal, so 6 inches of substrate will weigh 72lbs.  Play sand needed: 54lbs (75% of 72lbs).  Excavator clay needed: 18lbs (25% of 72lbs).  So, for a nice deep Haddy enclosure your going need one 50lbs bag of sand and three 5lbs bags of excavator clay.   If you want to reduce the clay content down to 10%, as Greenjewls suggests, you only need 2 bags of ex-clay.

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## VictorHernandez (Oct 1, 2012)

shebeen said:


> When mixing play sand with exacavator clay, I just use an old coffee cup.  Add 3 cups of sand and 1 cup of ex-clay to a bucket, repeat 2 or 3 times.  This will give you your 25% clay content.  Moisten mix in bucket, add to tank to a depth of 2-3 inches, tamp down firmly and allow to dry.  Drying time usually takes 3 or 4 days for a 2 inch layer of packed moist substrate.  Heat lamps help speed drying.  Repeat, working in 2 inch layers, until desired depth is reached.
> 
> How much sand and ex-clay will you need?  Well, a typical 10 gallon aquarium is 20"x10"x12" (LxWxH), so 5 gallons of substrate will fill the tank to a depth of 6 inches.  Dry sand weighs 12 lbs/gal, so 6 inches of substrate will weigh 72lbs.  Play sand needed: 54lbs (75% of 72lbs).  Excavator clay needed: 18lbs (25% of 72lbs).  So, for a nice deep Haddy enclosure your going need one 50lbs bag of sand and three 5lbs bags of excavator clay.   If you want to reduce the clay content down to 10%, as Greenjewls suggests, you only need 2 bags of ex-clay.


 So basically, the 50lb bag of sand, and 15lbs for 25%, and 10lbs for 20%, then mix?


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## shebeen (Oct 2, 2012)

10lbs of ex-clay and 50lbs of sand will give you around 17% ( 10/(10+50)=0.17 ).  This isn't rocket science; any mixture with between 10% and 30% clay content will work.  The more clay you use and the tighter you pack the substrate, the harder the substrate it will be when it dries.  

Haddys can dig through some pretty hard soil.  I know of one keeper who used 100% ex-clay in his enclosure and his scorp managed to fill it with tunnels.  But, as Greenjewls pointed out, they are often found near sandy washes where the digging is easier.  Any mix over 30% is overkill in both expense and hardness, and, any mix less than 10% probably won't hold tunnels near the surface.  I used 30% in my first Haddy enclosure and my scorp had no trouble digging tunnels.  In my next Haddy enclosure,  I'll probably try a mix of 20%.   I'm currently setting up a small enclosure for my P. liosoma and will use a mix of 10% to 15% to see how it holds up.

Before committing to mixing up 50lbs of substrate, you might want to try mixing up a couple small (~2 cup) batches of different ratios and dry them out in small tupperware or deli containers under a heat lamp to see how hard the final product will be.  If you use small heat resistant (pyrex, ceramic, metal) bowls you could even put them in a 250F oven to speed up the drying.

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## VictorHernandez (Oct 3, 2012)

shebeen said:


> 10lbs of ex-clay and 50lbs of sand will give you around 17% ( 10/(10+50)=0.17 ).  This isn't rocket science; any mixture with between 10% and 30% clay content will work.  The more clay you use and the tighter you pack the substrate, the harder the substrate it will be when it dries.
> 
> Haddys can dig through some pretty hard soil.  I know of one keeper who used 100% ex-clay in his enclosure and his scorp managed to fill it with tunnels.  But, as Greenjewls pointed out, they are often found near sandy washes where the digging is easier.  Any mix over 30% is overkill in both expense and hardness, and, any mix less than 10% probably won't hold tunnels near the surface.  I used 30% in my first Haddy enclosure and my scorp had no trouble digging tunnels.  In my next Haddy enclosure,  I'll probably try a mix of 20%.   I'm currently setting up a small enclosure for my P. liosoma and will use a mix of 10% to 15% to see how it holds up.
> 
> Before committing to mixing up 50lbs of substrate, you might want to try mixing up a couple small (~2 cup) batches of different ratios and dry them out in small tupperware or deli containers under a heat lamp to see how hard the final product will be.  If you use small heat resistant (pyrex, ceramic, metal) bowls you could even put them in a 250F oven to speed up the drying.


I think I'll go ahead with mixing 17% clay sigh sand. Seems like a good idea.


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## VictorHernandez (Oct 7, 2012)

Does anyone know if Hadrurus scorpions need a false bottom setup, or any high humidity burrows?


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## shebeen (Oct 9, 2012)

They don't need a false bottom set up and most people don't use one.  It has been reported, however, that they have a better chance of successful molts when a false bottom is employed.  

If you go with a false bottom, it need only cover 1/2 to 1/3 of the bottom of your enclosure.  It should also be used sparingly--fill it once a month between June and September to mimic the Sonoran Desert monsoon season.  Prolonged exposure to moist substrate can cause mycosis, so it's important not to over water.   Only add enough water to moisten the bottom 1 to 2 inches of substrate above the false bottom. And, you should always make sure that your enclosure has much more dry substrate than moist substrate.


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## VictorHernandez (Oct 9, 2012)

Do you know if the regular fish aquarium gravel will work? And do you know how many inches are need in that one half? I think for P. imperator is like 1 or 2 inches.


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## shebeen (Oct 10, 2012)

One inch of aquarium gravel should be sufficient.  You'll want to place a short (1 inch) divider across the bottom of your tank to create a water tight compartment (reservoir) to hold the gravel.  You can also place the gravel in a shallow plastic pan or the bottom portion of a storage container.

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