# Sphagnum moss with scorpions



## david booth (Jan 19, 2017)

Hey guys 
I didn't know wether to post in the live plants section or not but it never looks very busy. In my terririum I have coco peat mix and I was wondering if I could grow sphagnum moss in there. I can but bags of live sphagnum moss cheaply and I hear really good thing  about it. Has anyone tried to cultivate the moss and actually grow it so it carpets the whole tank. Not just throw it in a corner. Also I heard from someone that if you put moss In a spray bottle and leave it for a week when you mist the substrate the moss in the bottle will transfer Into the sub???. Cheers guys. 
Any help is appreciated


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## pannaking22 (Jan 19, 2017)

What species of scorp were you wanting to give all the sphagnum? I can't say I've ever tried growing it before, always just mixing it in with the substrate or placing it in a corner. I'm curious to hear what others have to say about this!


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## david booth (Jan 19, 2017)

pannaking22 said:


> What species of scorp were you wanting to give all the sphagnum? I can't say I've ever tried growing it before, always just mixing it in with the substrate or placing it in a corner. I'm curious to hear what others have to say about this!


They are heterometrus not exactly sure which specific ones I'm guessing spinifer I see loads of videos about moss carpets in a terririum and it Would be awesome to get the moss actually thriving and carpet the whole tank. I'm eager to try the spray bottle. In the UK we have a common thick moss they grows on everything I'm tempted to peel a slab off from out side clean it with hot water, put it in and see what happens. The spray bottle method sounds interesting aswell


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## david booth (Jan 21, 2017)

So has any one ever tried to actually plant moss in there terrariums?? I want to get it growing in there, rather than just sort of throw it in a corner. Or scatter it around. It's quite warm in there, 24-29c it's obviously humid and the tank steams up and condensates quickly. But theres very little sun light. As there obviously inside. From what I've researched any kinds of moss should thrive in those conditions. Also Ive seen some awesome terririum with mushrooms growing in them, has any had any mushrooms start to grow ?? Once I have some moss established I can look into getting some isopods/earthworms In there.This is the sort of effect I'm wanting..


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## darkness975 (Jan 21, 2017)

They need somewhere to burrow and have non mossed ground.  That pic you posted looks like it may not be getting much air flow at all.  _Heterometrus spp. _like humidity but they, like most animals, are not fans of stuffy stagnant environments.


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## david booth (Jan 21, 2017)

darkness975 said:


> They need somewhere to burrow and have non mossed ground.  That pic you posted looks like it may not be getting much air flow at all.  _Heterometrus spp. _like humidity but they, like most animals, are not fans of stuffy stagnant environments.


Yeah I understand that. The tank I have has a double sliding lid so there's plenty of ventilation and mine only ever burrow inside there hides and burrow from there. The moss won't be there. Once it's established I can cut it back and remove it where I don't want it. Those pics proberly weren't the best ones tbh. But just an idea of carpeting the sub lightly. And having it grow up the rocks and logs and stuff.


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## darkness975 (Jan 21, 2017)

david booth said:


> Yeah I understand that. The tank I have has a double sliding lid so there's plenty of ventilation and mine only ever burrow inside there hides and burrow from there. The moss won't be there. Once it's established I can cut it back and remove it where I don't want it. Those pics proberly weren't the best ones tbh. But just an idea of carpeting the sub lightly. And having it grow up the rocks and logs and stuff.


Alright that makes more sense haha.

Also, never underestimate the determination of a burrowing Scorpion.  My trio of _P. imperator _4i managed to completely fill in the pre-started burrows I gave them under their hides and rework their entire tunnel structure so that now there are a couple of entrances randomly in the middle of the substrate where they can enter/exit.


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## Christianb96 (Jan 21, 2017)

I think the idea is pretty cool and would make a great habitat for a Forrest species. Keep us posted, I want to see how it turns out!


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## david booth (Jan 21, 2017)

Christianb96 said:


> I think the idea is pretty cool and would make a great habitat for a Forrest species. Keep us posted, I want to see how it turns out!


Will do guys..I'll defo be taking loads of pics and I'm eager to try the spray bottle technique


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## david booth (Jan 21, 2017)

darkness975 said:


> Alright that makes more sense haha.
> 
> Also, never underestimate the determination of a burrowing Scorpion.  My trio of _P. imperator _4i managed to completely fill in the pre-started burrows I gave them under their hides and rework their entire tunnel structure so that now there are a couple of entrances randomly in the middle of the substrate where they can enter/exit.


Wow haha I suppose it's there little world they'll do what they want. I had one. burrow down the other week. From the back of her hide, her burrow went maybe 6 inches so not far at all but I noticed the substrate was giving way. It's really humid in there but where the sub hits the glass Infront of the heat mat. It's always quite dry??. Have you ever had a tunnel collapse. If so this sounds quite dangerous for them...How Do I avoid this ??


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## darkness975 (Jan 22, 2017)

david booth said:


> Wow haha I suppose it's there little world they'll do what they want. I had one. burrow down the other week. From the back of her hide, her burrow went maybe 6 inches so not far at all but I noticed the substrate was giving way. It's really humid in there but where the sub hits the glass Infront of the heat mat. It's always quite dry??. Have you ever had a tunnel collapse. If so this sounds quite dangerous for them...How Do I avoid this ??


If they collapse their tunnels they usually will dig out of it with little issue.


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## david booth (Jan 23, 2017)

darkness975 said:


> If they collapse their tunnels they usually will dig out of it with little issue.


Ahh ok then pal. Thanks alot. Even if Thier completely submerged? That must take some doing lol


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## david booth (Jan 23, 2017)

So I got some common Moss from my garden yesterday. Rinced it with boiling water and but in a shady spot under A small rock pile I've built. And within seconds a black cricket was on it munching away. Lol has anybody else seen this with feeders.??. I knew they eat anything they could get hold of But never though it would be moss lmao.


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## pannaking22 (Jan 23, 2017)

From what I've seen, Orthoptera will eat anything and they actually really seem to enjoy moss (if they're a species that comes in regular contact with it anyway).


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## david booth (Jan 23, 2017)

pannaking22 said:


> From what I've seen, Orthoptera will eat anything and they actually really seem to enjoy moss (if they're a species that comes in regular contact with it anyway).


OK dude thanks just wanted to know if it would hurt them as I don't want the scorps eating them if the moss makes them sick. Have you got any moss in your tanks?? If so is it spreading ??


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## darkness975 (Jan 23, 2017)

david booth said:


> OK dude thanks just wanted to know if it would hurt them as I don't want the scorps eating them if the moss makes them sick. Have you got any moss in your tanks?? If so is it spreading ??


You should not be using anything from outside.  Pesticides, bacteria, you name it could be in there.


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## pannaking22 (Jan 23, 2017)

david booth said:


> OK dude thanks just wanted to know if it would hurt them as I don't want the scorps eating them if the moss makes them sick. Have you got any moss in your tanks?? If so is it spreading ??


I don't think you'll have issues as long as the moss is clean and doesn't have any exposure to pesticides or entomophagic fungi (which could be in the soil the moss is growing in). I haven't tried any moss like that and any that goes in with my isopods gets shredded pretty fast. I've been using some moss from outside in a tetrigid enclosure where I work and it seems to do well enough, minus having some humidity issues and the tetrigids shredding it pretty quickly. I'm still somewhat hesitant to use it though even though I know it's from a pesticide free area. It's all from where I caught the tetrigids though, so that makes me feel a little bit better. 



darkness975 said:


> You should not be using anything from outside.  Pesticides, bacteria, you name it could be in there.


Agreed, I'd try to just get something from a pet store and try to work with that. A greenhouse might be ok too, but I'd probably avoid it because they tend to spray quite a bit in there to keep pests out.


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## RTTB (Jan 23, 2017)

The scorpions may lay waste to a moss bed with their burrowing.


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## david booth (Jan 24, 2017)

I


darkness975 said:


> You should not be using anything from outside.  Pesticides, bacteria, you name it could be in there.


I know what you mean matey. It's from my mum's garden, she grows produce and stuff. And never uses pesticides. The boiling water would kill just about everything include microfauna and bactaria. I'll be any isopods I want from a breeder.


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## david booth (Jan 24, 2017)

I k


pannaking22 said:


> I don't think you'll have issues as long as the moss is clean and doesn't have any exposure to pesticides or entomophagic fungi (which could be in the soil the moss is growing in). I haven't tried any moss like that and any that goes in with my isopods gets shredded pretty fast. I've been using some moss from outside in a tetrigid enclosure where I work and it seems to do well enough, minus having some humidity issues and the tetrigids shredding it pretty quickly. I'm still somewhat hesitant to use it though even though I know it's from a pesticide free area. It's all from where I caught the tetrigids though, so that makes me feel a little bit better.
> 
> 
> 
> Agreed, I'd try to just get something from a pet store and try to work with that. A greenhouse might be ok too, but I'd probably avoid it because they tend to spray quite a bit in there to keep pests out.


Tertrigid?? Is this an isopod?? OK know what you mean and I do see your point. But I washed all the soil off with boiling water and I can gaurenteed no pestiicides or chemical have touched my mum's garden. I'm going to see if it starts to spread of not I'll take it out and buy a bag of moss seed from a garden centre


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## pannaking22 (Jan 25, 2017)

david booth said:


> I k
> 
> Tertrigid?? Is this an isopod?? OK know what you mean and I do see your point. But I washed all the soil off with boiling water and I can gaurenteed no pestiicides or chemical have touched my mum's garden. I'm going to see if it starts to spread of not I'll take it out and buy a bag of moss seed from a garden centre


Tetrigids are pygmy grasshoppers. Sorry, I had meant to put that up with my post but I missed it! If you're putting things in boiling water that should really knock things down. No guarantee but significantly better!


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## david booth (Jan 27, 2017)

pannaking22 said:


> Tetrigids are pygmy grasshoppers. Sorry, I had meant to put that up with my post but I missed it! If you're putting things in boiling water that should really knock things down. No guarantee but significantly better!


Dont have to apologise pal. I've been thinking of getting some isopods?? Which are the easiest to keep with tropical scorpions (h.petersii)


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## pannaking22 (Jan 29, 2017)

david booth said:


> Dont have to apologise pal. I've been thinking of getting some isopods?? Which are the easiest to keep with tropical scorpions (h.petersii)


There are several species that will do well with tropical scorps. Purple isos (Isopoda sp. purple), dwarf whites (_Trichorhina tomentosa_), rough isopods (_Porcellio scaber_), etc. I'm sure you can find someone over there who has a good cleanup species for you.


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## david booth (Jan 29, 2017)

pannaking22 said:


> There are several species that will do well with tropical scorps. Purple isos (Isopoda sp. purple), dwarf whites (_Trichorhina tomentosa_), rough isopods (_Porcellio scaber_), etc. I'm sure you can find someone over there who has a good cleanup species for you.


Thanks matey I'm going to google it and see what I can come up with. Also have you ever seen crickets in any of your setups eating eachother?? I have black crickets in with h.peterssi, I came home just now and found one cricket eating another I don't know wether one of the scorps stung it and left it or wether the crickets has killed it??


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## pannaking22 (Jan 29, 2017)

Good luck! Crickets are opportunistic cannibals, so you could have had one that was getting ready to molt, sick, or just dying and the other cricket decided it was going to try eating it.


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## david booth (Jan 30, 2017)

pannaking22 said:


> Good luck! Crickets are opportunistic cannibals, so you could have had one that was getting ready to molt, sick, or just dying and the other cricket decided it was going to try eating it.


Ahh ok mate that makes sense. I suppose in the wild they can't be to choosey lol. Have you ever used locusts as feeders. Or are crickets better, I want to try something new??


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## pannaking22 (Jan 30, 2017)

david booth said:


> Ahh ok mate that makes sense. I suppose in the wild they can't be to choosey lol. Have you ever used locusts as feeders. Or are crickets better, I want to try something new??


Sadly we can't get locusts here in the US, which is too bad since I've always wanted to try them as a feeder. Honestly, roaches are king when it comes to feeders. They don't smell nearly as bad, don't make any noise, super easy/cheap to keep and they don't eat each other or your pets. Red runner or Turkistan roaches (_Shelfordella lateralis_) would probably work best for you.


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## david booth (Jan 30, 2017)

pannaking22 said:


> Sadly we can't get locusts here in the US, which is too bad since I've always wanted to try them as a feeder. Honestly, roaches are king when it comes to feeders. They don't smell nearly as bad, don't make any noise, super easy/cheap to keep and they don't eat each other or your pets. Red runner or Turkistan roaches (_Shelfordella lateralis_) would probably work best for you.


OK buddy thankyou. I'll get some locusts and roaches. I'll let you know how I get on  why can't you get them??


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## Red Eunice (Jan 30, 2017)

darkness975 said:


> Alright that makes more sense haha.
> 
> Also, never underestimate the determination of a burrowing Scorpion.  My trio of _P. imperator _4i managed to completely fill in the pre-started burrows I gave them under their hides and rework their entire tunnel structure so that now there are a couple of entrances randomly in the middle of the substrate where they can enter/exit.


 Big reason I don't do starter burrows anymore. They do what and when they want, irregardless. 
 I formed starter burrows for H. arizonensis only to have them dig in a totally different location. Now I can only view the when they're on the surface hunting.


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## pannaking22 (Jan 30, 2017)

david booth said:


> OK buddy thankyou. I'll get some locusts and roaches. I'll let you know how I get on  why can't you get them??


No problem, happy to help! And please do  Rules and regs in the US unfortunately. There would probably be a way to keep native species as feeders, but there doesn't seem to be a ton of interest, especially when crickets are cheap and easy to get, as are feeder roaches.


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## david booth (Jan 30, 2017)

I


Red Eunice said:


> Big reason I don't do starter burrows anymore. They do what and when they want, irregardless.
> I formed starter burrows for H. arizonensis only to have them dig in a totally different location. Now I can only view the when they're on the surface hunting.


 I didn't dig and started burrows in mine either I've just let them crack. They do dig down. And start to make a tunnel but there white happy there. They don't really make tunnels. They proberly dig about four inches down and then two or three in any direction and that's it. But I'm scared it will collapse on them lol


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## david booth (Jan 30, 2017)

Ok


pannaking22 said:


> No problem, happy to help! And please do  Rules and regs in the US unfortunately. There would probably be a way to keep native species as feeders, but there doesn't seem to be a ton of interest, especially when crickets are cheap and easy to get, as are feeder roaches.


OK dude. That's a shame. There's so many locust over here in the UK lol. But roaches are really hard to get hold of.


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## darkness975 (Jan 30, 2017)

Red Eunice said:


> Now I can only view the when they're on the surface


At least _H. arizonensis _is fairly active and you do see them a lot.  Many species rarely even come out.


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## david booth (Jan 31, 2017)

darkness975 said:


> At least _H. arizonensis _is fairly active and you do see them a lot.  Many species rarely even come out.


Well they say forests scorpions are happy when you never see them lmao.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## darkness975 (Jan 31, 2017)

david booth said:


> Well they say forests scorpions are happy when you never see them lmao.


That is usually quite true.

My arid species are overall significantly more active.


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## david booth (Jan 31, 2017)

darkness975 said:


> That is usually quite true.
> 
> My arid species are overall significantly more active.


It's abis sad really because they really are fascinating creatures. There's so much character. And you never see them lol
If you go with an arid genus. You have to deal with a more agressive animal and higher venom content


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## pannaking22 (Jan 31, 2017)

david booth said:


> Ok
> 
> OK dude. That's a shame. There's so many locust over here in the UK lol. But roaches are really hard to get hold of.


Really is a bummer lol. Shoot, I'd probably keep a colony just for the fun of it if I could give them enough space and food. Why are roaches hard to get a hold of?


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## david booth (Feb 1, 2017)

I


pannaking22 said:


> Really is a bummer lol. Shoot, I'd probably keep a colony just for the fun of it if I could give them enough space and food. Why are roaches hard to get a hold of?


Me too if you have five or six you'll defo see at least one of them haha. I just haven't seen any in ages. Black and brown Crickets, morio worms and locust are everywhere. Roaches are really hard to get hold of. Unless you want the big hissing ones then they're in pet shops but they're to big for feeders lol. They seem happy on the black Cricks but I'm sure one has had a brood in the tank it was kicking its legs into the sub and sticking it's abdomen in the ground. Then that night I saw tiny crickets hopping around


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## darkness975 (Feb 4, 2017)

david booth said:


> It's abis sad really because they really are fascinating creatures. There's so much character. And you never see them lol
> If you go with an arid genus. You have to deal with a more agressive animal and higher venom content


They are "defensive" not aggressive.   Venom potency varies from species to species regardless if they are arid or forest etc.  
I say if you are looking at getting a desert species then go for it.


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