# Do scorpions hate white and red lights?



## church15 (Mar 2, 2008)

i have 3 tarantula and 1 scorpion i have a 28 watt red light above thier terrarium
and i have them in my room which has a florecent light 

so are they affected by these light or i should cover her terrarium to avoid light


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## fictitious (Mar 2, 2008)

I know excess UV light will kill them, not by experience, I've seen plenty of highly experienced people use red lights, I think it's because they can't see it so they think it's night time. A 28W bulb though, I cant see that doing much good or bad, I find heat pads work better and dont dry out the substrate. Not sure on flourescent lights but I don't think it will do much harm.


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## The Bear (Mar 2, 2008)

It depends on your room temp.  Most tarantulas if not all are perfectly fine at room temp. and don't need any extra heat but your scopion would most likely benefit from extra heat. Like fictitious said heat pads are great and much easier to use just put it on the side of the tank or make sure there is a hot and cool part of the enclosure so he doesn't cook and is comfortable. Red heat lamps are much better because the scorpion can't see the red light. You don't need to worry about your flourecent light bothering them it shouldn't stress them much if at all but if you go into your room to watch them you should probably leave it off so you can watch better.


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## church15 (Mar 2, 2008)

i see thx for your fast reply 

i have a false buttom for her to keep her cool but one breeder that ive bout her 
said that heat lamp or heat pads arent needed coz i have a forest type scorpion
a H.spinifer(asian black) is it true?


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## Cyris69 (Mar 2, 2008)

They can see White & Red light. They can not see Infrared light.
Heat pads are way overpriced and so very inefficient.

Try the search function here on the site, will answer 9/10 of your questions without the need for another thread.
I've written a huge thread over this going over light wave lengths and spectrum's. Search for it


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## skinheaddave (Mar 2, 2008)

church15 said:


> so are they affected by these light or i should cover her terrarium to avoid light


Scorpions show extreme aversion to white light -- if you provide hides in the enclosure (which you should) or it has created a burrow, don't expect it out much with the white light on.  That being said, scorpions do not show a behavioural response to red light -- so feel free to use it as a night light.  



fictitious said:


> I know excess UV light will kill them,


The jury is still out on this one, but I definitely agree that UV should be avoided, if only because it will dull the fluorescence of your specimen.



The Bear said:


> your scopion would most likely benefit from extra heat.


Definitely.  I have had great success with more desert-type scorpions at room temperature, but have never had any luck with emps or Heterometrus at room temperature.  The experiences of others seem to mesh with mine and there is a consensus of sorts that these scorpions require somewhat elevated temperatures.  Granted, you can often keep them alive in sub-par conditions -- and the elevated heat can often be accomplished without further aids if you already keep reptiles or whatnot and have an elevated room temperature.  



Cyris69 said:


> Heat pads are way overpriced and so very inefficient.


I've never used heat pads for scorpions (never needed to, due to heating whole rooms etc.), but have used them in other circumstances and have generally found that the longevity of the pad combined with its minimal electrical use results in a very economical product.  I have heat pads I bought almost a decade ago that are still going strong and using a lot less power than a bulb producing the same amount of heat.  Compare that to a couple electricity-sucking bulbs you replace twice a year.  I'd still use the red bulb in a nice setup, though, so that I could see what was going on as well.

Cheers,
Dave


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## Cyris69 (Mar 3, 2008)

Interesting. I agree economical energy wise but my heat mats never raise the RT but a few degrees so I don't use them. The only one I have left is an 8watt pad. I use one 100watt IR to heat all of my inverts since they are all in my closet so its more practical for me. You can still heat more than one tank in an open area using a single bulb instead of multiple mats. So in the end I could see a heat mat for a T tank useful since they require much lower temps.

What sort of space heater do use for your scorp room dave?


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## skinheaddave (Mar 3, 2008)

Cyris69 said:


> What sort of space heater do use for your scorp room dave?


Previously I've used things like 500 watts of monitor lizard basking lights -- that'll keep a small room with no windows in the basement quite toasty.  Right now I don't have much in the way of forest scorps and what I do are in my office parasitizing a snake rack (so heat tape, once again).  Most of my scorpions are much more arid-loving and are currently experiencing room temperature (albeit a room with several dozen feet of electrical tape and several basking bulbs in it).

Cheers,
Dave


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## mkieff (Mar 3, 2008)

One thing that I found my scorps like is to have a non-clear plexi-glass lid made for the enclosure.   I have several that I have had custom made that fit exactly in the tanks lid.   I have then drilled several 2 inch holes in the middle of them.

I have noticed that my scorps come out a lot more and more active with this type of lid.  I makes the cage looke like it is dusk with the lights on.

This type of set-up does not allow you to use heat lamps very easily, so I have a false bottom with a heater in it and the water is being circulated with a pump.   It keeps the tank at about 72, so I have added several heat pads to the back of the tank (55 gal tank).   I have found that it raises the temp in the tank, and allows me to use the plexi-glass lids.


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## BelfastScorpion (Mar 4, 2008)

I have always used red bulbs for my scorps.  I also have all my bulbs connected to dimmers, so they can be turned up or down to change the temperture.  This works really well.

In the summer I use 15W bulbs and in the winter I use 25W bulbs.

BelfastScorpion.


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## church15 (Mar 6, 2008)

hmmm will my H.spinifer be ok ih there is no heat source in her enclosure 
he have a burrow to hide though 

i assume that their forest scorpion they dont need heat source 

and btw thnx for the info on the red lights im using it at night 


and do a 25 watt red ligth can be use as heat souce?


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