# Opistophthalmus (Burrowing Scorpion) Care



## Rik Cuddy (Aug 5, 2017)

Hi all,
Been scouring the forums and the internet and I can't find much information by the way of setup and care for this species. Apologies if it is already on here, just can't find it!
Thanks in advance


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## soldierof4cheese (Aug 5, 2017)

I have a African Burrowing scorpion
*(Opistophthalmus*) 
and really like them, they are easy to care for and aren't too aggressive, plus their colors and build are really cool..I keep mine around 85 to 90 degrees thru the day using incandescent heat light on a timer that shuts off at night. I feed mine every ten days, I give him or her large crickets, five at a time. I put a small bottle cap for water and use sand with clay mixed in, so when the scorpion digs, its holes wont collapse. Got a few rocks and a piece of slate in the ten gallon tank also. Very easy to care for, i plan on getting another one soon, they are cool scorps.


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## Rik Cuddy (Aug 5, 2017)

soldierof4cheese said:


> I have a African Burrowing scorpion
> *(Opistophthalmus*)
> and really like them, they are easy to care for and aren't too aggressive, plus their colors and build are really cool..I keep mine around 85 to 90 degrees thru the day using incandescent heat light on a timer that shuts off at night. I feed mine every ten days, I give him or her large crickets, five at a time. I put a small bottle cap for water and use sand with clay mixed in, so when the scorpion digs, its holes wont collapse. Got a few rocks and a piece of slate in the ten gallon tank also. Very easy to care for, i plan on getting another one soon, they are cool scorps.


Thanks for the reply!!
Put my setup together and have about 5-6 inches of Pro rep spider life mixed with pro rep sedge peat and some lucky reptile herp pottery. Cork bark in places on top
http://www.pro-rep.co.uk/portfolio/sedge-peat/
http://www.luckyreptile.com/products/145/en/pid1,8$pid2,33336$pid3,7774741/products.html
http://www.pro-rep.co.uk/portfolio/spider-life/


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## Rik Cuddy (Aug 5, 2017)

What humidity do you keep him at?


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## Rik Cuddy (Aug 5, 2017)

Have you got any setup pictures please?


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## soldierof4cheese (Aug 5, 2017)

You want to keep them in a desert environment, very low humidity. Use sand and clay mixture, mix them at about two to one, one part clay and two parts  sand, mix damp or wet, then fill your tank and tamp the mixture down tightly and let dry over night or until fully dry. 
Add your stones and slate, make a starter hole close to the glass. More than likely the scorp will start his or hers burrow under the slate but will find the starter hole and make quick work of creating a burrow, they make very long hides (burrows) so a ten gallon tank is always nice. 
Make sure its a desert setup and not a jungle or damp setup, these scorpions come from a very dry climate, though a little humidity at the bottom of the tank wont hurt. 












Opistophthalmus boehmi 1



__ soldierof4cheese
__ Jun 28, 2017
__ 2



						Looking at his or (her) new home.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## soldierof4cheese (Aug 5, 2017)

http://www.lllreptile.com/products/29387-zoo-med-5lb-excavator-clay-burrowing-substrate

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Rik Cuddy (Aug 5, 2017)

That's strange as the pet shop sold me the spider life....!
I didn't realise it was desert environment species as the only care sheet I came across was this one:
http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/O-walberghi.html


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## soldierof4cheese (Aug 5, 2017)

My book says that they live in a arid grassland environment, composite sand tamped, not communal, low humidity and love to burrow. semi desert/grassland/Savannah type living conditions.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Rik Cuddy (Aug 5, 2017)

Thanks for taking the time to give me the info. So I phoned the pet shop and it turns out that it's a Austrialian Coastal Burrowing Scorpion (_Urodacus novaehollandiae) that they have in stock!_


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## soldierof4cheese (Aug 6, 2017)

http://www.thedailylink.com/thespiralburrow/index.html

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Rik Cuddy (Aug 6, 2017)

Really good link that, thanks for sending it

Reactions: Useful 1


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## Stenodactylus (Aug 6, 2017)

_Opistophthalmus_, as previously pointed out, prefer a deep substrate with a low humidity. Inside the burrows, however, I like to keep a variance in humidity ranges, so the scorpion can choose. The top substrate should be dry. They like it warm, for sure. 

Side note. If you are outside of Australia, it is highly unlikely (though not impossible, I guess) that _Urodacus _are available. If it is truly them, I would snatch them up as fast as you can.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Rik Cuddy (Apr 21, 2018)

Just came across this old thread....! Defo have a Opistophalmus sp, but still unconfirmed on which one. Have a completely dry setup, only overflow the water dish. Pretty much a pet hole tbh!


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## tdark1 (Apr 21, 2018)

Rik Cuddy said:


> Just came across this old thread....! Defo have a Opistophalmus sp, but still unconfirmed on which one. Have a completely dry setup, only overflow the water dish. Pretty much a pet hole tbh!


Post a pic and maybe we can help ID here!

Cheers,

Rob


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## Rik Cuddy (Apr 21, 2018)

Would love to, however my pet hole says otherwise!!!

Reactions: Funny 1


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