# Desert hairy!!!



## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 21, 2012)

just got myself a desert hairy and wondered how you guys have them set up best substrate,hides,decor.
also can i keep more then one together,ca they be handled?


p.s thanks in advance  not a noob to scorpions just to desert hairy


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## Ludedor24 (Jan 21, 2012)

Keep them on the dry side they are usually prone to mycosis. There have been people that have kept communal although they can be agressive towards eachother. As far as handling i guess you could if you wanted to but really no need to..I mean you could handle a deathstalker also ..I dont know what your asking in particular....


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 21, 2012)

if i did get stung is it life treating ?
if i cant keep them communal how would i go about breeding?
can i use 100% sand ?


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## Ludedor24 (Jan 21, 2012)

No not life threatening but just be careful when handling anything with venom. Im not saying you dont know anything but you may want to do A LOT more research on scorpions in general before considering breeding them. yeah 100% should be fine.


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## gromgrom (Jan 22, 2012)

They are absolutely not communal. They aren't even tolerant of the opposite sex, given many hides, space, and food. Some people have written tolerance for a given time but cannibalism is inevitable. I even attempted this today with my 1.1 adult pallidus, to have a fight break out. 

They are handlable, I've done it with H. arizonensis and pallidus. You just have to get them on your hand the correct way.


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## theguns19726 (Jan 22, 2012)

Thats awesome, I JUST got my Desert Hairy today, got a little scar on his tail but hes in good shape otherwise. Glad I placed my order for him.


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## snippy (Jan 22, 2012)

miaboosted4g64 said:


> can i use 100% sand ?


No, surely not. It needs sand with a good clay content that can be used for digging tunnel systems - and quite a bit of it. At least 4-6 inches high for an adult, more if possible.


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## superuglyllc (Jan 22, 2012)

keep mine @ 20 - 30 % humidity


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## Keister (Jan 22, 2012)

There have been alot of problems that people run into with breeding and raising them, they seem to all just die in their 6i and 7i. Alot of people try breeding them and alot of people from what I know and have read have them die. I keep a pair together and they seem to be doing just fine, because I am trying to breed them, and they just hang out in their own seperate hides and when they dig into one another they lock claws for a few secounds then turn around and close off the tunnel. I also keep mine well fed to combat the cannibalism.


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## Galapoheros (Jan 22, 2012)

I went out to the desert and picked up some substrate that way.  Some people buy that red desert substrate, wet it down and pack it, then let it dry.  I don't think it's the "calcium sand" people have brought up, but on a side note, I don't think people should worry about calcium sand with rumors of it harming their inverts.  Inverts are running around in nature all over powdery calcium rock in the wild, esp. here in the Tx hill country, it's the limestone bedrock, it's basically calcium.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 22, 2012)

Keister said:


> There have been alot of problems that people run into with breeding and raising them, they seem to all just die in their 6i and 7i. Alot of people try breeding them and alot of people from what I know and have read have them die. I keep a pair together and they seem to be doing just fine, because I am trying to breed them, and they just hang out in their own seperate hides and when they dig into one another they lock claws for a few secounds then turn around and close off the tunnel. I also keep mine well fed to combat the cannibalism.


why do you think they just die?
as anybody here bred them we success i got it hoping to breed them and have a communal setup i have a communal emp setup and the girl is prego and i just got a pair of bark scorpion and the girl gave me 13 babies if i cant keep them communal what other type can i keep communal ?


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## Keister (Jan 22, 2012)

A guy wrote an article on another forum saying that he believes that in the wild they go through the winter season where the temp. cools down alot and this cool period is essential to their growth. He then started cooling his scorps off when they got into their 6i and 7i and had much sucess with keeping them alive into maturity and final molt.


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 22, 2012)

Keister said:


> A guy wrote an article on another forum saying that he believes that in the wild they go through the winter season where the temp. cools down alot and this cool period is essential to their growth. He then started cooling his scorps off when they got into their 6i and 7i and had much sucess with keeping them alive into maturity and final molt.


would you have a link ?
what other type can i keep communal ?


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## superuglyllc (Jan 23, 2012)

in the wild they can adjust for humidity by going deeper into ground to molt . i can imagine the bigger the scorp the harder the molt, needing perfect humidity for it to succeed


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## Kathy (Jan 23, 2012)

Keister said:


> A guy wrote an article on another forum saying that he believes that in the wild they go through the winter season where the temp. cools down alot and this cool period is essential to their growth. He then started cooling his scorps off when they got into their 6i and 7i and had much sucess with keeping them alive into maturity and final molt.


That is an interesting concept since I live in Phoenix and we have desert hairies that live here in the wild.  The nights really get cold, temps down to freezing - so they are okay in the colder weather.  You have to figure the average humidity is also about 7% outside where they live.  I rarely see scorpions at night during the "winter".  They come out when the temperature heats up during the day then switch to night in the heat of spring and summer.  This is just a totally unscientific observation...lol.


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## Keister (Jan 24, 2012)

Kathy said:


> That is an interesting concept since I live in Phoenix and we have desert hairies that live here in the wild.  The nights really get cold, temps down to freezing - so they are okay in the colder weather.  You have to figure the average humidity is also about 7% outside where they live.  I rarely see scorpions at night during the "winter".  They come out when the temperature heats up during the day then switch to night in the heat of spring and summer.  This is just a totally unscientific observation...lol.


Ya it deffinatly sounds logical since most people don't simulate a winter period for their scorps. and it may in fact have a link to growth.

No I don't have the link I googled breeding them or how to breed them or somthing. You will know it when you find it because it is a really long post talking about care and natural environment and everything not just breeding.


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 24, 2012)

so should i try putting a male and a female together ?


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## Keister (Jan 25, 2012)

You can just make sure that you have a big enough enclosure, enough hides, and you keep them well fed as to try to reduce caniblism. I am only keeping mine together until I find a sperm stem.


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 25, 2012)

so keep them well fed and what size tank would you recommend ??


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## AzJohn (Jan 25, 2012)

I've raised a few to adulthood. I think the biggest problem people have with them is that they keep it way to dry.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?190082-Hadrurus-Arizonensis-molt


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## Keister (Jan 26, 2012)

miaboosted4g64 said:


> so keep them well fed and what size tank would you recommend ??


At least a ten gallon with at least six inches of substrate, and plenty of pieces of slate for them to dig under and it will help if you change up the tank every once and a while so they don't get too territorial.


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## superuglyllc (Jan 26, 2012)

azjohn whats ur humidity @?


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 26, 2012)

Keister said:


> At least a ten gallon with at least six inches of substrate, and plenty of pieces of slate for them to dig under and it will help if you change up the tank every once and a while so they don't get too territorial.[/QUOTE
> 
> 40%sand 60%coco fiber 6inches deep in a ten gallon tank with more hides then scorpions is this good ?


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## AzJohn (Jan 26, 2012)

superuglyllc said:


> azjohn whats ur humidity @?



In the wild this species lives in very deep borrows. They can regulate the humidity by going to were it is just right. What I did was give them a spot in the tank that was more humid. They would have a dry side and a more humid side. It is also important to keep the ventalation good. If it gets to humid they will get mycosis. I think if you can give them as many inches to dig in and a more humid spot in the tank they should be okay.

Reactions: Like 1


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## AlexRC (Jan 27, 2012)

A good thread as I'm planning on getting one of my own.  I'm through with communal setups though, so I'm just gathering as much info as I can on keeping one little guy/gal happy and healthy.


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## Keister (Jan 27, 2012)

miaboosted4g64 said:


> Keister said:
> 
> 
> > At least a ten gallon with at least six inches of substrate, and plenty of pieces of slate for them to dig under and it will help if you change up the tank every once and a while so they don't get too territorial.[/QUOTE
> ...


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## snippy (Jan 27, 2012)

Use less coco fiber (why not none?) and more sand. Otherwise it will not get properly dig-able when dry.

Regards
Finn


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 27, 2012)

so 60% sand and 40% coco fiber?
and whats the desert clay powdery stuff and were can i find it ??


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## superuglyllc (Jan 27, 2012)

my desert hairy is the busiest hardest working scorpion and least shy out of All my scorps


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## Galapoheros (Jan 28, 2012)

Yip, def one of my fav noth Amer scorpions, I've only had a few though.  I need a female pallidus btw.


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## 2nscorpx (Jan 28, 2012)

miaboosted4g64 said:


> so 60% sand and 40% coco fiber?
> and whats the desert clay powdery stuff and were can i find it ??


I'd say almost no humus (or coco fiber). I have heard from Finn (snippy) that the best substrate that brings out the animals' natural behaviors is excavator clay. You can probably find it at a do-it-yourself-store or a pet store.


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## theguns19726 (Jan 28, 2012)

superuglyllc said:


> my desert hairy is the busiest hardest working scorpion and least shy out of All my scorps


Exactly, the one I got spends over 3/4 of its time just wandering. I am about to get that red desert sand and hook him up on a 10 gallon tank. He does alot of dozing in the one ive got him in now. I swear he changes the terrain in his tank more than my kids change their minds.


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 28, 2012)

ok i went out and got me a 10lb bag of excavator clay how do i go about setting it up


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## AzJohn (Jan 29, 2012)

You can mix the excavaotor clay with regular sand. I use 50/50 mix. You need to get it wet then let it dry out. It might take a few days before you can put anything in it. If you want you can make the starting point for some caves.


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 29, 2012)

AzJohn said:


> You can mix the excavaotor clay with regular sand. I use 50/50 mix. You need to get it wet then let it dry out. It might take a few days before you can put anything in it. If you want you can make the starting point for some caves.


do i have to mix it or can i just use it like that?
i have some regular reptile sand can i use that ?


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## AzJohn (Jan 29, 2012)

I mix it because it makes it cheaper. When you're setting up 10 tanks gettig enough clay could be expensive. If you want, you can to use it strait, or use your reptile sand, as long as it's just sand, no calcisand. I get big bags of sand from home depot or any home imporvement or garden center. I try to get play sand used for sand boxes. It's cleaned up well because kids play with it.


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## superuglyllc (Jan 29, 2012)

Not mixing clay will make it rock hard the Scorp won't be able to dig. My advice is mix 50/50 like John said


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## snippy (Jan 29, 2012)

Depends on the clay powder really. If it is pure, 1:1 is way too much clay. You could build bricks out of that. 1:5 to 1:10 clay to sand is well enough. Sometimes there is some sandcontent to the powder, then you obviously need more.

Regards
Finn


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 29, 2012)

since i got the one the sell at petsmart do i really need to mix it


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## snippy (Jan 30, 2012)

If it is sand already containing clay, then no! The whole mixing deal applies only to getting "pure" sand and clay powder separately.

Regards
Finn


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## High_Rolling_T (Jan 30, 2012)

AzJohn said:


> as long as it's just sand, no calcisand


Just curious, what would be wrong with calcisand?  In my searches around here, the consensus was that calcisand was fine.

My desert hairy is on 3/2/.25 sand/coco fiber/calcisand.  The trick if you're not using excavator clay is to put the mix down in layers, and when each layer is done, pack it and soak it heavily with water.  That way it dries hard and the coco fiber allows for rigidity.  Using a heating lamp to speed up drying helps, and to me it seems to dry harder.

The reason I had calcisand in mine was only for visual purpose, I had a tiny bit of black calcisand laying around and so I mixed it in.  There is no real reason to include it otherwise.

As a note, my desert hairy is my only scorpion.  For future desert species I will not be using this mix of substrate.  I'd be using the excavator clay since I'm sure it will be structurally better for burrowing.  I only have mine as it is because that was before I had seen any posts mentioning excavator clay.  I just wanted to post this as an alternative for those who cannot get their hands on excavator clay.


Edit: Interestingly enough, using ": 2 :" sans the spaces, for my ratios listed above, results in a dancing monkey: :2:


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## miaboosted4g64 (Jan 30, 2012)

thanks guys ill be trying it out today wish me luck 
how long b4 i can put my desert hairy in ?


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## snippy (Jan 30, 2012)

You will see it, at least wait until there is no more water condensing on the glass where the sand is touching it. Try poking little holes in the sand with a spit of some kind and keep the heating on as much as possible.
It usually takes between one to three weeks.

Regards
Finn


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