Centruroides vittatus care help

[Nomadinexile]

Scorpions by Jerry G. Walls

There are some things in there that a lot of people on here have told me were wrong, I will have more time later if you want examples, or you could look in my postings for it and you might find an example. (sorry, really busy, just taking packing break.)

As far as temps go, if you can handle it, barks can too. Remember though, greenhouse effect in cage from lights if you have them close,have enough venting etc.etc.....
It would handle 55 no problems, I think 45 would be fine for a while too. but I would recommend room temperature.
They can handle below 50% humidity, and they do often. Both forms.
I would have a spot (underneath a rock or cork) where there is 50%, but you only really need that in a "burrow" area. 50% is fine, but they aren't going to die if you leave for the weekend and the surface dries out and air humidity drops to 35%,25%. On a dry day, their air is dryer than you would think. If you let it get really dry though, they may "burrow" more. If you have mom/babies, I would keep it at 50%ish, but otherwise, it isn't a huge deal as long as it's 50% under the bark, rock etc...

If you want to know what is in your potting soil, and you want to use that, I would go to websites and read. Then read about the ingredients list and how each effects invertrabates and Scorps. Really, if you don't know much about soil, I wouldn't use it. There are too many (even organic) additives that will cause problems for your scorp, tank maitence, pests, or just over all look due to perlite floating in your cage. I would use coco or even peat first. You won't be dissapointed. And you can spend less than buying a 10 lb bag of junk dirt from walmart. Be careful with potting soil!!!!

I just found and read my book "Scorpions FROM THE EXPERTS AT ADVANCED VIVARIUM SYSTEMS by Jerry G. Walls.
never heard of them but this book has a lot of knowledge.
Well anyway here where i live it is about 70 degrees outside maybe dropping to 67 indoors and sometimes at night it gets very cold here usually 55 degrees to 45 at night.
it says most scorpions should be kept at 75 to 86 degrees during the day and dropping a few degrees at night, i dont know how much a few is but i am trying to replicate the natural environment and it could be stressful to go from 86 to 45, i guess i could just switch the bulb to red every night or maybe there is a device to lower the bulbs temperature a few degrees.
it says to use a heavy duty appliance timer to turn heat lamps on and off giving the scorpion a warm day of 14 hours and a cooler night of ten hours, but i was thinking to just use a timed dimmer
as for humidity it says to keep the bark scorpions at 50-55% and nothing below 50. as for substrate it says to keep them at a 50/50 mix of potting soil and sand and some corkbark and rocks for hiding, this combines 2 elements from the xeric and mesic forms habitats into one so i think it would be ideal. it also says to gutload the feeders a few hours before with some calcium supplement powder and some vegetables so i will start doing that as well.
as for the potting soil a lot of them have special chemicals to help plants grow and i dont want that, so if anybody can point me to a good brand thatd be great as well.
thanks for all information again keep em coming, i am learning a lot.

 

[BishopiMaster]

You think you could tell me whats wrong in my care plan and ill switch it up, like ill use 50/50 sand and shredded coconut husk, what about dropping a few degrees and dimming the light, that sounds like something that would happen in theyre local habitat, perhaps i will just check texas weather and replicate that.

 

[Nomadinexile]

about the author

Open up your book ( I have it in front of me :O) ) and read the about the author on the very last page of the book. Jerry Walls is probably really really smart. He has written over 400 publications, for all sorts of wildlife. Right now, he apparently likes to collect dead crustacaens and herps for study......
I am with C. vittatus about 24/7 either outside or at home.....
I believe he has good general knowledge, and it has some great info in book, but I wouldn't take it as a bible. It is a small book written for people getting their first scorpion that doesn't have acess to arachnoboards. I would trust what you read and hear on this website more personally. And it's not that his temp range is wrong, it's just a little narrow when you have time to talk about details. It is good range for people not on here that don't think about heat from lamps etc, or it's just to be safe, I don't really know. But either way,...

Better than a lamp would be a 10$ heating pad from drug/dollar store. Just don't put it directly underneath the cage as they can get cooked if they get to close apparently. (I am not sure of this personally, but I wouldn't risk it regardless.)

Peace, Ryan

 

[Warren Bautista]

:clap: :clap:

 

[BishopiMaster]

well problem with the heat mat is that in the scorpions natural habitat they burrow to escape the heat, so the hotter it is the further they burrow, so with a heat mat they are burrowing towards the heat source, which is unnatural, also do you think you could wrap up everything you told me and write a detailed caresheet on this species?

 

[BishopiMaster]

ok so let me wrap this up

Cage Dimensions 12x12x12
Scorpion species: Centruroides vittatus
Substrate 50/50 Sand and Shredded Coconut Husk
Hides are Cork bark leaned against glass 45 degrees and a few rocks and a cave.
Temperature: 75-86 at day dropping a few degrees at night, how much i am unsure of.
Heating is just a light fixture with a light at day and red light at nightm unsure of which bulbs to get i have the exo terra compact light fixture.
Light will be dimmed according to the weather throughout the day, or if someone could point me to a timed one that would be great.
Humidity: 50% mist lightly every week and allow to dry out completely.
always provide water dish.
Feeding: Feed once every week changing the menu each week, ( more less?) Gutload feeders 3 hours before given. Remove any Uneaten prey 24 hours after it has been given( or however long i need to wait?)
never feed wild caught prey
Maintenance: Clean cage once every 2 months ( more less?)

tell me anything that i should change please i am keeping 3 of them

 

[Nomadinexile]

Wrap up.

Secure 45* cork bark. I would just bury it with substrate and compact around it personally. But what you don't want is when they all pile up on top of it at night for it to fall on one. It is light stuff though, so it won't take a lot to secure.

As far as drying out completely, let me add this. There is generally a little moisture in my cage even when I "let it dry out completely". I would really only let it get dusty dry if I was worried about mold, mites, etc. Otherwise, I mainly just want the top inch or two of substrate to dry out. Most of the molds, pest, etc that we are worried about won't live below that and it does allow them to "burrow" a little bit to find a little humidity. It's not life or death though. Just wanted to clarify that. There is usually some moisture in my substrate, at least deep in it, almost all the time. (just like in nature, even for the xerics!)

If you can with your light, point it at only part of your cage if possible, you could create a teperature gradient like that. That way, if they are cold, they can get under the light. If they are hot, they hide under a bark or rock.
I would also go with a red light all the time unless they are super expensive. The scorps don't like light, and your vittatus won't either. The scorpions you have that would normally (indoors in low light), often stay on top of cork, will instead, seek shelter from the "blazing sun" like they do in nature.

One option you have with heating pad would be to put it under the shelf that is holding the scorpions. Start with low temp and see how it goes. I do that with my emps. It helps bring up the temp a few degrees but the emps are 2 inches of crushed gravel and 6 inches of air from contact. Another option would work if you are using a background in your cage. You could fix it to back wall, again on low heat at first. If you do it on one side of back wall, you again are creating gradients, which is GOOD.

And I would like to again reitterate a earlier posters comments on gut loading. It may or may not be Good and healthy, or bad and harmful. There doesn't seem to be any consensus that I have seen yet anyway.
A good happy medium would be to gut load only 1 or 2 times a month.
Really though, a decent diet for your feeders should be fine.

Other than that, sounds good to me. Your vittatus are going to be well treated I am sure. And they are going to give you a show too! They really are awesome scorpions. Enjoy them! Peace, Ryan

This is my photobucket album with a few shots of different spots I have collected vittatus and other sp.. If you look at my albums, you will see at least two of my morphs. The mothers are all xeric so far and are under vittlivebirth as some of them are a series I took as it was happening.
There are other sp as well, all taken with 6mp point and shoot.

ok so let me wrap this up

Cage Dimensions 12x12x12
Scorpion species: Centruroides vittatus
Substrate 50/50 Sand and Shredded Coconut Husk
Hides are Cork bark leaned against glass 45 degrees and a few rocks and a cave.
Temperature: 75-86 at day dropping a few degrees at night, how much i am unsure of.
Heating is just a light fixture with a light at day and red light at nightm unsure of which bulbs to get i have the exo terra compact light fixture.
Light will be dimmed according to the weather throughout the day, or if someone could point me to a timed one that would be great.
Humidity: 50% mist lightly every week and allow to dry out completely.
always provide water dish.
Feeding: Feed once every week changing the menu each week, ( more less?) Gutload feeders 3 hours before given. Remove any Uneaten prey 24 hours after it has been given( or however long i need to wait?)
never feed wild caught prey
Maintenance: Clean cage once every 2 months ( more less?)

tell me anything that i should change please i am keeping 3 of them

 

[Nomadinexile]

OOPS< photos

http://s619.photobucket.com/albums/tt279/Nomadinexile/Nomadinexile/


there it is.....

 

[BishopiMaster]

okay so 2 more questions and again i really do appreciate all the help, so you said that i could create a temperature gradient by focusing the light on one part of the enclosure, well i dont think i can do that, should i buy a dimmer? i have a temperate controller, i am just looking for another way to make a temperate gradient like you said.

and as for humidity misting lightly once a week? how do i know when to mist again or whether or not there is still moisture down in the substrate?
how do i get a good humidity

and that should be it, im always very detailed with my setups

 

[alexi]

im always very detailed with my setups

haha no kidding. Not to discourage you from providing a good environment for them, but I don't think you need to worry quite so much. They like being a bit warmer than people, but as long as you don't turn his tank into an oven he should be ok...

 

[Nomadinexile]

s

You could create a shady spot by proping up an extra piece of bark vertically blocking half the light. The "sun spot" of the bark would be really warm, but in the shade behind it, cooler.

I don't like dimmers. They aren't good for bulbs lifespans from what I have read. Better just to get the right size.

and like alexi said, don't worry too much. You have put a lot of thought into it, and congrats for that, but if you can keep alive any arachnids, you can keep these really happy. Cheers, ryan

okay so 2 more questions and again i really do appreciate all the help, so you said that i could create a temperature gradient by focusing the light on one part of the enclosure, well i dont think i can do that, should i buy a dimmer? i have a temperate controller, i am just looking for another way to make a temperate gradient like you said.

and as for humidity misting lightly once a week? how do i know when to mist again or whether or not there is still moisture down in the substrate?
how do i get a good humidity

and that should be it, im always very detailed with my setups

 

[BishopiMaster]

as for the humidity? so i get it i make a wall of cork bark which will be really hot and the outside but behind it it will be cooler and a chance to escape the heat

 

[Nomadinexile]

you will see humidity

on side of glass/plastic, where the light is. hot, moist substrate condenses water on the container. This is normal and not to be worried about. But I vary it. I will see that one or two days a week maybe. Usually after I mist good. After I don't see any for a couple of days, I will stick my finger in the substrate where there are no barks (they generally aren't going to just run up and tag you if you aren't real close, I do this all the time.) Stick your finger in it. Is it dry 1"+ down? Yes? Mist again. OR mist a little and accidentally (me) over pour water dish. :O) No biggie though remember. Don't hurt yourself with worry. If you are close, they will thrive. Just don't cook em with a light in an enclosed tank with little ventilation like someone here in town did this week with a pretty t that I heard about. Check every half hour with decent thermometer if gets close to hot. Otherwise, have fun. Ryan

 

[Aztek]

Holy....
You guys are taking this scorpion thing a little bit TOO seriously.

 

[Nomadinexile]

Yeah, well, could be worse!

Yeah, it may seem a bit much, but some people, myself included, think about little details on the time. I miss a lot, and I don't think I am super smart or anything, but I question all this stuff all day long with my own set-ups. And what am I supposed to do when black light hunting? I think about scorpions, and where they live, and where I might find them, and how tonight's weather may be effecting things...I also read a lot and figure why not? If me and this guy spend half our day trying to recreate temperature gradients in his 3 C. vittatus tank, so what? There are a lot worse things we could be doing. I also made a point of trying to play down the importance of dialed in details.
And at least this discussion has happened and is now on record. Maybe we won't have to do it again for a while! But I wouldn't count on it! :razz:

Ryan

 

[BishopiMaster]

Thanks for everything i really appreciate it, my 3 c. vittatus i feel will do very well and hopefully live a very long time, may be even breed, then i am not sure what to do but ill cross that bridge when i come to it.
I think maybe we should make this thread a sticky, it has a lot of good detailed information

 

[BishopiMaster]

will post pics in a couple months