Communal questions

[DeathsPyro12]

I'm wanting to do a T.stigmurus communal enclosure with live plants and all, my question is how many could be kept in a 30 gallon tank? Also what other tropical scorpions are communal with looks along the lines of Tityus sp.? I am not a fan of Emps or asian forest scorps. Also yes I know Tityus sp. have a severly strong venom, I had my female T.asthense a little while before I sold her(thought I was moving. talk about hating that one). I know to it will be alot more dangerous when cleaning time comes around, but I am set on a communal T.stigmurus enclosure, and with the right things likt a black light and the long tongs I figure things should go fairly well. Also I am making a locking plexi lid for the enclosure so there should be no escapes. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[Nomadinexile]

That's funny, because I've had this on my mind as well. I only have 3 right now, but they should all start having slings soon, so I figured why not try it.

What exactly are you thinking? What's the dimensions on your thirty? What plants, sub, in pot/or planted in?

It's going to depend a lot. I'm curious as to your tank measurements. But it will really depended on how well it's planted and how much cork you have in there. If you have a ton of cork tubes, with crevices cut out. And you plant well... It's going to be a lot more. If you put two plants they can't climb, in four inch pots, and put one cork tube in, not many.

But there are bigger problems than how many will fit. Have you had any vivariums before? I've got a little book about it, I'm sure it's not the end all be all, but it has given me some ideas....

 

[Michiel]

You can house a true horde of them in such an enclosure

 

[DeathsPyro12]

I'm wanting to use a large pothos plant I have and add another one also maybe use some Ivy, as for cork bark I just have one large piece at the moment(about a foot tall and 8 inchs in diameter) but the reptile show is coming up next weekend and I intend on getting a bit more. The size of the tank is 30" long 12" deep and 18" tall. As for the plants I'm going to plant them in the enclosure, no pots. Thats the way I have my 20gallon tank set up for my female L.parahybana. Sub would be a mix of peat moss, vermiculite, and the exo-terra plantation soil.

So basically I want to set it up with
:4"-6" Mixed sub.
:2 large pothos(and by large I mean the vines can about circle the tank)
:Large cork bark tube and multipule large pieces set in various areas.
:Large water dish(its about 5 inchs around and a half inch deep)
:Light for the plants(only on for a couple hours a day)
:And scorpions.

 

[DeathsPyro12]

Oh also I may hot glue four triangle shaped pieces of plexi over the silicone on the corners to prevent them climbing the edges. After all can't be to careful with them, even considering the plexi lid.

 

[Nomadinexile]

I'm wanting to use a large pothos plant I have and add another one also maybe use some Ivy, as for cork bark I just have one large piece at the moment(about a foot tall and 8 inchs in diameter) but the reptile show is coming up next weekend and I intend on getting a bit more. The size of the tank is 30" long 12" deep and 18" tall. As for the plants I'm going to plant them in the enclosure, no pots. Thats the way I have my 20gallon tank set up for my female L.parahybana. Sub would be a mix of peat moss, vermiculite, and the exo-terra plantation soil.

So basically I want to set it up with
:4"-6" Mixed sub.
:2 large pothos(and by large I mean the vines can about circle the tank)
:Large cork bark tube and multipule large pieces set in various areas.
:Large water dish(its about 5 inchs around and a half inch deep)
:Light for the plants(only on for a couple hours a day)
:And scorpions.

Very interesting. Sounds nice. I'm still trying to figure out what terrarium size I will get. I want something at least 24 inches tall. But those tend to be huge tanks. There is one of the sellers in the classifieds that has a nice one that size, It's leading the pack right now. I think it will be escape proof and lockable as well. Sounds good to me.

I want to use an organic coco based, perlite free, rhyzome infused, soil. Maybe on a false bottom with carbon layer.

I would like to get one of the new plant based LED lights. But, they are a little pricey right now, so I will probably just start with a cool t5 but will adjust daylight seasonally or at least monthly on timer.

I want a cork flat wall, with a large rock against it that has lots of holes for hides and plants. Then I want to add 4-10 cork bark tubes stick out of sub vertically. Each one would have a couple of holes in them at different heights. Holes are for entry exit and for planting orchids or bromeliads in.

Add a ground cover that I will trim back regularly, a vine or two, lots of pillow moss and lichens. Would really like to get a fogger on a regular but short timer. And a water dish filled with pebbles. And if I have enough extra, a timer connect to a thermostat to only activate at a certain temperature that is reprogrammable or adjustable.

That is going to be a lot of money though. But it would be awesome if I could get everything in and have everything up and running, it would be great.

Please keep us updated.

I will do the same I assure you when it's up and running.

 

[bobusboy]

I'm totally watching this thread.

 

[DeathsPyro12]

Sounds great Nomad, how many you going to keep in the set-up? Also where do you get your moss? Honestly moss and a fogger completely slipped my mind but would be great as well.

Also for plants Ivy and Pothos are the only ones I really knew were okay for inverts but I would love to add more variety, I'll look up some more when I get back from the E.R. but if you can think of any let me know.

How many do you think I should try keeping in my thirty gallon?

I figure with atleast the 2 large pothos and maybe some Ivy, and the large cork and atleast 5 cork tubes and any larger cork slabs I can find, there should be quite a few hiding places.

Post pictures to as soon as you can. I would love to see how your enclosure turns out!

 

[gromgrom]

i wish i had the money and time for a real plant setup, let alone a tityus communal.

good luck death! :worship:

 

[Nomadinexile]

Sounds great Nomad, how many you going to keep in the set-up? Also where do you get your moss? Honestly moss and a fogger completely slipped my mind but would be great as well.

Also for plants Ivy and Pothos are the only ones I really knew were okay for inverts but I would love to add more variety, I'll look up some more when I get back from the E.R. but if you can think of any let me know.

How many do you think I should try keeping in my thirty gallon?

I figure with atleast the 2 large pothos and maybe some Ivy, and the large cork and atleast 5 cork tubes and any larger cork slabs I can find, there should be quite a few hiding places.

Post pictures to as soon as you can. I would love to see how your enclosure turns out!

Well, mine is still in the early planning phases. It's going to take a while for it to get set up. I still don't know how big it will be either! I'm expecting my 3 adults to provide 15 slings each every 4 months. The first should pop around early November, and the last in December. Then 4 months later, and again, etc. That should be 135 slings in a year.

The only moss I've used so far, has been in my millipede terrariums. It has all been collected. For this though, I plan on buying online from a Dart Frog or Terrarium supply company. I can look later and post some places I've found for supplies.

Moss would work well I think, especially with a fogger. But if you do get a fogger, you will need to watch humidity, and you would have to adjust it's timer until you got the cycle right. If you have it on all the time, you would have a swamp terrarium in no time!

I'll try to start posting some more stuff on here about different plants. If you have a fogger and correct lighting, orchids and bromeliads can do well. There are lots of others too. But you should consider the soil you are using carefully for the ground planted plants. Some plants don't need a lot of nutrients, others will need fertilized. So you have to try and match them well. When I say fertilized, I mean organically. You will mess up or kill your terrarium using junk like miracle grow. You will want to use Bat and worm droppings, seaweed, compost, etc., for fertilizers.

As far as how many you can keep in a 30...
Michiel and some others on here would know better than me. I only have 3 adults and they've always been kept separate. So I can only guess right now. It will also depend on how much cork, and how many entry holes it has. It will also depend on how developed the plants are when you planning.
For example, when you first plant the vine and pothos, it might just be a small cutting. This would be a much smaller max density number than when you add another plant or two, and the pothos and vine grow out for 6 months or year.

Right now, I'm guessing about 6" cubed per adult, and about 2" cubed per sling. That is assuming a well designed terrarium with lots of cork and plants. If I can really turn it into a jungle, I might be able to go a little denser, but I'm not sure of that yet.

I'll start posting more on here as I can. This week is going to be really busy as I have to make as many masks to sell at an event next weekend that I can. I have so much work to do for that it's not even funny. But then I will have a bit more time, and will start adding more details, links, and Ideas.

And of course, as soon as I start making my tank, I will start posting pics.

 

[Nomadinexile]

Okay, well, I guess I can still post on my breaks...

Here are a couple of supply companies for terrariums. Don't forget though, that carnivorous plants are off limits. From what little I know, some of them can consume our arachnids, so keep those off your list.

http://www.blackjungleterrariumsupply.com/

http://www.terrariums.com/

http://www.saurian.net/htm05/terrariumstore_main.html