Desert hairy scorpion care

[Gabe Ma]

Hi all, I purchased my desert hairy scorpion about 1.5-2 weeks ago and she has not eaten yet.
This is a wild caught that I purchased from arachnophiliacs.

how is my setup also?
there is a bottle cap size water dish, excavator/sand substrate, and some cork bark pieces. I plan on adding live plants. Any suggestions?

 

[xXTristinaXx]

can you give us your exact care?

 

[Gabe Ma]

I fill the water dish to the top, if dirty then I clean the dish.

I have a littlelamp that I turn on at 8am and turn off at 9pm.

I offer food in hopes that the scorp accepts the food. The scorp is fairly plump when I purchased it.

 

[Matts inverts]

For the feeding, mine only feed at night and I feed on a strict schedule. It could be the feeders. Try roaches or worms if not taking other food like crickets

 

[Gabe Ma]

thanks!

 

[Spoodfood]

That setup looks perfect for it. Keep the substrate bone dry, they don’t like moisture. Keep the water dish full and clean. You want to give them a temperature gradient so they can choose a hot or cooler side, which is why I’d say a heat pad would be optimal. The lamp can work though, as long as they have enough space to get away from it. I keep my heat pad on the side sort of close to the hide but not directly on it. Mine stays out in the open a lot and is a great eater. It eats roaches and crickets, so it’s really dependent on your preference there. As far as live plants go, you can order low light desert plants from the biodude, but in my personal experience they usually just dig them up and shred them. Try it out, it may work for you.

 

[Ferrachi]

Hi all, I purchased my desert hairy scorpion about 1.5-2 weeks ago and she has not eaten yet.
This is a wild caught that I purchased from arachnophiliacs.

how is my setup also?
there is a bottle cap size water dish, excavator/sand substrate, and some cork bark pieces. I plan on adding live plants. Any suggestions?

You just got it 1.5 - 2 weeks ago... it's still getting use to it's new home, sometimes they won't eat for months because of this. Have patience and try feeding it once a week and if it doesn't eat the prey within 24 hours, remove the prey and try again the following week...

 

[Gabe Ma]

I placed the heat pad on the back of the tank. Or do you think I should place it on the side?

 

[ChiefinOnSomeSkunk]

I placed the heat pad on the back of the tank. Or do you think I should place it on the side?

I always placed my heatpads on the bottom of the tanks but wherever is fine as long as it's heated. Your enclosure looks great, you got the substrate mix down perfectly as well as the amount needed. I also use bottle cap dishes because they are safer than actual water dishes. When it comes to plants I really wouldn't know what to suggest since I've never done a bioactive setup especially one for a desert species. I never used lamps for my setups or even those "heat" lights, it's not a lizard. I just recommend sticking to heating sources such as pads, strips, tape, or wire. Good luck with the scorpion, you seem to be doing everything correctly.

 

[Dry Desert]

I always placed my heatpads on the bottom of the tanks but wherever is fine as long as it's heated. Your enclosure looks great, you got the substrate mix down perfectly as well as the amount needed. I also use bottle cap dishes because they are safer than actual water dishes. When it comes to plants I really wouldn't know what to suggest since I've never done a bioactive setup especially one for a desert species. I never used lamps for my setups or even those "heat" lights, it's not a lizard. I just recommend sticking to heating sources such as pads, strips, tape, or wire. Good luck with the scorpion, you seem to be doing everything correctly.

Never place heat mats/pads on the bottom of the tank. If the substrate is any more than 2 inches deep you will end up cracking the tank, more than 2 inches and you won't get proper heat transfer through the thick substrate, and Oh! by the way scorpions dig down to escape heat. Ceramic heat lamps are best for desert species because it dries out the air, which is what you want. Don't leave water dishes / bottle caps in permanently, this will raise the humidity and in the long term, even short term will lead to Mycosis. Put the water container in once every 7/10 days and only leave in overnight. Desert species obtain most of their moisture from their prey items.

 

[Dry Desert]

I fill the water dish to the top, if dirty then I clean the dish.

I have a littlelamp that I turn on at 8am and turn off at 9pm.

I offer food in hopes that the scorp accepts the food. The scorp is fairly plump when I purchased it.

For your species of scorpion you need an enclosure temperature of 90F, maybe dropping a little at night. You must maintain this temperature every day during the day, if it's not maintained the scorpion won't eat. As you have a small lamp that you switch off at 9pm, you may find that the heat mat will not be able to provide 90F, and you may have to use a ceramic heat lamp. Also have the small lamp fitted to a timer, it will save you switching things on and off. Lastly, if you do require a higher source of heating make sure it's fitted to a Quality thermostat.

 

[ChiefinOnSomeSkunk]

Never place heat mats/pads on the bottom of the tank. If the substrate is any more than 2 inches deep you will end up cracking the tank, more than 2 inches and you won't get proper heat transfer through the thick substrate, and Oh! by the way scorpions dig down to escape heat. Ceramic heat lamps are best for desert species because it dries out the air, which is what you want. Don't leave water dishes / bottle caps in permanently, this will raise the humidity and in the long term, even short term will lead to Mycosis. Put the water container in once every 7/10 days and only leave in overnight. Desert species obtain most of their moisture from their prey items.

well I don't keep desert hairys due to the fact of them having molting issues and keeping multiple in the past that were wild caught in my backyard. Only desert species I keep now is various deathstalkers and fat tails which don't need extreme amounts of substrate like a DH. Never had an issue with tank mats cracking glass or melting plastic so must just be an issue on your end with that experience or a strike of luck for me. Learned something new today. But, not everything a scorpion needs can be gained through their prey. This point doesn't work because this desert hairy is not living in the wild with conditions where it has to sacrifice water and live off of prey soley. So a small water cap will not harm anything it's not like the owner has a huge water dish it's a bottle cap.

 

[Dry Desert]

well I don't keep desert hairys due to the fact of them having molting issues and keeping multiple in the past that were wild caught in my backyard. Only desert species I keep now is various deathstalkers and fat tails which don't need extreme amounts of substrate like a DH. Never had an issue with tank mats cracking glass or melting plastic so must just be an issue on your end with that experience or a strike of luck for me. Learned something new today. But, not everything a scorpion needs can be gained through their prey. This point doesn't work because this desert hairy is not living in the wild with conditions where it has to sacrifice water and live off of prey soley. So a small water cap will not harm anything it's not like the owner has a huge water dish it's a bottle cap.

A lot of new keepers place heat mats under tanks with fairly deep substrate, with No thermostat, mat temperature is uncontrolled, mat overheats, cracks glass - simple -. Also if there is no air gap between mat and tank, mat will overheat. I agree, every living thing needs access to water at some time, that's why every week or so provide water overnight only, especially in the case of H.ariz. that are very prone to Mycosis, due to a high humidity environments.

 

[Outpost31Survivor]

If I ever invested in an adult DHS, I would put in a 5-10 gallon terrarium with 5"-7" of sand / clay mixture that had been mixed with water and allowed to completely dry. I would provide it a couple of starter burrows. Top it with a heat lamp (red bulbs) or CHE. Keep the day temps 85F-95F, night temps allowed to plunge down to 70sF (maybe high 60sF). Maybe offer it a waterdish once or twice a month for 24 hours.