First scorpion

[Midnight1983]

Hi all,

I have 6 tarantulas, but thought I'd branch out and get a scorpion. My emperor arrived the other day and I was shocked. The description said 'small scorpling', but this thing has to be like 2.5 inches long (then again i dont know enough about scorpions to tell how that measures up).

Anyway, I've read conflicting reports about what kind of substrate to use. Some say vermiculite, other says peat moss. I have both, so can go with whatever, but of course, I want it to be happy .

at the moment it's on peat moss, kinda damp, but it does seem to be trying to climb. The soil under the log is drier, and it spends a lot of it's time there.

Sorry for the rudimentary question guys and gals, I did look at other threads first for an answer but couldnt see one.
Thanks for any suggestions you may have.:worship:

 

[BadBikaDamo]

Check out the link posted by Brian S in answer to Never to old's question below.

Good Luck

Damo

 

[The Bear]

I think either one would be fine. I use all peat moss but have heard of others useing Vermiculite and some even mix the two.

Check out the Scorpion Enclosure thread for some good ideas on how to keep high humidity and heat safely.

 

[Jaffster]

I had Vermiculite as my first substrate. Kept it only for a couple of days. If you use it you'll start to notice bits stuck to your invert. They pick it up as they move along (it sticks to their shell) then when it dries it dries HARD and will probably end up staying there until your Scorpion molts.

I've heard of people using vermiculite as a false bottom but it's not half as good as rocks/pebbles.

Personally, I've just gone for a mix of potting soil and vermiculite, it's mainly potting soil but the vermiculite helps to keep a little moisture in.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I'd go with the peat. Coco fiber works too.

Most emps seem to explore their surroundings at first until they get settled in, then they'll just become a pet hole (in this case, hiding under its log).

Have fun with your new baby, and welcome to another addicting hobby!

 

[Quizzler]

So in order to keep humidity should I use a heat source? I have him in coco peat and I'm spraying it to keep it decently moist, but do I need to have the heat source and the false bottom to maintain a fair level of humidity?

 

[quiz]

So in order to keep humidity should I use a heat source? I have him in coco peat and I'm spraying it to keep it decently moist, but do I need to have the heat source and the false bottom to maintain a fair level of humidity?

you need to cover your tank, heat and moist substrate to maintain humidity.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Misting doesn't help very much. If you don't want to go with the false bottom, just dump water in the substrate periodically.

 

[Thaedion]

Misting doesn't help very much. If you don't want to go with the false bottom, just dump water in the substrate periodically.

As stated misting dosen't help much. I at one time used an ultrsonic fogger too, didn't help much either, just looked cool. Now I use both methods, I have aquariums with the false bottom, and rubbermaid bins with only coco fiber. In the bins I just 'overfill' the water dish to saturate the substrate in that region, allowing for a 'gradient' of moisture (you don't want a soupy mess, just moist dirt). In the false bottoms I fill up the under level once every few months.

In My Experience if you can take a hand full of substrate and squeeze really hard you should get little to no water coming out of it (a palm depression full of water is ok IME) and it should stay firmly packed when let go of, but if it drains like a full sponge its too wet. And inversely if it falls apart when let go of it is too dry.

I'm able to keep all my tanks really humid, and still use 50 watt - 75 watt IR bulbs to keep the temps up to high 80's - low 90's F, by keeping to tops covered. I use aquarium glass canopies over screen mesh lids, but you can use plexiglass, plastic wrap, or what ever.

Every day for a few hours I open the hinged canopies to allow air flow, and the bins have holes around the upper perimeter (see some of Brian's pics) and I open all of them weekly to feed and water.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Trust that guy. He's the master of forest scorpions.