G. Swammerdami enclosure?

[TTJOHNS22]

Awaiting the arrival of my 3i Swammerdami. I've been hearing you keep them similar to other forest scorpions but I can't seem to find a dedicated care sheet. Anyone keep these? What temp and humidity do you keep? 80 degrees and 80 humidity? This is my setup, as of now, I still have to add plants, does it seem appropriate? Any information is appreciated.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Between 70 and 80 humidity and I keep mine around 24 Celsius that's about 75 ISH Fahrenheit and all well.

 

[CRX]

FYI "care sheets" are usually bunk AI crap. Seek knowledge instead on here.

Swammerdami has identical care as any other AFS, they aren't really any different, they live in exact same habitats.

I do want to ask, why did you choose that enclosure for 3 giant scorpions? It's clearly an arboreal cage with very little floor space for multiple burrowing scorpions...

 

[TTJOHNS22]

FYI "care sheets" are usually bunk AI crap. Seek knowledge instead on here.

Swammerdami has identical care as any other AFS, they aren't really any different, they live in exact same habitats.

I do want to ask, why did you choose that enclosure for 3 giant scorpions? It's clearly an arboreal cage with very little floor space for multiple burrowing scorpions...

It's for one 3rd instar. I'm glad they are the same as other AFS tho! As for the cage it's the one laying around is all, it's a 8x8 in floor space, figured it'd stay here maybe a year? Thanks for the info btw!

 

[adam james]

Is the background removable? Personally I would remove it, just to keep the scorpions from climbing too high and falling onto a hard surface below. for a 3rd instar you will prob want at about 4" of soil/substrate. increase depth as it gets larger or just start it out with 6" or so.

 

[TTJOHNS22]

Is the background removable? Personally I would remove it, just to keep the scorpions from climbing too high and falling onto a hard surface below. for a 3rd instar you will prob want at about 4" of soil/substrate. increase depth as it gets larger or just start it out with 6" or so.

Ya I just put it in no glue. You really think he would climb it?

 

[adam james]

100 percent. If he is like most, he will go glass surfing for a week or so. during that time he will try to explore all possible options. I even had a small tube running 3/4 of the way up mine (to feed water into the false bottom setup). He would climb that to the top until i cut it off only 3" above the substrate now.

 

[CRX]

Ya I just put it in no glue. You really think he would climb it?

They can truly climb when they want to, I am not joking. After I first put plastic wrap around the top of my (baby afs) AFS enclosure, a couple days later I awoke to it chilling between the plastic wrap and the lid where I wrapped it, like it belonged there . To this day i can never figure how it got up there lol

edit: she's doing fine now, fed a couple days ago. Has a nice tunnel.

 

[TTJOHNS22]

Good to know guys glad to hear from some people. It won't arrive till after the new year so I have plenty of time.

 

[TTJOHNS22]

Anyone know about feeding I've heard getting baby to eat is difficult, is there truth in that?

 

[Joey Spijkers]

Conditions sound good. I agree with removing the background.
They shouldn't be too hard to get eating, but it may refuse food the first 2 weeks or so due to the stress of moving. This is normal and nothing to worry about.

 

[Diao]

Agreed with everything said here thus far. Keep them fairly warm, 80F works well. I keep my younger instars at higher temperatures since they are typically born in the summer months in the wild, so 90F during the day and 80F at night with 70-80% humidity. Definitely remove any background plates as they will climb them and fall, get stuck behind them, etc. For youngsters single is absolutely better. For feeding, I found for 2i-3i scorplings offering pre-killed seems to work best. I usually take an adult dubia and cut it into several smaller pieces, or cut super worms into halves or thirds, depending on their size (and size of the scorplings). Just make sure to remove any food that hasn't been eaten after a day or so to prevent mold, mites, etc. I usually put the food right under the hide with them and find it's gone the following day.

Good luck, this is a rare species in the hobby, especially in the US, and can be very rewarding to keep. They'll grow quickly, should hit adulthood in about 2-3 years, faster if you keep them in the warmer side and always offer plenty of food.

Post pictures when they arrive!

 

[TTJOHNS22]

Awe man you guys are the best! I'll drop my source it's Arachnid Rarities, they only get baby's once a year and it's always around Christmas so if you need one move fast otherwise you have to wait till the next year.

 

[TTJOHNS22]

There out of Lincoln Nebraska I don't know anyone else who breeds them in the USA.

 

[Diao]

There out of Lincoln Nebraska I don't know anyone else who breeds them in the USA.

There are a couple other people that breed them in the US, myself included, but not everyone makes them publicly available. Crom on here has been breeding them for quite a few years and usually makes some of his broods available each year. Both him and Arachnid Rarities are top notch rare breeds themselves, so don't hesitate if they have anything you're looking for. High demand species like swammerdami move fast so definitely get them while you can.

 

[AldenDressler]

Getting my 2i swammerdami in the next couple weeks as well! Glad you asked the same questions I logged on for, lol.

Only differences I’ve found on the forum so far is substrate, they frequent areas with clay based soils so I’m adding a little excavator clay to my mix. Good luck with yours.

 

[TTJOHNS22]

Getting my 2i swammerdami in the next couple weeks as well! Glad you asked the same questions I logged on for, lol.

Only differences I’ve found on the forum so far is substrate, they frequent areas with clay based soils so I’m adding a little excavator clay to my mix. Good luck with yours.

Good luck as well buddy, I've heard that excavator clay works well for them, I just fear it collapsing. So I think I'll mix a little bit in not 100% yet.

 

[parabuthus]

As already mentioned, for the species you have purchased, and presuming they will be communal, you should have a large enclosure with a large floor space.

These scorpions are not only huge when fully grown, but as mentioned, they are arboreal, meaning they like to dig burrows and chambers. That said, I wouldn't provide so much potential digging that you can't easily clear out the cage of droppings and remains of prey.

I would also keep the enclosure simple.

For instance, with my P. imperators, a similar species, I had the soil substrate, a large cork bark hide and a water dish. If I had a breeding pair I would also put in a large flat, smooth stone (no sharp edges).

Good luck, and remember this species get massive, and as a result can deliver a nasty, painful sting potentially.

 

[parabuthus]

As already mentioned, for the species you have purchased, and presuming they will be communal, you should have a large enclosure with a large floor space.

These scorpions are not only huge when fully grown, but as mentioned, they are arboreal, meaning they like to dig burrows and chambers. That said, I wouldn't provide so much potential digging that you can't easily clear out the cage of droppings and remains of prey.

I would also keep the enclosure simple.

For instance, with my P. imperators, a similar species, I had the soil substrate, a large cork bark hide and a water dish. If I had a breeding pair I would also put in a large flat, smooth stone (no sharp edges).

Good luck, and remember this species get massive, and as a result can deliver a nasty, painful sting potentially.

FFS, just noticed my typo: Fossorial or even terrestrial, not arboreal

The tank looks arboreal. Apologies, but I had a brain injury 7 months ago

 

[TTJOHNS22]

Well I got him, I ditched the setup only because he's a 2i and wayyy smaller than I had thought, maybe .5" I got him Tuesday and have already fed him a cricket leg so everything's going good so far! I really hope he molts soon though I don't really want to feed pre killed lol.