Heard someone here say H. arizonesis loves to dig a lot, mine has never done this in the ~8 years I have had him, and if that is what they do I would like to get him to dig, because I'm all about keeping them happy and comfortable most of all. I have him in straight sand now, it's not too fine and not too coarse, but usually pretty dry aside from when he spills his water on it. I have probably about 2 inches of sand beneath him, but he has never really attempted to burrow. What should I do to encourage burrowing? He has a hideaway in his cage, one of those hollowed out half-logs, but he never goes in it, prefers to sit on the sand. Any ideas?
H. arizonesis digging habits
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It will not dig with only 2 inches of sand. You need 6-12 inches or more
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I have a H.Spadix and i have found that he digs the most when his water bowl has been full and is then empty.
Ok, first things first...................you've kept a H.arizonensis on 2 inches of sand for 8 years and only now you've found out they like to burrow!!!!!!!:?
#2. Place an inch of gravel in the bottom and cover it with water and then pour your sand in to the required depth.
If your're using regular washed aquarium sand then you'll also need to add a hardening agent, something like betonite (small amount!) so that the sand sticks together (consolidates) when dry.
Alternatively it you can get sand from a quarry or maybe just out in your back yard theres a good chance that it'll be ok without adding anything. You can check by wetting a small amount in a container and then putting it on a radiator or somewhere else warm and waiting for it to dry. If it sticks together when dry but you can still crumble it with your fingers then that'll do just fine.
#3. Wait for the sand to suck up all the water. If the water stops a inch or so from the surface then thats ok however if it only dampens the sand, lets say halfway up the container then add more water onto the surface of the sand.
#4. Allow a few weeks to dry. You can follow how the sand is drying if you've used a glass/clear plastic enclosure.
#5 Place your scorpion in the enclosure when the sand is three quarters dry (the top 3 quarters!).
#1. Try and use a enclosure that will allow you to use a depth of sand that is closer to 12 inches than 6.
#2. Place an inch of gravel in the bottom and cover it with water and then pour your sand in to the required depth.
If your're using regular washed aquarium sand then you'll also need to add a hardening agent, something like betonite (small amount!) so that the sand sticks together (consolidates) when dry.
Alternatively it you can get sand from a quarry or maybe just out in your back yard theres a good chance that it'll be ok without adding anything. You can check by wetting a small amount in a container and then putting it on a radiator or somewhere else warm and waiting for it to dry. If it sticks together when dry but you can still crumble it with your fingers then that'll do just fine.
#3. Wait for the sand to suck up all the water. If the water stops a inch or so from the surface then thats ok however if it only dampens the sand, lets say halfway up the container then add more water onto the surface of the sand.
#4. Allow a few weeks to dry. You can follow how the sand is drying if you've used a glass/clear plastic enclosure.
#5 Place your scorpion in the enclosure when the sand is three quarters dry (the top 3 quarters!).
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2" is definately not enough to burrow. Make sure to wet down the sand and pack it down tightly. As suggested above 6" or more is ideal. Once done with that let it dry for about a week or more. Once completely dry it should be fine to put your arizonensis in. As far as the water dish I wouldn't recommend it. This sp. gets all it's liqiud intake from it's food and a water dish might add some unwanted hughmidity. This sp is very susceptible to moisture and could develop micosis easily.
A light misting once a month or less should be fine.
A light misting once a month or less should be fine.
just use plain ol´dirt...hardens like cement and if you make an impression in the dirt, you'll see your specimen bulldozing the entire enclosure in no time, and dont worry about it drying out all the way, I´ve kept many of my Hadrurus on wet sand for weeks at a time with no ill effects, just make sure the enclosure is well ventilated...I've even had them dig into the wet sand before it was dry and by the time they have the burrows dug out the substrate hardens exactly how the burrow was dug...this apply's to alot of burrowers like S. mesaensis, H. spadix, etc.
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How much airflow does the tank have? The scorpion doesnt know how deep the soil is, if it wanted to burrow it would have tried. What sort of light is the tank exposed to? Does the scorpion sit out exposed or can it hide under something?