leiurus quinquestriatus care

[evilkarot]

Since I was unable to find someone with experience that wanted this guy, I've decided to keep him. I went and bought a 5.5 gallon tank with a locking lid and some calci sand. I also have placed the UTH I have under the tank. But I am now curious, what is the proper care for this guy. I will be buying a lamp to place over top and place it on a timer for day/night cycle. Is there anything else I should know about the care of this guy? I know they like it HOT and DRY, but what else? Anything special? Water dish, no water dish. Crickets and superworms for feed, different food items? Please help me. Now that I know what it is, I'd like to care for it properly.

 

[Xaranx]

You got it right so far, and they don't need a water dish, but you can put one in there if you want to. I would, just a little one like a bottle cap assuming it's adult. Crickets are fine for food, superworms are fatty and not so good, that should be more of a once in a while thing. How deep is your substrate? 4" should be enough.

 

[TheDill]

http://visualadvance.com/invertcare/caresheets/scorpions/Leiurus/Leiurusquinquestriatus.html

go here and it will tell u everything u need to no on caring for him..and make sure you dont get tagged..be careful

 

[evilkarot]

Thanks, I was looking for a good care guide. Don't worry, I'm not going to get tagged. The substrate is only about an inch deep, which is how deep the peat moss was (before I knew what it was). Sould it be deeper? He seemed to only clear out enough space under the log or the water dish so that he can fit. Do they like to burrow?

 

[TheDill]

i would use sand for the subsrate with maybe a little peat moss in the mix..and yes they love to burrow from what ive seen my buddys do..and the do climb as well so maybe throw in some corkbark or something.

 

[evilkarot]

That's a good idea, I have a huge thing of peatmoss I bought at Lowes. Wouldn't that hold too much humidity? I have several things in there for it to climb on, but some cork bark isn't a bad idea. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Emos]

Do you know the origin of your L.q.?
If it is L.q.q., it's probably a desert species from North Africa and prefers mostly fine sand substrate. If it is L.q. hebrues, chances are that it's from a semi-arid region with 60% dry soil (such as peat) and 40% coarse sand. Especially the ones originating from Nazareth region prefer more soil to sand ratio. I've seen L.q. in Turkey from soils which barely contain any sand at all. So the location of your L.q. determines which type of soil needs to be used.

 

[evilkarot]

I have no idea which L.q it is. Heck, I just found out this week that it was indeed an L.q. Is there a difference in appearance from one or the other? Here is my post, if you can tell, Please let me know.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=105525

I may just add some peat to the mixture anyhow to add some depth to the sand.

 

[Emos]

In that case, I would go with 50/50 peat & sand...Good luck.

 

[evilkarot]

But out of curiosity, is it an L.q.q. or an L.q.h.?

 

[Emos]

But out of curiosity, is it an L.q.q. or an L.q.h.?

It's really difficult to say from those pictures. The color suggests hebreus but one can't be certain. However, I would place my bet on hebreus.

 

[TheDill]

its hard to tell..all the speices of l.q look farely similar...

 

[marcelo_987]

One more thing, don't place the UTH under the tank. One of the reasons scorpions burrow is to escape heat, if the UTH is under the tank the scorpion will keep digging down only making itself hotter and hotter. Your safest bet is to put the UTH on the back of the tank.

I'll agree with Emos in regards that your L.q. is indeed a hebraeus.
This is a L.q.h.

And this what L.q.q. look like.
http://home.datacomm.ch/alber001/skorpione/Leiurus quinquestriatus-6_1.jpg

(First photo is my own & the L.q.q. photo from www.tiscalinet.ch)

 

[evilkarot]

Thank you for all the help and assistance. I just want to make sure my l.q. is cared for properly.

 

[TheDill]

they are a truly amazing scorpion..so active at night time..not so much during the day..they hate LIGHTS