New Scorpion

[bielski9]

Hello all, I made this account because I couldn't find an answer to a question I have anywhere on the internet, including this site.

So a little background: I'm buying a baby emperor scorpion(from Josh's Frogs in Owosso, Michigan), and picking it up on Friday. I have the tank set up, and the temperature and humidity are just about golden. The only question I have is on the spectrum of the bulb I bought to heat the terrarium. I bought the GE red-tinted heat lamp, and just wondering about the possible UV spectrum in this bulb. Now, I have it pointed more down toward the side of the substrate anyway, so it's not really shining directly into the enclosure, but there is a bit of residual light, and I just want to make sure I'm not going to harm my new baby.

As far as the rest of it, I think I've got it pretty well established. I did a thin rock layer(unnecessary, but I thought it was a cool concept), coconut fiber substrate, with a bit of moss on top. Also threw a couple small pieces of cork wood in there. Once the scorp gets big enough to not try to eat them, I'm going to add isopods for cleaning purposes.

So, mostly just the bulb question, and I'm glad to be a part of the community.

-Boe

 

[Dr SkyTower]

This is a really difficult one so I had a look on the forums in here to see what I could find concerning lighting of a scorpion enclosure. I did find this so it might be of help to you:

I’m a newbie,planning to get a Scorpion. Theres little info about lighting online...

Im looking for affordable day/night kits for a large scorpion (beginner friendly so either Emperor and Asian Forest). I’ve been looking all over but it’s so hard finding anything at all online about it. Should i get separate lamps or an Exo Terra Kit?

arachnoboards.com

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Normally you would heat the enclosure during daylight, i hear most people (including myself) have heating turned off at night time.
Since most scorpions hide in darkness during daytime the light shouldn't be a problem for the scorpion even if it contains some UV light.
Most UV from bulbs is just UV-A that is not harmful to you or your scorpion, there are some special bulbs that emit UV-B (for reptiles etc.)
Some small amount of UV-B also should not be a problem for the scorpion since our sun also emits UV-B.
To keep it simple you could also swap that red bulb with a ceramic bulb. They're cheap and don't emit any visible light at all, just invisible infra-red.

 

[bielski9]

Normally you would heat the enclosure during daylight, i hear most people (including myself) have heating turned off at night time.
Since most scorpions hide in darkness during daytime the light shouldn't be a problem for the scorpion even if it contains some UV light.
Most UV from bulbs is just UV-A that is not harmful to you or your scorpion, there are some special bulbs that emit UV-B (for reptiles etc.)
Some small amount of UV-B also should not be a problem for the scorpion since our sun also emits UV-B.
To keep it simple you could also swap that red bulb with a ceramic bulb. They're cheap and don't emit any visible light at all, just invisible infra-red.

Thank you very much for this reply. I'll probably just run with what I have for now, and keep it off during night time hours as much as possible. I live in an older house in Michigan, so nights get cold, and the tank is currently close to a window (it's plastic sealed, but there's always leaks in these 100 year old houses). If I end up needing to have more heat at night, I'll probably order a ceramic bulb online (thank god for Prime shipping), since I hate overpaying at pet stores. Though if the locally owned one has them, I might shop there.

Thanks again.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

I don't live in the US, don't do business with credit/debit card banks, so no amazon for me.
I've always ordered the ceramic bulbs from the PRC via Ebay.
They cost 2-5$US/piece depending on wattage and yes that's a lot cheaper than my local pet store.
The difference between a normal incandescent light bulb and a ceramic heat bulb is less than you might think.
Normal household incandescent bulbs are only ~5% efficient. That means a 100Watt bulb emits 95% heat and 5% (visible) light from all the electrical power you put in.
Ceramic bulbs do 100% heat, so you just get a little bit more heat and 0% visible light, the difference in heating is marginal.
I use ceramic bulbs and/or heat mats for my scorpion enclosures, they don't need any (special) light.
All they need is just a bit of light that comes in via the windows of the room to give them their day/night cycle.

 

[bielski9]

Okay so I got today. I'll attach a picture. First thing it did was bury its face down into the moss and curl up. I'm assuming it's just hiding out at first due to the move and new habitat. Realized it's much smaller than I anticipated, so pulled some of the moss out as I think I had too much. Just gonna leave it be for the next couple of days and pay attention to the temp and humidity, and hope it aclimates.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Nice !
What color is the telson (the bulb shape of the stinger) ?

 

[bielski9]

Nice !
What color is the telson (the bulb shape of the stinger) ?

It is a very light color. I'd have to say white.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Nice, that is what it supposed to be while it's a juvenile.

 

[bielski9]

After the first couple days of pretty much just staying buried, it is out and about today. I hand fed two crickets, and it chilled over in the warm area (~90F) before heading back over to the cool end and retreating under a piece of bark. Seems to be content with the environment for now, so I won't try to feed for a couple days, or whenever it comes back out and starts looking for food.

Also, question for those who use isopods in the habitat, about how big should the scorp be before I introduce them into the environment? I'm not worried about them harming it, I just don't want them to become prey.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

I only put isopods in the enclosure when the scorpion is fully adult.
A adult scorpion does not molt anymore. Isopods are known to start eating parts of the soft exoskeleton of the scorpion during molting. That's why you usually wait until final instar.

 

[bielski9]

Alright, so that will be about a year from now, I'm assuming? It's about 1.5" long currently, and still has the white telson. How many more molts should I expect?

 

[FrankiePinchinatti]

1.5" not including tail? If so, then I'd guess probably about another 4-ish molts, and most likely longer than a year, probably closer to 2.

 

[Lubed Tweezer]

Looking at the specimen in your picture I also guess it won't reach adulthood in a year.

 

[bielski9]

1.5" not including tail? If so, then I'd guess probably about another 4-ish molts, and most likely longer than a year, probably closer to 2.

Looking at the specimen in your picture I also guess it won't reach adulthood in a year.

I was actually estimating 1.5" including the tail. It is still very small. I can try to get a birth date from the breeder. I'll send them an email and see how many times it has molted since birth, if they have that information. Lots of growing left for this guy/gal.