new to the dark side

Bry

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 22, 2003
Messages
773
You all know how it happens, "I went to the store to pick up some food, and came home with a new pet." Well, that's precisely what happened to me today. :) I went to pick up some rats for one of the boas, and they had a pair of 1.5" Hadrurus arizonensis for $8. I have wanted this species for a while, so, I asked them to hold onto it. They misunderstood and charged me $8, and put a 'SOLD, pick up on Thurs.' sign on it. I thought about buying the pair to set up a community, but decided to get the hang of working with one before adding another. I thought $8 for a 1.5" H. arizonensis was a pretty good deal.

Bry
 

skinheaddave

SkorpionSkin
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 15, 2002
Messages
4,341
Not a bad deal. Be warned, however, that raising this species from that size to adult size is easier said than done. They are notorious for dying until they reach adult size -- then they are indestructable. While I have no experience myself, people seem to be having the best luck with a sand setup but using a gravel underlayer much like people use with the emps. Put water in the gravel layer and let it evaporate up. Also, deep substrate to allow for good burrows seems to help.

Cheers,
Dave
 

Bry

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 22, 2003
Messages
773
substrate questions

Okay, I have done a bit of reading on setting up this species. The current type of sand I have is called vita-sand which is similar to repti-sand, and nowhere near as big and blocky as calci sand. Anyway, I wanted to know what you guys think of the substrate setup I have in mind. I was thinking of 60% of the vita-sand, 30% peat, and perhaps 10% of that cellu-clay stuff from Michael's, altogether approx. 4" deep. Kugellager, how is that cellu-clay stuff working out for you in your haddie enclosure(s)? I will also be using a slab of cork bark as a hide for the scorp, unless you guys have a better idea. Do you think the small clay pots partially buried in the sand would work well?

Originally, I didn't think I would need to use the false bottom setup with pea gravel, because I figured that would make the substrate too wet for this species. But, there are a couple posts here that recommend pea gravel underneath the aforementioned substrate mixture. If I were to go with that setup, I suppose that I would need to include a tube in the back to get water to the gravel layer. How much water should I add to the bottom layer regularly, and how often? Also, due to this scorp's small size, I'm going to keep it in a small kritter keeper. How moist should the substrate be when I put it in the enclosure to make it dense enough to hold the burrow shape, but not too wet for this species?

Back to dave's post, do you guys know what it is that causes Hadrurus to expire so easily while they're still young?

Bry
 

Bry

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 22, 2003
Messages
773
Okay, I read a few more posts on H. arizonensis. Are they really -that- hard to raise to adulthood when young? If it's really complicated, maybe I should start with a different species, or at least, an adult arizonensis. Unless, of course, John is just dying for one more young arizonensis (moving to Denver next week). :) So anyways, what do you think, should I go for something different? This kind of sucks, because this is one species I really like, but, I don't want to end up killing it with my newbie-ness.

Bry
 

Diao

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 22, 2003
Messages
202
I think you should be okay as long as you do what you've read to do. I think people often just give and take too much. Like the humidity is supposed to be at 60%, but they will let it drop to 55% or 50%, and the temperature is supposed to be 80 degrees, but all they have is a 75 watt bulb, so it's 85 degrees. A bunch of little things like that and BAM, you've got a dead baby scorpion.:(
 

Kugellager

ArachnoJester of the Ancient Ones
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Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
2,363
Well on the baby H.arizonensis note...I had one that someone gave me last august die about a week ago...not sure what heppened but it follows the pattern for young of this species.

Atavuss had a brood of these...he/you need to give us an update...have any made it past 3rd instar?

The cellu-clay thing is still going strong...their burrows have excellent stability.

Hey if you are moving to Denver area you need to look Me and Atrax up...we have a good bunch of invert enthusiasts here and have an informal meeting/spider party ever couple of months.

John
];')
 
Last edited:

chau0046

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
477
I would try a larger tank so that i could try and keep a series of different humidity levels.always spray in one corner and never the other side of the tank. This the main problem in the H. arizonensis scorplings. The right humidity level is crucial! This way way you offer choices. The same can be done with heat with a bulb at one end.

Your other option wich would be to use a false bottom settup. I find that the fine grain reptisand stuff works welll if wetted down and let dry for 3-4 day +. This allows it to burrow and find the depth (with higher humigity) most comfortable.But i`m not sure how well and deep young H. arizonensis burrow, but my big female just blast the sand all over the palce has about 4 entrances right now.

Mat

I would also maybe use flat stones like slate and stuff to make a more realistic nature scape as oppose to clay flower pots. But its all a matter of opinion!:D
 
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