Scorpion Enclosure Setups

[Kugellager]

Here is my H.arizonensis enclosure...this also would work well with many desert species from the SW US. I have kept up to 3 adult scorps in here...prob 5 scorps in this 20 long would be the maximum number you would want to keep of this species in this size tank.

Here is my description of my Substrate(11/3/02):
You can try mixing some peat in with the sand. I am currentyl experimenting with anout 10% 'cellu clay' mixed in with the substrate. The cellu clay is basicly cellulose...looks like powdered paper...any way...My curent/new desert hairy substrate consists of approximately of 50% sand, 30% paver underlay, 10% peat...all 3 of which were purchased at Home Depot...the final 10% is the cellu clay which I got at a Michaels(craft/hobby) store.

I used a clean bucket(no deteargent residues) to mix it in batches which I added water to as I mixed everything together. THis keeps down the dust though I would still recommend wearing a dust mask. The water also allows the substrate to stick together and therefore increases the stability of the borrow avoiding collapse and the joy of digging out an annoyed or possibly injured scorp. Once you have a batch mixed pack it into your enclosure adding terrain/rocks/wood(clean) as you may wish. I have a flat rock with hidden supports to avoid collapse should they undermine the entire thing.

Allright here is the updated pic of my Haddie(communality experement) setup.

John
];')

 

[genious_gr]

Kugellager,

I have to say you are a true artist... every single setup is a masterpiece..... GREAT WORK!!!!!!! I wish I had enough money and space to do such things......
I am really jeallous

 

[Kugellager]

Thanks genious,

Here is my invert closet where I keep them all. It is much easier to heat a small area rather than the whole house or even an entire room. The entire closet stays in the mid 70f range during the day when lights are on. Never gets below mid to upper 60's at night when lights go off.

I an using a shower curtain as a door to hold the heat in which is easily opened in the 2nd pic to clean/feed/display the setup.

John
];')

 

[Kugellager]

2nd Pic with the curtain opened.

 

[neveragain]

im going to go ahead and bump this so more people can post their enclosures.

here's one of my flat rock enclosure (i posted it in another thread already) i'm thinking about redoing this maybe tomorrow.

 

[neveragain]

here's my desert hairy. overhead pic

i've only had him a few days, and he hasnt made too much of a burrow, just dug in a few spots a tiny bit. mostly under that branch where he is sitting right now.

 

[neveragain]

side view of desert hairy tank. you can see a couple spots where he dug a little bit.

 

[neveragain]

can people post, or at least tell me how they keep their Mafia (Anuroctonus phaiodactylus)? i cant really find anything, so i have mine on sand (not even an inch deep) with a piece of cork bark for hide, a piece of driftwood, and a small cap for water.

 

[Kugellager]

Keep it just like a desert hairy. THey come from the desert areas in S Nevada ad California such as El Mirage area in CA.

John
];')

 

[neveragain]

thanks. i'll post a pic of that tank in a couple of days after the sand i just packed into it is dry.

this is a pic of a 10 gallon tank taht i just set up for 2 emporers that i am buying from some petstore in a couple of days. i went into the store just to look around, and i saw a 10 gallon tank with 2 emporers in it, on repti-bark, with a waterdish that was like 3 times the size of the emps, and a dry sponge in it. and to top it off, there was a small critter keeper in the tank and inside the critter keeper was a desert hairy. it was on repti-bark also with a piece of dry sponge just lying on the floor. it didnt even look like there was enough room for the scorpion to turn arond without hitting the sides (but thats another story) anyway, i figured i'd buy the emps.

 

[neveragain]

overhead pic

how's this set up?

 

[genious_gr]

Dude, you shouldn't have bought the emps. Now the guy at the store will keep keeping any scorpions that he has the way you said. He made you feel sorry about the animals and buy them....

I dont get it, in USA people sue others for NO reason (I've heard of a woman sueing a supermarket because some kid fell on her and she hurt herself, the kid was her son) and yet no big trial against a pet-store or sth......


The setup looks good BTW.

 

[Bry]

genious, a lot of the times, the people who sue for silly reasons are only doing it for the money. Most of us aren't that crazy. I'm willing to bet that people don't sue pet stores for improper care is because most people don't know how to care for certain animals properly. A lot of people seem to think pet store owners and employees must be geniuses when it comes to animals. If they have a job there, why argue with them, right?

Bry

 

[neveragain]

i figured i'd post this pic in here also, as a way to bump the thread so that more people will post some pics

my h.arizonensis' redone enclosure:

 

[Buspirone]

Kugellager,

You have heat lamps over your scorpions cages. Do they need basking areas or higher temps. I noticed a local store here has
h.arizonensis and I'm tempted to buy one(to start). I'm just curious if the heat lamp is absolutely necessary?

 

[skinheaddave]

I'm not John (Kugellager), but I do play him on TV.

Unlike Tarantulas, scorpions do tend to benefit from elevated temperatures and thus some form of supplemental heating is required. The heat lamp techniques is a good one for the larger enclosures, as it allows the scorpion to pick their body temperature. They will not actively thermoregulate in the same sense as a snake, though. What they will do is pick an area of the enclosure they like based on several factors and then stay there. Any thermoregulation is likely to occur by them moving up and down through the substrate (via a burrow, for example). That is why the heat light is so nice -- it provides heat from above which is the same as in nature (scorpions are pretty hard-wired and can't just figure out another scenario).

Another method of providing more heat is to put a heat pad on the side of the enclosure. Not the bottom, you see, as that screws up their sense of up=hot, down=cool. The side is a good compromise, though, as it will provide a heat gradient. Heating a room or area of a room is also a good idea if you have lots of them. John has his closet, which gets the heat from the bulbs he uses on his various enclosures and thus stays at an elevated temperature. I actualy have a heated area of my basement, as I keep a variety of reptiles. This acts as my base temperatures for my scorps as well.

H.arizonensis is a great starter scorpion if you don't feel the need to handle your scorpion. If you read through this forum you will start to get a pretty good idea of how to care for it. You may also want to check out the InvertCare sheet at:
http://www.invertcare.com/caresheets/scorpions/Hadrurus/Hadrurusarizonensis.html It provides basic info on the species, though there are obviously different ways you can go about it. In particular, there are a lot of different substrates being used out there. I, personaly, use the sand and bentonite for my desert scorps. I know that others do it differently, though.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Buspirone]

Thanks! Where can you buy Bentonite? I did a search on google and most of the results were about eating it.

 

[skinheaddave]

Try to get a contact within the local pottery scene. Pottery supply stores are the place to get it. If you don't know any, or none are listed in the yellow pages, wait until the next craft sale in your area and ask a local potter.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[neveragain]

well, finally, here is my A. phaiodactylus enclosure.

 

[neveragain]

my b.jacksoni enclosure. its nothing special, i just figure i'd post it anyway.