Scorpion Substrate Questions !!

[Troyboy9219]

Is it safe to house your desert scorpions on dry sand and nothing else? I have set up my cages for my incoming desert scorpions and I have used a 25 percent clay mixture with 75 percent sand. If I don't have to mix in clay and other things I wont do it. Also if you house your scorpion on dry sand, how are they able to burrow considering dry sand won't hold up? Just curious to know what everybody uses for there desert scorpions substrates. Also is it safe to use sand you can get from the hardware store? Like the sand they put in play boxes.

 

[KDiiX]

Substrate depends on the scorpion. If you have a burrowing scorpion you should have a sand clay mixture, that is little bit moist when you fill in the tank.
For scorpions that only burrow small hide under rocks or something loose, dry sand is ok.
I think your mixture gets way to hard for the most species. When i mix sand myself i use a 1:7 - 1:10 mixture and not 1:3. But it also depends how strong you densify the substrate while filling it into he enclosure.
Play box sand is ok to mix it like almost every other sand, but i guess the playbox sand is the cheapest you can get.

 

[Troyboy9219]

Ive done alot of reading. I wanted to buy calcium sand but alot of people say it sticks to your scorpion and is nearly impossible to get off. I have experimented with lots of substrates so far and I have not found what works for me yet. I talked to kelly swift and he told me that hardware store sand is what he uses so I believe him. He has never steered me wrong before. Hopefully it all works out.

---------- Post added 09-04-2013 at 04:43 PM ----------

My scorpions are coming in next week. I am ordering a Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion and a Black Spitting Thick Tailed Scorpion. Hopefully they like the mixture. If they dont I will figure it out. Any other ideas for substrates? I have heard coco husk with sand is very popular. My current mixture is 25 percent excavator clay to 75 percent sand. Also is there another way to buy clay bagged like that? I only have one local petstore and they only get one bag of excavator clay in a month. Is there another type of clay you would recomend? Like something you could find in a normal store or in a bulk bag?

 

[thevez2]

I put my H. arizonensis in a KK with calci sand temporarily as I was building her clay/sand burrowing enclosure. She kept mving the sand from one side to the other, constantly trying to burrow in it. I know she was miserable. And with her kicking sand all the time, the fine sand built up a layer on the inside of the plastic tank that I could not see through.

For the burrowing tank, I used playground sand and regular modeling clay. I'm very happy with it.

 

[Troyboy9219]

What is the best place to get modeling clay? Home Depot or lowes? Im debating on changing my mixture. What brand of sand and clay do you use?

 

[thevez2]

I just bought a cheap brick of it at a craft store. I used the clay-water technique to mix it in. You "dissolve" the clay into a bucket of water. Dump the sand in, mix it up. Scoop the sand out ( squeezing out as much water as you can) and put it in the tank, and allow to dry. I filled a ten gallon about 3/4 full. Took 1.5 bags of sand and about a handful or two worth of clay. The bags are the 50lb size, and yes my tank weighs a ton (almost 100 lbs).

 

[Troyboy9219]

That is a very good method. I never would have thought about doing it like that. I am tempted to try your method. About how long do you think it takes to dry? I use 150 watt zoo med infrared bulbs to dry my substrate quickly and then I use the 40 watt zoo med infrared bulbs for when my scorpions come in. I am planning on ordering my scorpions from www.swiftsinverts.com. I have ordered from kelly for a very long time. Any other places that you know of that are worthy? Where did you get yours?

 

[thevez2]

The length of time it takes to dry is going to depend on how much water you are able to get out before placing in the cage, and how deep you make it. I made mine so deep, It actually took a couple weeks to get it where I wanted before I put the scorpion in it. Still not totally dry, but that is fine because you want a moisture gradient. If you want dealer reviews, you'll have to look at the reviews section of the forum. Mine came from Ken.