Starting Scorpion Terrarium For The First Time.

Chicagoblue

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
35
I plan on getting a desert hairy scorpion. i would prefer to use a light as a day time heating source but i've been hearing from alot of peeps that scorpions don't care for it & in fact can also adversely affect the scorpion. How can this be true if this type of scorpion lives out in Arizona under the blazing sun?
 

Nomadinexile

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 8, 2009
Messages
2,674
Welcome to the boards!

Scorpions don't live out in the sun! They are nocturnal, only coming out after sunset. During the day, scorpions stay either underneath debris, rocks, fallen tree limbs, or burrows. In the case of the Desert Hairy, or Hadrurus arizonensis, their days are spent in burrows that are often deep and elaborate. Some burrows can be up to 20 feet deep! :eek:

You can use a heat lamp to raise the temperature, but if you choose this route (and really even if you don't), you should provide a suitable substrate that allows a deep enough burrow for it to avoid the light. If you cannot provide at least 8" of substrate, I personally would recommend at least providing a rock or piece of cork bark with enough room under it for the scorpion to make a scrape. A scrape is a little burrow made underneath rocks in nature, that is basically a shallow hole with a small entrance.

Better heating options include Heat Tape or Heating Pads (both of which should be placed on a vertical side of the tank, not the bottom!), and also ceramic heating elements that are shaped like light bulbs work well too, but are more expensive.

Keep in mind while heating, that you cannot replicate nature in a tank. For example, it may be 100* outside in their habitat, but in their deep burrows it is much cooler. They may also have some humidity in their burrows down deep, but they have dry areas in there too, and that is hard to replicate in a terrarium unless you have a 800 gallon tall! :p Also, unlike in your tank in your room, burrow entrances in nature are exposed to a lot of wind, yet inside the air is calm.

Also remember that Hadrurus in nature live in areas that are at or below freezing in the winter. There is no need to provide a H. arizonensis heat right now! In fact, if I was breeding them, I would probably have it's terrarium in a refrigerator. ;)

Come about May, you could crank the heat up to high 80's or low 90's, and that would be about right imo. For now though, your room temperature should be fine.

Good luck, and if you have any more questions, please ask. :)
 

Chicagoblue

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
35
There's alot i didnt know until i read your reply post. Thanks for your thorough explanation Nomadinexile. It is greatly appreciated!
 
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