Preparing for first scorpion

Hello

I'm preparing for my first scorpion. So far, I have a 10 gallon terrarium with 10cm (4 inches) of cocoa/soil mixture substrate; with a water dish that is about 1.7cm (0.67 inches) deep and 2 store bought hides. I have washed the hides and dish with white vinegar and rinsed them off with water. I haven't gotten a heat source yet, but I'm planning on a heat pad about the third of the size of the back of the terrarium. I'm trying to stabilize the terra's environment before getting the scorpion; which I'm planning to do on saturday.

My main concern is about water, as I don't want to give it tap water and I'm not comfortable using dechlorinators. I have positioned the water dish at the door of the terra with the mouth of the nearest hide pointing away from it. In case the scorpion gets aggressive, I'm planning of having a tupperware(plastic) lid (which I call the riot shield) nearby to protect my hands.

I'm also concerned about the terra's doors: they are about 10cm (4 inches) above the substrate; but they don't lock properly; though, I am looking into getting a display case lock just to be safe. At the moment, I feel the terra doesn't provide enough cover, so I'm planning on getting fake plants used for reptile cages and maybe a third hide. I'm aware of the trouble crickets could give the scorpion by using the plants to stay out of reach but I'm planning to feed my scorp with tongs anyway.

To prevent much light getting in the terra, I'm planning of covering the walls with cardboard; leaving only the top, doors and area around the heating pad exposed.

At the moment (7 pm during winter with no heat sources), my thermo-hydro meter is saying that the terra is at 20 degrees celsius (68 in farenheit) and bouncing between 70% and 75% in humidity. Thank you for reading and any advice is welcomed.

personal I would forget feeding the scorpion with tongs everytime it needs to eat

sometimes they just like to catch crickets on there own and sometimes they wont take from tongs, but sometimes they will

a picture of your setup would help

im confused cuase u said u had a ten gallon tank but then u said it was a terra ??

during the warmer months u wont need a heat mat, and heat mats don't really do much but heat the glass they are stuck to

when It gets cold, a 50 watt infared heat light would work better.

oh and make sure the dirt is dampened and packed down so the scorp can make a burrow

damp not wet

I would also rather go for a IR bulb or a ceramic heat emitter when using a glass tank.

emperor5 wrote:

im confused cuase u said u had a ten gallon tank but then u said it was a terra ??

Sorry about that, it's a terra.

I'll try to get a pic tomorrow. I have tried to get a ceramic emitter, but I couldn't find one at the pet shop nor hardware store.

if u order the ceramic emitter online it will be cheaper than in the store

u only need a 40 or 60 watt

Would a ceramic emitter be better than an IR bulb?

not sure I use infared bulb because if the scorps out at night I can see it,

with the cermic heat emitter at night its just dark

another reason why tong feeding doesn't work is because the emp is usually in a burrow

when I first got my emps, all 5 of them would come out and wonder around there tank from about 8pm to 2am

they did this for about 2 or 3 months

that's when I didn't know to keep dirt damp

once the dirt was damp , they all went in a deep burrow and I never see them again lol

and if the dirt is too wet they wont burrow in it

Both will do the job because they heat up the air and not just the glass like the heat pad. Ceramic will last longer than a bulb but will be a bit more expensive and they need a ceramic socket as well.

My search for a heat emitter or IR bulb remains fruitless. At least, I was able to get a lock and a spray bottle. I'm thinking of adding more substrate.

Best prices in SA: www.reptilecity.co.za or try www.deviantexotics.co.za and most pet shops which sell reptiles will stock these products.

I'm uncomfortable with buying online. I'd be willing to buy from Deviant Exotics; but they don't have much in the heating department. The only bulbs I have found in stores are way to powerful.

I think I should postpone getting the scorpion (who's name I can't decide between Batista or Trinity) until sunday so that I can find a IR lamp. I'm very nervous about the terra being 100 percent for him

Here are pics, the hides and the water dish are just out drying in the sun.



EDIT

With water dish and hides

Looks good. How deep is your substrate? Emps like to burrow so give the substrate a lot of depth.

The substrate is about 10 cm deep. As you can see in one of the pics, there is an air vent below the doors that prevents me from going deeper without taping it up. Though, I did dig indentions in the ground for the hides so it is a little deeper around the hides and water dish now.

Try to make it so that it slopes towards the back, that way you can probably make the back twice as deep as the front. Also pack down the substrate so that the scorp can burrow otherwise his tunnels will just collapse.

I'm having trouble getting the temp past 24c at center cage, so I might go out to get some cling wrap to cover the ventilation holes and maybe more substrate. I'm still considering cover the non-door walls with cardboard to keep heat in and let less light getting in.

Rule of thumb: Don't go overboard. Scorpions are hardy beasts and are surprisingly resilient. I don't have a designated heat source for each individual scorpion as I don't currently have the cash to buy lots of heatpads or globes.

Anyways, back to the scorpion.

Just please be careful with P. imperator and P. cavimanus as I've had one of each die for no apparent reason. The problem in SA is that Emps are relatively difficult to breed. Reason being is that the scorpion hobby is relatively undeveloped (unlike the tarantula hobby) so most people with Emperors don't have a clue as how to breed them properly. So you'll find that most of the P. imperators and P. cavimanuses are Wild Caught. Wild Caught is not good as they can carry pathogens or parasites which can kill them. Not always the case though as I've found Wild Caught Desert Scorpions are generally fine.

I'm not trying to discourage you against Emps but just trying to help out a little.

If you can get the temp up to say 27-28 it should be good but 30 is ideal.

Thanks all. I'm getting the scorp from one of the major pet shops in my area (Animal Kingdom).

I have doubled the amount of substrate and compacted it; making it about 14cm deep. I'm just letting it air out now to get rid of excess water because the substrate comes in a heavily compressed brick that uses water to expand and loosen.

EDIT: I have also gotten some Sphagum Moss to help retain humidity and decorative purposes.

Terra with modifications:



How long do you suggest should I wait before feeding?

Give him/her a few days to settle in. Congrats btw!