robert44 Tityus
Number of posts : 535 Age : 63 Location : Houston, Texas, USA Registration date : 2012-08-25
| Subject: Tityus stigmurus Question 10/24/2013, 8:24 am | |
| I just received two Tityus stigmurus juveniles from Kelly Swift (they arrived in perfect condition). Right now I just have them housed in a medium sized Critter Keeper but I'm starting to think ahead about when they start popping broods. As I understand, they are a bark-like scorp and need to be kept in tropical conditions. I'm not sure of the instar of these little guys but they are probably about an inch long (25mm) so I have a little time before broods come.
I'm thinking about housing them in a 10 gallon tank with a screen top. Since these guys are hot (VL4), I don't like to depend on a top to keep them in the tank. I am a bit concerned that they might be able to climb the silicon glue in the corners of glass tanks???
Also I am thinking about the best way to clean a tropical enclosure full of VL4 bark-like scorps. The obvious answer is VERY CAREFULLY! Since they require high moisture I will probably use coco fiber substrate, which will need to be changed out periodically. What do you all do that have colonies of these scorps? I was thinking about keeping two enclosures and periodically transferring the scorps from the dirty one to the clean one. Scorplings can be small though! One thought would be to use substrate that had a nice color contrast to the scorps (such as coco fiber). You could do the same for hides, etc. This would make it easier to see them.
Cork bark is nice for climbing scorps but the small ones can get in the cracks and you don't know they are there. This seems like it would usually not be a problem as you could simply use tongs and transfer the bark from the dirty to the clean cage. However if you wanted to throw the cork out you might have issues! Maybe it would be best to use sticks, wood, hides, etc. that they can't squeeze into.
I would love to hear how you all manage the enclosure of these scorps! Thanks! | |
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Gnat Centruroides
Number of posts : 180 Age : 44 Location : Georgia, USA Registration date : 2009-09-26
| Subject: Re: Tityus stigmurus Question 10/24/2013, 9:39 am | |
| realistically and honestly, you should have worked these issues out before getting these scorps. | |
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TheKevil Babycurus
Number of posts : 335 Age : 40 Location : San Antonio, Tx Registration date : 2010-11-05
| Subject: Re: Tityus stigmurus Question 10/24/2013, 10:25 am | |
| The two enclosure idea is a very good one. A screen lid is perfectly fine, also. You can put something on each side on the top to weight it down if you feel uncomfortable, though. They also have the critter keepers with the slide in, locking lids. They're a little more expensive, but the expense is worth it in my opinion. As per seeing them, use a UV flashlight every time you clean the cage. The UV makes them glow and they are easily found that way. That is what I do every time I clean any community scorpion tank, wether hot species or not. | |
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robert44 Tityus
Number of posts : 535 Age : 63 Location : Houston, Texas, USA Registration date : 2012-08-25
| Subject: Re: Tityus stigmurus Question 10/24/2013, 3:45 pm | |
| Thanks Kevil. The UV light is a good idea. I have had a bunch of C. vits in a 10 gallon tank with the slide-in screen top and never had any issues, but I just want to be extra careful with these scorps. I am planning to use this type of enclosure for these scorps. I doubt that a baby could crawl through the crack between the tank and the screen top even if it did manage to scale the silicon glue in the corners but I just wanted to ask opinions about this. Has anyone seen a scorpion scale the corner of a glass tank? I have heard about it but never seen it.
The critter keepers with the slide in, locking lids that you are talking about are the normal glass types correct? The plastic critter keepers have smooth corners but they are not really large enough. Thanks again!
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Bananarama Pandinus
Number of posts : 8 Age : 34 Registration date : 2013-10-07
| Subject: Re: Tityus stigmurus Question 10/24/2013, 4:59 pm | |
| you can also keep these 2 in a 20x20x20cm tank, since they are very communal there wont be any problem - just use "normal" soil out of your garden / potting soil as substrate - cleaning wont be necessery if you put some isopods and collembola (sry i dont know the english name for these)in the tank - they will eat every dead organic stuff, leftovers and mold - hope mold is the right word for that and i have never seen any climbing up the silicone-corners | |
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robert44 Tityus
Number of posts : 535 Age : 63 Location : Houston, Texas, USA Registration date : 2012-08-25
| Subject: Re: Tityus stigmurus Question 10/24/2013, 7:03 pm | |
| Thanks Bananarama I like the idea of the isopods doing most of my job! | |
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