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 heat mat or light

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thomas1990
Pandinus



Number of posts : 3
Age : 33
Registration date : 2016-02-08

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PostSubject: heat mat or light    heat mat or light  Empty2/8/2016, 4:52 pm

hows every one doing i'm getting back in to this i haven't had a scorpion sens i was a kid and i wan to get a couple Hoffmannius spinigerus and i wan to know what would be better a mat or a light i still have a 5.5 gallon tank from my last one so i was thinking i could put 3 of them in it any way what you thank about the mat thing
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Dave Dunn
Hadogenes
Dave Dunn


Number of posts : 72
Age : 54
Location : Mount Barker South Australia
Registration date : 2016-01-29

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PostSubject: Re: heat mat or light    heat mat or light  Empty2/10/2016, 8:59 am

Because a scorpions instinct is to burrow to find cooler temps,if you use a heat mat it should be an end or side rather than underneath. Using it underneath means that if a scorpion is overheated and burrows,it actually gets warmer. A heat source at one end of the tank gives a linear temperature gradient in the tank,this gives a scorpion the choice of a range of temperatures,it can move to where it is comfortable,combining this with a substrate deep enough to burrow into,providing a vertical temperature gradient,gives it access to an even wider range of temperatures.
Generally using heat mats makes it easier to control temps in the tank,I'm not familiar with this species,but unless they bask in the sun in nature,I would go with a mat on one end of the tank.
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Dave Dunn
Hadogenes
Dave Dunn


Number of posts : 72
Age : 54
Location : Mount Barker South Australia
Registration date : 2016-01-29

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PostSubject: Re: heat mat or light    heat mat or light  Empty2/10/2016, 9:15 am

I looked briefly at this species,I would go with a heat mat at one end and a false bottom system so it can find it's preferred humidity. That set up would make care easy as you don't have to worry about getting the temperature and humidity at exact levels,it can move to where conditions are right for it.
With desert species a partial false bottom works well,water is added to the opposite end from the heat source,one end can be hot and dry,becoming cooler and more moist toward the other end.
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thomas1990
Pandinus



Number of posts : 3
Age : 33
Registration date : 2016-02-08

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PostSubject: Re: heat mat or light    heat mat or light  Empty2/10/2016, 4:17 pm

cool thanks and if i put it on the back can i still have like a back drop or something so its more natural looking or would that cut back on the heat to much
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Dave Dunn
Hadogenes
Dave Dunn


Number of posts : 72
Age : 54
Location : Mount Barker South Australia
Registration date : 2016-01-29

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PostSubject: Re: heat mat or light    heat mat or light  Empty2/11/2016, 8:52 am

It wont cut back on the heat,the heat may just take longer to penetrate initially,once the inside of the glass is warm it wont make a difference. Safety is the important issue,they should deliver even heat,but some cheap heat mats develop hot spots,so I would check carefully after a few hours if you plan on putting a paper or plastic background between the mat and the glass,don't risk a fire. You are not looking at a lot of heat though,it shouldn't get anywhere near hot enough to set something alight,but I would still check to see if there are spots where the mat gets very hot after running for a few days. I guess if you put another piece of glass between the background and the mat you would feel totally safe. You might find that the plain black of some heat mats looks good as a background anyway,I often use plain black material on the back of tanks,to me it looks better than most backgrounds you buy. The mat shouldn't cover the entire back,only a third to a half,but with most you can wrap them around a corner,but you shouldn't make a sharp crease in the mat. I also like to stand sheets of bark against the back wall of a tank,not only does it look good,but by having the ends buried into the substrate it opens up more micro climates to the scorpions. Reading up on these scorps,they seem to have habits close to that of some scorpion species in the Buthidae family in that they are opportunistic when it comes to finding shelter,males particularly,in that they would rather take advantage of pre-existing cracks,hollows and burrows than go to great lengths excavating a permanent burrow,they will follow the bark down below the surface of the substrate. These scorpions can be kept at average room temps,providing it doesn't get too cold at night. Their preferred temps are around 25C/77F in the day,overnight temps around 18C/64F. Ideally you would want temps an inch or so away from where the heat mat is at about 28-30C/82-86F,and temps of 18-20C/64-68F at the farthest point from the mat. You might not need much heat from the mat at all,just enough to raise heat slightly at one end and stop night time temps dropping too low,a natural fluctuation with the weather and seasons may be beneficial in triggering natural behaviours such as breeding and moulting. Remember you will have a thermal gradient in the tank,the scorpions can move up and down the tank and stay at their preferred temps,temps wont be as important as they would be if you were keeping them in a tub where it's all one temperature.
I include a pic of a small tank with a bark background,and a larger tank from behind,the substrate is a couple of inches higher in front of the bark.heat mat or light  Back10
heat mat or light  Brf210
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