Economical hides and material

Well, I think I'm going to start going nuts in this hobby just like many of you have. In a good way or course. Scorpions are way cheaper than snakes. I have several containers, and would like have a hide of some sort in each, and other habitat pieces.

What do breeders, or people with larger collections use? I don't have access to shows etc. A tiny and cheaply made hide box or cork bark on these supply sites is very expensive for what you get. Often 8$ for a half coconut shell etc. Assuming you had a climbing species, or one that doesn't create a burrow, needs it for molting etc what would you use for structure?

Thank you for your time!

Cork bark is cheap in large quantities if you go to invert shows.

Also, the coconut fiber mats you get as "climbing backgrounds" for hermit crabs? You can cut them into little strips for something a bark scorpion can molt from.

For tank decor, I either have to pay through to the nose for aquarium driftwood..... I have no idea where they sell corkbark here in Malaysia (curses). If i ever uttered the word corkbark in any store I probably get really strange looks.

I just get a stack of bark stripped off trees whenever I go into the bush, but they come with their own cargo of fungus mold and prolly mites and other micro-parasites.

If I use them for foreign species, I leave them out to sun on my balcony prior....

But everyday, I wave one fist in the air and relent at the unsympathetic skies

"WHY DON'T THEY SELL CORK-BARK HERE? HUAAAARRRRRGGGHGHGHGHGHGHG!!!!!!!"

I've got a cork tree on my school campus, only cork tree I've ever seen too hehe. Time to pay it a visit

Whilst I was waiting for some bark to finish baking in the oven (to kill off parasites etc), I used some toilet roll tubes cut in half, to create little hides for some desert species I had just got. I buried the half tubes under the substrate, and dug out underneath to create little temporary shelters. I replaced the tubes with bits of bark once it was ready, but they both achieved the same goal, just the bark looked a lot nicer from my point of view, doubt the scorps cared either way! This obviously wouldn't work for scorps that required moist substrate and high humidity and wouldn't aid in moulting. But for a basic hide, it worked for me. Maybe you could use bits of plastic tube, cut in half to create similar basic hides for tropical species, just bury it under the sub and it won't look like half a plastic tube Could also try bamboo split in a similar way, lengths of bamboo are very cheap. Just make sure you source pet trade bamboo, so its free from pesticide etc.

1. Clay pots; very inexpensive.
2. Tree bark; just put it in the oven for a bit after the initial removal to kill all living organisms and bacteria that may be in/on it.
3. Coconuts at the grocery store; can make two hides from them; cost-effective; drill a hole to drain the juice; cut them in half, carve out the guts, then saw a door in. That's what I did. Heck if I'm paying 5-$10 a piece at a pet store when I can get them for close to two bucks and make two out of one.
4. Cork board at a local hardware store; I bought mine in packs of 1'x1' pieces, although I think you can get it in rolls.
5. If it's a desert species, you could probably get away with using cardboard from something as long as you don't mist that side.

I could probably list more, but I'm tired and going to bed.

Be creative!

LXDNG79 wrote:

"WHY DON'T THEY SELL CORK-BARK HERE? HUAAAARRRRRGGGHGHGHGHGHGHG!!!!!!!"

They do Alex my friend. Cork barks go for around RM60+ (about $20) for a 2ft x 1ft chunks. Try your luck at 88Marine in Pandan Indah.

A poor guy like me could never afford natural cork barks. I often have to resort to using cork boards instead. They sell some nice cork board tea coasters in Ikea which make a decent vertical structure for barkscorpions. And best of all, they're dirt cheap.

for #3 you also get a nice drink out of it and some coconut pulp to snack on lol

You guys are so creative, and have great ideas. Broken pot pieces or plastic all seem like they would work well.

However, the coconut idea is great!!!

A nice piece of cork bark that doesn't rot and chip away over time I guess is just ideal. Baking is wise, I will do that if I take any local bark.

H. laoticus wrote:

for #3 you also get a nice drink out of it and some coconut pulp to snack on lol

If I didn't hate the taste of coconut. However, I don't waste it, I give it to whoever wants it in the house.

i make the coconut hides too but its damn hard to cut them without a vice to put them in, so i just crack them around the middle with a chisel.
then comes the irritating finger chopping part of removing the inside! luckily i have an easy way to get past this problem and feed something at the same time! land hermit crabs. they eat most of it and the rest comes out prettu easily.
i also reckon soaking it in salt water would make it easier because once when i caught a coconut (while mackerel fishing lol) in the sea i cracked it open and the insides had shrunk.
so hermit crabs or osmosis.

Or roaches, as long as they don't fill it with frass. Yuck!