UV poisoning

I have read on many different web pages mixed emotions about exposing your scorpions to UV lighting ( blacklights mainly) and am confused myself as to weather its a good idea or not. Ive herd ppl say that it isnt healthy for them and ive herd others say that black lights are the least emmiting of the uv spectrum ligthts out there so my question to you is ........ if i have sufficient hideing places where they can go and be completely blocked from the black light dose that make it any better of a living situation .. also the black light im useung is the smalles one i can find onmy 13 watts ? feed back appreciated

switch to infared light...wont harm them plus you can still see them and youll get heat

Ludedor24 wrote:

switch to infared light...wont harm them plus you can still see them and youll get heat

+1

You don't need any form of permanent light/heat source that emits any UV when keeping scorpions.

Just get a cheap UV torch off ebay if you want to have a look at them fluoresce.

[quote="Callum B"]

Ludedor24 wrote:

Just get a cheap UV torch off ebay if you want to have a look at them fluoresce.

Yep, just got a LED one for $.99 that works great

yea ive got a 6 LED red cluster and a 13 watt flurecent spiral black light bulb in a 6 inch dome light over a 10 gallon aqaurium they have a heat pad un derneath and a sand substrate (yea i know there eperor scorpions and there tropical and i should probably use coconut shavings but i mist the tank down 3 times a day to get everything moist and they even drink off the rocks)
i have 4 hide spots under jutting flag stone cliffs and they seem to be eating crickets fine and even catching 3 or 4 at a time pluss the cave they choose to hide in is one of the darkes deepes caves i have no UV exposure there only when they hune and drink.. i think there fine ones a male and the others a female so i think ill try for babies

Quote :

they have a heat pad un derneath and a sand substrate

Heat pads go on the side of the terrarium. not underneath it...Scorpions are clever enough to burrow down when they get to hot but not clever enough to stop burrowing when they feel heat coming from underneath them.....More than likely they feel the increased heat and their primitive senses simply tell them to keep burrowing to get further away from it.....Heat stress and death is the logical end result to that scenario!

And how hard is it to give them a proper substrate!?...You wouldn't need to mist 3 times a day if you gave them a thick layer (10 inches) of a decent dampened coco fibre/sand mix substrate.....You should be thinking peat and bark, not sand and stone!

I have to ask you........why do you even keep scorpions if you can't be bothered to supply them with one of their most basic living requirements, despite knowing that the way you are keeping them is wrong?

boverton wrote:

yea ive got a 6 LED red cluster and a 13 watt flurecent spiral black light bulb in a 6 inch dome light over a 10 gallon aqaurium they have a heat pad un derneath and a sand substrate (yea i know there eperor scorpions and there tropical and i should probably use coconut shavings but i mist the tank down 3 times a day to get everything moist and they even drink off the rocks)
i have 4 hide spots under jutting flag stone cliffs and they seem to be eating crickets fine and even catching 3 or 4 at a time pluss the cave they choose to hide in is one of the darkes deepes caves i have no UV exposure there only when they hune and drink.. i think there fine ones a male and the others a female so i think ill try for babies

Dude, get rid of the black light. They don't want/like/need it and prolonged exposure to UV is more than likely harmful to them, like it is to most other living things.

+1 to everything Den has said. You obviously know what they need as you have mentioned it, so why not give them what they need? Are you trying to wind us up lol??

I agree, coco fibre is really cheap and is going to be so much better your scorps. No forest scorp should be on pure sand.

Also there's really no need for a constant black light to be on, using one just for occasional viewing is fine.

got rid of the heat pad and am using a night bulb it looks kinda like a black light buts its not a flourecent bulb its a old school round one and it puts off plenty heat much like a red bulb would as for the coco fiber thats going to have to wait till i get paid again but they have deep borrows they can retreat to for the moment so if they need to escape the heat its entierly possable for them to find a number of cool dark places and until i get the coco fiber im going to keep misting the aquarium down (i have no other choice) both are doing quite fine and eating regularly i had 20 sum crickets in there a few days ago and im down to 12 now so they are eating fine and staying in there hides most of the day my female is walking around now going to the water dish witch has fresh bottled spring water in it so id say everything is chill untill i get the coco fiber ill just use the blacklight when a guest comes over and dosnt believe me when i tell them they glow..

you only need to feed them a couple prey items per week and dont need to throw a whole bunch in there.