H. arizonensis Question

My Hadrurus arizonensis burrowed up for her "hibernation".
My question is when she may reappear in her enclosure?
I have read this is common behavior with this species. I've
only had her for a few months and want to make sure not to
make any glaring mistakes.

Two years in a row, mine has reappeared in June. For the past month, she's been out in the open most of the time, even during the day. I assume she's trying to bulk up before going into diapause, or maybe not.

Diapause; I could not remember the term but knew it wasn't hibernation.
I'm planning on putting together a better enclosure for her when she "wakes"
up. I read somewhere about someone using a gravel bottom with a water fill
tube to add small amounts of water to keep humidity up a little in the lower
portions of the substrate. Being a desert scorp, would this be necessary in your
opinion? Thanks.

Rick

It's only necessary if your H. arizonensis will need to molt or is gravid. H. arizonensis have a difficult time molting in captivity. In the wild, they dig deep tunnel networks to achieve the correct humidity necessary for a successful molt. It's very hard to duplicate these conditions in a glass tank. In fact, very little is known about the actual amount of humidity required. Not enough humidity and they die during molting. Too much humidity and they develop mycosis, a fungal infection that can lead to death.

Most of the keepers who have achieved successful molts with H. arizonensis have employed a false bottom setup with very deep substrate (12 to 16 inches). Others have used deep substrate and and added water to one side of the enclosure, allowing the water to seep down along the side of the tank and penetrate the lower portion of the substrate.

And what about a premolt arizonensis? Should one keep using heat in the enclosure to ensure it molts, or allow it to go through diapause?

Patcho wrote:

And what about a premolt arizonensis? Should one keep using heat in the enclosure to ensure it molts, or allow it to go through diapause?

If your scorpion is near a molt, I would continue heating the enclosure. I don't know if a scorpion will, or even can, delay a molt because of environmental changes. Some H. arizonensis don't undergo a diapause period, so it shouldn't harm it to keep it warm.