Parabuthus transvaalicus

(Post split from thegromgroms breeding report to avoid cluttering his thread)

Hi,

The one area at 105 deg. is hotter than I would expect (for captive scorp's that is, but I am no expert by any means) although I have just caught (one week ago at the height of our summer) two p.trans in their local habitat (in the North East of South Africa) and daytime temps were 100 - 105 deg. which is normal, dropping to 90 deg. at night. The RH was 60+ with many days over 85% and some at 100% during bouts of rain.

I am keen to emulate your setup, and would have a couple of questions for you if I may;

a) The anticipated enclosure that I want to use is a fish tank (18" wide x 9" deep X 11" high) has a top that seals pretty well but for 1.5" hole in the top for cables and food delivery. If I were to place the temperature sensor at the "hot spot" based on previous experiments I would not get the temperature differential you have across the enclosure. How have you managed to achieve this?

b) At what humidity do you maintain the enclosure?

c) What is the size of the enclosure and the wattage of the heat source?

Thanks

1. I put the bulb at the far end of the enclosure. It faces the side of the glass, but doesnt completely heat the entire enclosure.

2. room humidity. i sprayed 2-3 times a week. no top ventillation

3. 10 gallon aquarium. 150w infrared bulb

Thanks,

My enclosure is smaller at 7 gallons so I will need to upscale, the radiant heater is 150W and I have found a container of such a size that when kept full of water, the rate of evaporation keeps the enclosure at 50% RH.

OK so I am not to far out on my setup. Where do you position your temperature probe, on the opposite side to the bulb?

Thanks for the response.

If you are using a thermostat, the probe should be placed on the substrate underneath the bulb. This should give you your 'hotspot' set at around 30 - 32c. If you do what gromgrom mentioned and site the bulb at one end of the tank you will get a temperature gradient, with the temp. obviously being lower away from the bulb.

I wouldn't worry too much about the humidity/water, so long as the substrate is kept dry and water is offered every week or two (more often for juveniles).

Also, I would say that your 18'' x 9'' fish tank is a perfectly adequate size for housing this species. Be careful with the hole in the lid though. I have first hand experience of scorpions finding gaps that you'd never think they'd reach or fit through .

Apologies for hijacking thegromgroms thread.

Thanks for the advice.