Newbie...Lolz Setting up an Asian Forest Scorpion tank!

Hey, so im a newbie to scorpion keeping and well Ive got a spare 2foot aquarium with lid and built in light so I thought I wanted to keep something different! So here I'am and I gotta say this site is packed full of great stuff! Nice one guys! Anyway I have a few questions obviously. So far I have brought a couple of fake plants, a heat mat, a thermometer and a hygrometer (is that how you spell it), I know I have got to get a water bowl/dish, a substrate a few inches deep, A hide or two, tweezers, crickets. Is there anything else I need? Also will the tank be ok just with the aquarium lid on its pretty heavy and I cant see a scorp moving it up and off? Thanks

Throw out the humidity gauge; they're all but useless. If the substrate feels moist to the touch (but not sopping), then it's fine.

Other than that, just remember to put the heat mat on the side of the tank and not the bottom.

if you don't want to spend money on a water dish you can always use bottle caps or something simple like that lying around your house, works just as well. And yea mikes right, hydrometers are pretty much completely useless unless your blind and/or have no arms to feel the substrate by dipping your hand in a lightly touching it.

Ok well I brought it now but hey! Last night I brought a water dish, one of the exo terra ones medium size I think it was, also some plantation soil also exo terra 8.8l, will this be ok? Will I need more in a 2foot tank?

The heat mat needs to eo the side because they like to borrw to cool down right?

Can you think of anythin else I might need?

What do you think about the tank lid?

Thans guys

Dunno what "plantation soil" is, but the most popular substrate is compressed bricks of coconut fiber that expand when water's added (sometimes sold under the name "eco-earth").

DanDamage92 wrote:

The heat mat needs to eo the side because they like to borrw to cool down right?

Exactly!

Ah see I'm learning! Here is a link of the soil: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Exo-Terra-Plantation-Soil-8-8-Ltr-Reptile-Substrate_W0QQitemZ310107359653QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item4833d6c9a5&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

It says its suitable for reptiles and digging species etc. What do you think?

Sorry about the dodgy spelling earlier I was at college on a dodgy PC =/

That's exactly the stuff I was talking about! Compressed coconut fiber bricks.

Apparently there's another trade name I didn't know about . . .

Great! Havn't got much more to get now I dont think just a hide really, the brick do you just break it up or do you have to soak it?

there's Eco-earth, bed-a-beast and some other ones by smaller companys... basically if its brown, fiberous, brick shaped, and has pictures of reptiles and inverts on the front then its fine!

DanDamage92 wrote:

Great! Havn't got much more to get now I dont think just a hide really, the brick do you just break it up or do you have to soak it?

you soak it in warm water and it expands to about 5-8x the size. you could try breaking it up but you would need a saw lol! make sure you press it down farily well so that any burrows dug dont collapse.
what scorps are you planning to get? heterometrus sp.? emps?
EDIT: i really need to start reading the titles of some of these threads!

Lol yeah, thanks new to this you see just got a few questions, Ive got a aquarium and hood will this be ok? will it move the lid? it is fairley heavy.

forest scorpions are heavy critters and i doubt it could get up to the lid, it wouldnt get up the silicone in the sides, but if it managed somehow then i doubt it could unless there are gaps over like 2-3cm. if there is then it may be able to push the lid up and get out, but this is a fairly unlikely scenario. do you have a picture of the hood? i reckon they could get out of something like a clearseal but most others fit good and tight.

Yeah I can take a pic but not just yet it will be tomorrow maybe as I have not got the cable for my phone at the moment to transfer stuff, it should be fine then to be honest its a heavy lid because of the built in light, its like a tube would I be able to turn this on when I get the scorpion?

it is good to unless it is in direct sunlight so that it has a day/night cycle. but there nocturnal so they dont get anything good or bad out of the UV (i think) if its a UV bulb. it will make it look better imo.

Its an aquarium light tube flurescent I think, life glo its called if I recall, is this ok to use for a bit of light sometimes? Im a mobile dj aswell so I have a uv blacklight I could use at night to make it glow!?