Decor For Your Scorp Tank/Cage

Hey, So Ive been doing loads of research as I'm wanting to get my first scorp very soon! I've decided to get an asian forest to start with! I'm sure I will become addicted and get more over time! Anyway as I'm looking at peoples tanks/cages on here there are various people which have got pieces of wood and plantpots in the cages I just wondered is it ok just to go out looking around outside for pieces of wood etc? Or has it been treated in anyway? I just wondered about bacteria living in pieces of wood that may find? Could someone enlighten me? Cheerz

don't take any wood or ANYTHING for that matter from outside in case of parasites, pesticides etc. Just look for some cork bark which is really cheap, or look for a hide online, try typing in "exo terra hide" or something.

If you really really want to get some bark or something from outside then it needs to be boiled in water or some other treatment that most people can't be bothered with.


Hope this helps mate

Ok far does thanks mate, just thought I would check before doing it like some people do, I saw a topic on creating forest floor in the guide section and he used half a plantpot? How come he can use that?

its not hard to take things from outside to use. just soak anything in boiling water for 10mins and generally that's all it will take. just about nothing will survive that and definitely not things like mites and ticks. but generally the hard part is finding good things from outside to use. you cant beat a good lump of driftwood or bog wood as decor.
you can also have some species of plants as decor. i don't know of many but i would guess that spider plants would be perfectly fine with them. you may be wondering why it matters as the scorpions wont eat the plant matter but its the locusts and crickets that are going to become food will have a nibble on the plants in the tank unless eaten instantly.
have a check what plants will be safe but i know that spider plants are fine for my hermit crabs and after them eating about 4 of them there have been no bad results.

yeh, but i personally, for example wouldn't wanna put some piece of wood in a pot or bucket, fill it with boiling water and wait for it to do it's magic.

DanDamage92 wrote:

Ok far does thanks mate, just thought I would check before doing it like some people do, I saw a topic on creating forest floor in the guide section and he used half a plantpot? How come he can use that?

Yeah, you can use pretty much anything as a hide as long as its nice and solid. Half a plant pot usually works pretty well.

I had abit of cork bark i microwaved and i use and my scorps love it, also got recently a fake hanging plant that just brings some life to the enclosure

Great thanks people I meant to say fair do's in last post, anyway I think I will definatly get a plant pot from outside and boil it for 10 mins then let it dry and it will be ok yeah? Just to be clear I can boil wood aswell and let dry and it will all be ok? Sorry but I just want to be safe!

Boil it and leave it to dry yeah sounds fine, i wrapped my cork bark in foil and in microwave, but boiling is probably better, just to make sure theres deffinatly nothing harmful on it, hook us up with some photos of an enclosure before you buy, its not rocket science to get a decent setup and we can always help

If it's just a piece of terra cotta, I wouldn't worry about doing anything more than wiping it down.

It's the pieces of wood and other organic debris you should worry about -- not from bacteria, but from unpleasant critters and fungi that may be dwelling in it.

And I believe that baking is more effective than boiling. For one thing, boiling water doesn't get above 212 Fahrenheit (unless you use a pressure cooker) but any oven can easily hit 400 F.

(Personal method: ~15 minutes in a 350-degree oven (Fahrenheit))

take bark from outside and bake it for several minutes and increase the hit ever so often hope this helps:)

edit didnt read mr mordax'x post

So overall its better to cook stuff not boil it? What temperature in a fan oven and for how long? Ill get some pics up very soon I'm just waiting for all the parts, you could say to arrive Ill take a pic tonight of what ive got so far!

What the heck is a fan oven?

Oh, thanks Wikipedia.

Wikipedia wrote:

A convection oven will have about a 50 degree Fahrenheit (30 degree Celsius) reduction in cooking temperature, compared to a conventional oven.

Well, there ya go -- so shoot for at least 300 if you're using Fahrenheit.

Great thanks, My water bowl arrived today however Im not very happy with it, its actually a feeder bowl and the side walls are only 2cm deep at the most, and about 14cm wide, is this going to be big enough?

Easily, i find the shallow dishes better tbh

Phewww lol I thought it would be to small for a asian forest!
This is it: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350248158238&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

All I got to get now is a few hides and it will be the scorpion next, I got some bogwood from an old fish tank I got to cook u aswell, ill got digging in the shed for a plantpot aswell!

Still waiting for the earth to be delivered though so cant set it up yet! How many 8.8l packs do you think I will need to put 3-4inches in a 2 foot tank? I think its about 10gallon?

2 or 3 bricks of coco fibre will do fine. Give you about 4 inches in a 2ft tank

I just brought the one for now =/ hmmm im off out tomorrow to a reptile store not been to before if they have some there I will get some or does it have to all be the same brand?

Nah, as long as it's coco fibre or other good soil, it's fine. Different brands won't matter. You'll notice a slight colour difference between brands but it's all the same stuff.

Ok so a little update, actually went to the reptile store today, medusa exotics, pretty cool place the guy in there was really helpful, fair prices and got a few things, I brought 2 pieces of bark which look pretty cool and a pack of substrate, humus brick its called, was told its ok to use with what Ive got on order, should come this week, Ive got a log hide on the way in the post too then I'm all done! Ready for my first scorp! Can't wait however I'm going on holiday in a few weeks time so I'm going to wait until after I get back before I get it! What is best to get, a small scorp so I can watch it grow or an older one? What is the difference in care?

For a big tank, a couple of adult emperors would work nicely. I've never liked having a big tank to just one or two small scorps.

However, small scorps are cool because as you mentioned you get to watch them grow, and you're more likely to get a longer lifespan out of them (an adult could be old and die in a month, you never know -- in fact, that happened to me once ).

I'll probably get a younger asian forest scorp then? So I can watch it grow up, how do you tell how old they are? size wise?

The only scorpions he hafd in stock were an imperial and a red claw? at the time, he said he could order me one though. What are these like to keep?

The best you can estimate is smaller = younger. Some Heterometrus spp. have the color-changing telsons like emps, so you know that
white = juvenile
cream = subadult
brown = adult

Some are black the whole time, though.

Red claws, Pandinus cavimanus, require conditions a bit drier than emps, are less communal, and much more defensive and pinchy.

DanDamage92 wrote:

The only scorpions he hafd in stock were an imperial and a red claw? at the time, he said he could order me one though. What are these like to keep?

ask about the price before ordering one...they are usually freaking way overpriced.

He had a look at the time and he could get one for £16 but he said that was a bit expensive he reckons he can get them cheaper , it just all depends on what the suppliers have in stock, I go on holiday in a few weeks so I'm waiting until I get back until I get it so hopefully there will be more on the market I guess? Surely if they are small they are pretty young?