Scorpions that can thrive on room temperature ?

Good evening/night to you all.

As an owner of a G. rosea for the past 7 months, I had thought of moving on to the next level in arachnid keeping, therefore scorpions. My main requirement is a species that can be comfy and thrive on room temperature without additional heating like a heat mat or a heat bulb. I don't really have a preference towards a species that requires much humidity or one that likes it dry like my G. rosea. And since I don't plan on handling the animal (I don't even handle my tarantula for one, don't think it's worth the stress/risk for either me or the spider), I would be open to even some buthids if any can thrive on room temperature. For the time being, I do have Manny Rubio's Scorpions Pet Manual as a guide to get me started on the typical enclosure. I've been browsing the forums for the past year or so, getting as much info as possible but couldn't find a topic that really nails a species which thrives on room temps without additional heating.

Basically, if anyone has some success stories to share or a particular species to reccomend that really adapts well to room temps, please do share.

Thanks !

Luc

Uroctonus mordax is a temperate species from the western US (California, Oregon, parts of Washington) and does great at room temperature. Paruroctonus boreus is also from places that get pretty cool in the winter (the only species found in Canada).

I seem to recall hearing that Centruroides hentzi is temperate enough to do fine without supplemental heating.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

Uroctonus mordax is a temperate species from the western US (California, Oregon, parts of Washington) and does great at room temperature. Paruroctonus boreus is also from places that get pretty cool in the winter (the only species found in Canada).

I seem to recall hearing that Centruroides hentzi is temperate enough to do fine without supplemental heating.

Out of those 3, I believe C. hentzi would fit the bill best. But now I wonder if there are dry-living species that come from very hot places yet can be kept at room temperature (like the G. rosea for example) ? I wonder of the Hadrurus and Androctonus genus, specifically. I know I've read some reports online that H. arizonensis could be kept at room temps and live its 20+ year lifespan with no issues. Could the same apply to say... A. australis ? I do realize I'd be shooting myself in the foot here, but I treat my G. rosea with the utmost respect, even tho it's likely not going to bite me. An A. australis would be treated with the same respect, if not more.

Back to the C. hentzi... would a 5 gallon tank or a large kritter keeper be too much for one specimen ? These are the enclosures the animal can get. I don't plan on going communal with any species (at least, not yet), so would there be a fair waste of space there ?

Thanks for the answers ! Really appreaciate them !

Most species can live at room temperature, but not all can grow at room temperature -- I have a few species that hail from warm climates (Brazil, Jordan) that I'm afraid are currently below their developmental threshold. It shouldn't really be a problem if you have adults and don't plan on breeding them.

As far as your C. hentzi questions go, that species isn't very large, so I'd say a 5-gallon tank is a bit larger than you need. A large delicup would suffice. Since they're a Centruroides, adults are quite communal if you decide to go that route.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

Most species can live at room temperature, but not all can grow at room temperature .

reminds me of my crayfish. They would molt frequently when I had a heater in the aquarium, but at room temperature they never molted once.

So that answers my questions, then. Yes, I do hope I can get an adult so I don't have to worry about developmental issues. And since C. hentzi appears to be small... I'll need to look at larger species as I don't have any smaller containers and don't want to worry about more than one escapee (if it happens at all) for now. In all of these 7 months with my G. rosea, she never made an attempt to escape. *knocks on wood*

I'm assuming that species requiring high humidity such as P. imperator would require a heating mat to keep the tank warm and humid, or are there reports of being able to keep those nice and comfy at room temps ?

As it stands, I have to weigh in my options, so I'll see which species has all the desirable traits. (no additional heating, can be comfy in a 5 gallon tank or large kritter keeper, stings prey readily, isin't aggressive to climb the feeding tongs while I clean, etc...)

Edit : Decided to go with an Emperor scorpion for the time being since it was my cheapest option from where I'm at. He is supposed to arrive tommorow morning at the LPS. I asked for male because I do not want to end up with a litter of scorplings to care for plus the main scorp. I will see how he reacts to normal room temp for a week (Only if it's an adult. If young or sub-adult, I'll provide extra heating), if I notice a decrease of activity and it's becoming really sluggish, I'll get either a heat bulb or a heat mat. I transferred my G. rosea to the large kritter keeper and decided to use my now empty 5 gal tank for the emp. Hopefully it'll have enough room in there to be comfortable.

Unless your home is quite cool, I don't think a heat mat will be necessary. Any young will just grow a little slower (my emps were babies when I got them and only a couple died, the rest are doing fine as subadults).

If you do use a heat mat, keep it on the side and not the bottom (they burrow to escape heat).

And, uh, since you're getting it LPS, I doubt anyone there has any clue as to how to sex it. But if you wind up with a load of babies, they're easier to keep than you might think.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

Unless your home is quite cool, I don't think a heat mat will be necessary. Any young will just grow a little slower (my emps were babies when I got them and only a couple died, the rest are doing fine as subadults).

If you do use a heat mat, keep it on the side and not the bottom (they burrow to escape heat).

And, uh, since you're getting it LPS, I doubt anyone there has any clue as to how to sex it. But if you wind up with a load of babies, they're easier to keep than you might think.

I've bought a heat mat just in case it gets too cold for comfort in the winter. So the suppliers for the LPS definitely do not know how to sex an Emp. It's a sub-adult female since the telson is a creamy yellow-ish color and the pectines are short with tiny "teeth". I'd guess from tip of the extended pincers to the tip of the stinger she's about 10 cm or so. She stayed hidden in her hide for the day but came out to explore in the evening. I supplied a second hide so if I use the heat mat, she can choose whether she likes it cool or warm. She kept revisting spots and hides all evening with pincers open, so this could be a sign that she is hungry ? Should I wait a few more days to let her settle in some more or can I toss in a cricket tommorow for a test ?

I'm also concerned about the humidity... I'm not sure how well the humidity can stay with a cover like this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ1lwNXOrYM Right at the beggining you get a glimpse of it. Worked wonders with my G. rosea, but if I start using the heatmat, won't the humidity disapear even quicker ? I tried getting a normal screen lid, but the LPS was out of them for now.

I'll try to provide a picture of the enclosure (nothing fancy, real simple setup) and her asap.

I have a feeling I'll be enjoying her a great deal =)

Also.... since she is sub-adult... any estimate on what her age could be ?

Hopefully I won't need to ask anymore basic questions after this. At least I'll have a bit of experience for keeping tropical inverts as well as a desert-dweller.

The easiest way I've found to maintain humidity is to just dump some water on the substrate from time to time. You can also utilize a false-bottom -- the simplest method is with a layer of gravel underneath the regular substrate to hold a reservoir of water that is wicked up as the stuff on top evaporates.

Your estimate of subadult based on telson color sounds about right, so at least she's not gravid. If you would like the sex verified go ahead and post a pectine shot (not that sex is terribly important unless you plan on breeding later on).

Behavior sounds about typical of a newly acquired scorp. They tend to wander a lot until they settle in. You can try feeding her now, but don't be surprised if she's not interested in prey. My first emps were greedy little things when I got them but that's not always the case.

Perhaps the heat mat wasn't the best idea since I'm forced to use warm water or it may cause the bottom/side to crack.
This is what the heat mat instructions told me. So while I went to shop for crickets, I decided to try out a heat bulb (the infrared one). This is more like it. No need to worry about any breakage and while the bulb heats the scorp, I can also see her. Well... I threw in a couple of crickets and at first, she made half-attempts to catch them. She must have ate them while I went for dinner as when I got back, I couldn't see any sign of either cricket. Now I don't know if scorps leave food remains like a tarantula does, I haven't found any leftover legs or anything else on the substrate. Is it possible she gulped them both in entirety ? My G.rosea has decided to begin her feeding strike now so if there are still crickets remaining by tommorow, I'll throw it to my scorpion. Also she doesn't seem to be any fatter since she got them.... I'm guessing she needs to eat more before it puts on a bit of weight.

Well now that I've bought a heat bulb, I can keep any invert regardless of type/age and not worry about stunting their growth.

I think the glass would be more likely to crack if you poured cold water directly on it -- misting, or pouring on the substrate, shouldn't hurt anything. Just be sure that it doesn't dry the tank out.

Food leftovers are more noticeable if it's a large prey item, but I'm pretty sure they'll still leave a bit of a bolus even from a cricket.