Cactus in tanks

Anybody here use real cactus in their terrarium? I was hoping to put one in with my Desert Hairy but didnt know if it was or wasnt safe or maybe it just doesnt work.
Kind of like the popular vivariums for frogs but with a couple cactus plants heheh
Done this before?

I did, but didn't know what the name of it was. I had one in with my Hoffmanius Spinigerus and one in with my Hottentotta Trilineatus. I never had any problems with the scorps and they even climbed on it a bit.

But the darn crickets would climb to the top of it and eat it, kept killing my nubs Eventually I just took it out as the crickets were wreaking to much havoc. I did like the way it looked though. Hope this helps.

Hey hey.. i was thinking of putting cactus in my tank too
Btw Nev, i've seen your geckos links. You take great pictures and vids!
Look forward to see your worx on your scorpions soon

Thanks. Yeah excited to take some pics of him or her when I get it.
I just want to make sure the cactus wont hurt him or effect humidity in the cage. Being a DH in the tank, Im a little worried about humidity but Im a noob so what do I know just yet.
I also want to make sure its not poisonous to the scorp. While the scorp wont eat it, you mentioned your crickets ate them which then become a vessel to the scorp.

I have a catus with my Hadrurus Arizonensis (and in other enclosures too) and it hasn't been a problem so far! Just make sure the spikes aren't to "dangerous" to the scorpion if it should panic and run and spear itself!

I know it can be a problem to tarantulas because of their large and sensitive lower body, but I don't think it's too dangerous to scorpions...

I don't think it would be dangerous to the scorpions; I'd just be concerned about them digging it up.

That can be avoided by digging the cactus in the substrate while it still is in the pot!

Yeah, I had left mine in the pot too. A lot of those small cacti like button cactus and stuff are very slow growing and with still in the pot they are easy to manage. I didn't think about the scorps intern eating the crickets but then again I took it out after they were eating too much of it.

I would say if you were really concerned to look at the type of plants that are naturally in the species environment but then again a lot of nurseries around me just get the cacti in and have no idea what it really is.

Good luck, hopefully a few more people chime that have done this as well. I'm thinking it is a bit of gamble and there may not be any solid data on this topic but hopefully you get enough feed back on personal experiences to help make a decision

+1 to the peeps above
Those mini cactus which is in a small pot will work. Just buried the whole thing in the substrate, that way we can also ensure that the cactus is vertically upright most of the time.

GS wrote:

+1 to the peeps above
Those mini cactus which is in a small pot will work. Just buried the whole thing in the substrate, that way we can also ensure that the cactus is vertically upright most of the time.

The 'vertically upright' part tells me you are speaking from experience

I wanted to add though another thing with the pot is that if you do water it from time to time the water will stay where the cactus needs it and not get the substrate to wet for the scorps

iitomodachi1 wrote:

The 'vertically upright' part tells me you are speaking from experience

I wanted to add though another thing with the pot is that if you do water it from time to time the water will stay where the cactus needs it and not get the substrate to wet for the scorps

Correct me if i'm wrong, it means that the pot of the cactus cannot be submerge within the substrate and the tip of the pot should be just a little over the substrate surface. In that way, when we water the cactus, the water will be retained within the pot. It can be like a light misting i usually do at one if the walls of the enclosure.

Btw, how often should the watering takes place?

Well, I completely submerged my pot, so the rim of the pot was just under the sand. I had also re-planted the cactus so that it was at the top of the pot and not set in a bit. Then if I just watered the cactus I would pour the water right at the base of the plan to ensure drainage into the pot. As for frequency, 1x a month was about good give or take. They can go a long time without water, so if you wanted to go longer, that would probably be alright too. At least at nurseries in the states if you buy a plant they usually come with a little plastic thing stuck in the soil that tells what the care for the plant is. I'd just follow whatever instructions are on there or ask someone working there what they recommend for that particular plant. Most Cactus and Succulents are very similar care wise but it is safer to ask. I can keep my plants alive and that is about it

***Important Note*****

Transplant your plant before putting it in the vivarium. They will have put fertilizer in your plant so you will want to replant it and before doing so shake as much of the old dirt and fertilizer out of the root system as you can. I like to use an all natural black potting soil, something with no fertilizers or anything in it. If you want to do some fertilizer get the time released sticks. They are supper cheap and you just place one in the root system as you replant it. I use these and haven't had a problem so far. All of this will prevent fertilizer from getting in to your substrate for your inverts which could be bad. (Sorry I didn't even think about all that until this post :/

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Im wondering if I could just repot it into a mix of sand and earth. No fert.

You propobly could! But if you used sterilized earth and sand it will most likely die because of the lack of neutrician in the soil...

So I went out and got a mini cactus from Walmart today. Is there a chance they can introduce any mites or anything to the tank you think?

I think there would be a chance, but I'm not sure how to prevent that, re-potting and removing as much of the original potting soil should get rid of anything living in the soil. I'm not sure if there is any possibility from the plant though. I'd think a little unlikely but can't say myself, hopefully someone else will have some insight on this.

Yes, there is, but in a dry enviroment like Hadrurus Arizonensis should be in, they won't live for long!