Heating question for 2 different scorpions in 2 different enclosures

Ok I have a 12x12x12 (5.5g) Exo Terra glass enclosure with a baby emp in there, he has made his own burron in the corner where the false background is in the back, like literally in the corner, I can see him and everything. Currently I have a night-glo 25w bulb in there that I leave on 24 hours cause I was told it did not have any UV rays and it keeps my temp around the high 70s and mid-low 80s (According to the exo terra therm and hygrometer the kit came with). I know the humidity one doesnt work too well, so I just pour water and mist every so often (learned from this site) to keep the humidity up, and when I put my hand in there the air is pretty warm. Keep in mind he used to be in a small kritter keeper container sitting at room temp lol.

I also have a desert hairy scorpion soon to be in the same 12x12x12 exo terra glass enclosure (depending on if the guy will sell it to me or not) or a 10 gal glass aquarium I can get from the local petco either or. He is currently in a medium sized plastic kritter keeper with a 50W infrared lamp shining about a foot from the lid so it wont have any risk of getting too hot to melt and it keeps the temperature higher then room temp.

My co-worker just gave me her 7w under tank heat pad that she used to use for her geckos and I was wondering which enclosure should get the infrared lamp and which should get the pad? And where should the pad be placed, I know not ont he bottom, but speciailly where on the side (Top, middle, bottom touching sub)? If the pad went to the baby emp enclosure sinec he has made his burrow in the left back corner should I still place the mat in the back?

I am a noob that is worried about the well being of my new pets .

Thanks ahead, if there are any other questions please let me know I think I covered everything.

If it was me, and from my understanding of what you want to do, I would drop something else in there for the little emp to hide in...I use bottomed-out clay pots either cut in half or buried half way. He might find his way in to something else away from the side if you are wanting to put your heat mat where he is, otherwise just stick it on the other side. Not had experience with false background, but I would think they would restrict any heat from making it through if they aren't touching glass on the other side of your substrate.

But if the emp enclosure is working well like it is, just keep it like that and set everything up for the new desert hairy .

Yeah I was thinking about sticking it on the compelete opposite side of where he has made his burrow

lol i did make him a burrow with his old rock cave, using the substrant and moss to give it a more natural look and he goes and digs BEHIND it and in the corner lol he went into it ONCE when I first put him in there he came out to explore and has never gone back in lol

Here is a pic of him burrowing, he has moved much of the substrant since then and I can see him a lot more



So you are saying use both the heat pad and IR light for my desert enclosure? Isnt that overkill?

I am just worried that 25w exo terra night-glo bulb isnt 'enough' thats all

I have read everywhere on here saying that it doesnt containt any UV + someone said they called exo terra and they claim there isnt any Uv either lol so I just leave it 24/7

Hi mate. Yeah mats want to go on the back or side of the tank, I've been putting a big heat mat across the back of the two tanks then a smaller one in between the two but you'll be fine using the lamp on one and the mat on the other.

I personally would have the lamp on the desert hairy in the exo then the mat on the emp in the kritter keeper but this is because I've got mats on kritter keepers fine without melting but don't risk it if you think your mat will.

It's hard to get the mat not to sit below the substrate where you don't really want it to be but I've been cutting a piece of thick cardboard box the depth of the substrate to go in between the mat and where my scorps are sitting in their burrow against the glass, then only about half the heat is getting through below the substrate.

Just do what you've got to do to get the temps right in the tank

I think you got it mixed around the desert is in the kritter keeper (for now will know by next week whether or not hes getting a exo terra or a 10 gal aquarium) and the baby emp is in the exo terra

The IR light is about a foot above the lid of the kritter keeper (deseert scorpion) and when I put my hand in the kritter keeper its warm.

I was thinking the lamp on the desert for now and when he gets his new glass home and the pad along with the night-glo for the baby emp? Leave the pad on 24 hours? The night-glo 24 hours as well? Should I leave the IR light on 24 hours also? Or just day time? I find it hard to sleep in my room with this bright red light on lol.

I was also thinking the heat pad on 24/7 for the desert scorpion and the IR light for the emp during the day and night-glo during the night?

Ahhh so many choices thats why I posted! lol

How would I get the heat pad to stick on the wall? Tape?

EDIt:

Can I get a pic of the cardboard cut out you were talking about?

Roblicious wrote:

So you are saying use both the heat pad and IR light for my desert enclosure? Isnt that overkill?

Yes it's overkill, but it isn't what I was trying to say. What I meant was if you are wanting to use the heatmat for the emp, and the IR for the desert scorp, then maybe try something like that

Due to the fluctuation in current temps though I have been having to monitor both of my emp tanks and hermit crab tank and turn the light on/off according to what the temp is. Personally I wish I could either find or come up with some sort of automatic thermostat system for each of my tanks ($$$ ) but am going to be moving soon and making a large sized display at the new place that will incorporate maybe some sort of reflective heat mat on the back sides of the tanks...of course it all depends on the number of scorps I am ordering over the next few days too

Yeah I am leaning towards using the pad for the desert scorpion (when he gets his glass enclosure) and the IR lamp for the emp (for day time of course) and night-glo at night (duh)
Just cause I dont want my room glowing red when I am trying to sleep at night seeing how I would have to leave the IR light on all night for the desert scorpion.

This way I can leave the heat pad on 24 hours for the desert scorpion (can i?) and swap lights for the emp so I can sleep lol.


Would that be best if I did it that way? it is a 7W (good for a 10-20gal) I will be getting either a 5.5g 12x12x12 exo terra or a normal 10 gal aquarium next week for the desert scorpion.

I dont think I will get a hygrometer for the desert scorpion as it will be bone dry and I am not going to put a water dish in it either.

Roblicious wrote:

I think you got it mixed around the desert is in the kritter keeper (for now will know by next week whether or not hes getting a exo terra or a 10 gal aquarium) and the baby emp is in the exo terra

Yeah I know that but all I was trying to say was why have the baby emp in the larger exo and the adult Haddy in the smaller KK but obviously if you're thinking of getting a new tank that soon there'd be no point making the swap.

Nothing fancy just a cardboard cut out to go inbetween the tank and the mat where the burrow is, it's quite thick. It's only ideas.

I was just trying to determine which heat source to go with in each enclosure thats all lol . I have always planned on getting the desert scorpion into a glass enclosure eventually figured I might as well now since I found some decent deals

thats a nice setup there, looks kinda like one of those trap door spiders :p, enough of the heat gets through into the container?

I've decided that when I get the new tank for my desert scorpion, after im done molding the sand and letting it dry I will use the heat pad for that one, Ill prolly set it in the back of the tank a little above the substrate so that it wont get the sand too hot. And that I am going to use the IR lamp for my emp during the day and night glo at night.

I can just tape the heat pad to the glass right? It's just this extremely thin mat (not like the exo terra one)

I know and I just offered how I thought I would do it. All I'm saying is that KK is plenty big enough for the baby emp for quite some time. Just thought it was weird why you have the tiny baby in the bigger tank and a large adult in the small one.

Enough heat get's through because like I said I have big mats across the back and smaller ones between tanks but least he's not cooking in his burrow. Yes just tape the mat to the tank. Only reason I prefer mats over lamps is cause all my tanks are in my bedroom.

The emp would eventually get bigger and I was always paranoid about temp/hum issues from a plastic container since I was told a heat source for those are a no no, until recently like 2 days ago recently that I could use the heat lamp on the KK.

Plus Id figured id get it out of the way, I know the emp will eventually grow it should be coming up on its next molt fairly soon in the next few months.

My original plan was to get 2 exo terra tanks lol

I want a taller one for the desert scorpion cause there is this kick [buttocks] buddha statue with a entrance in the front and side thats like 13" tall I think it would look cool in there with the desert scorpion like guarding it lol

My tanks are in my bedroom too the IR light is on only in the day time though thats why the desert scorpion is getting the pad and I got a night-glo for the emp so it works out