the false bottom files

alright so ive seen a myriad of ways to do it.i think im just going to go with hydro balls instead of gravel cause gravel will make the tank heavier and i dont want to be cutting pvc pipe siliconing it down and waiting 24-48hrs to dry.
hydro balls then window screen mesh or cross stitch canvas screen to go in between the hydro balls and eco earth/sphagnum moss mix with frogg moss on top in areas.to pour water in the bottom ill just gently pour aged water into the soil on the side of the tank.and voila simple and cheap false bottom.

now for a couple of questions.hydro balls would be good for this right? im sure since one of my online buddies uses these all the time for his emps and amphibians and reptiles who require high humidity.just thought id get other opinions.
oh and how thick of a layer should the false bottom be??that question was never asked or answer mentioned.

I use hydroballs as well. You can get them way cheaper at a store for plant hydroponics, it's called Hydroton. Make sure you rinse them well to avoid mud. Put them in a noodle strainer. I've got about two and a half inches in the bottom of mine, and I recently re-did it with a 1/2" pvc pipe entry in the corner of the tank. It goes from about 1/2" from the top down to the false bottom and has an angled bottom to let the water out. I never used this before, but find it to be quite nice. I don't have to wait for the water to filter through to see how much is in there, just fill straight up. If you don't want to see the pipe, get a piece of bamboo to put around it at ground level, or hide it behind some cork bark.

How big is your tank?

its a 10gl.
20''L x 10''w x 12''h
what did you cover the pvc pipe with so the scorpion doesnt fall in?or can it not even fit in the pipe?

Just bring the pipe up until the top of the enclosure. That way your scorpion will not have access to the end of the pipe

alright i am highly disapointed,i went on a journey to find hydro balls,hit up three pet stores,petco,petsmart,oceans floor,and a hydroponics store.someone had em out in mesa but by the time i found that out i was sick of driving so i picked up 10lbs of gravel from the fish store, two light flat pieces of rock for them to burrow under and a tube that the scorpions couldnt fit into so i wouldnt have to cover it..the gravel layer is only an inch thick and wouldnt be able to hold the tube if the scorps decided to burrow in the soil around it so i just scratched the whole tube idea.i used cross stitched vinyl screen for the medium in between gravel and soil and grabbed some zipties and bound the two pieces of screen together so if one of the emps burrowed deep enough they wouldnt have access to the gravel.i cut the width of the screen so there was a centimeter or two between glass and screen so i wouldnt have to see it.now theres a lil bit of soil in the gravel and water. is that gonna cause some mold or something??
anyways heres some pics of the set up.any suggestions welcome.






ill make a new plexi lid in a week or two with more flaps like this


90degrees with flap closed,88 with it open humidity still sucks using a heat lamp.humidity 40-50% with lamp on 70-90% with it off.im sure closer to the soil the humidity is way higher.







the craziest one out of my scorps and snake isssssss...



my convict cichlid,hes got cahones,he will easily beat the crap out of fish 2-3x his size including oscars(sorry hes not in the pic,he hides whenever i have the camera in my hand),he even tries to punk me and snap at the glass..

what a tropics species enclosure should look like!

Nice looking set up. The background really blends in well.

thanks guys!
my snake has the same background too,i found it in an aquarium store and bought like 5' of it.its kinda eery looking and called mystic.
next step a lil rock water dish,new plexi glass and maybe another fake plant after they tear everything up.

Hello Shining, Nice setup.. To bad you couldnt find hydroballs. I had a hard time finding them here also. When I finally did I picked up 4 bags of them lol.

Dont worry about above ground humidity. If its to hot or to dry your emp will make a nice little burrow down where he/she feels comfortable.

I leave my heat lamp on 24/7 and the above ground humidity sits at around 60. My babies have been living like that for 2 years now and all 18 are doing just fine. Just keep the sub nice and moist and all will be good.

Also if you did put some pvc in to dump water into, you might want to put a bit of mesh screen over the top Depending on how you feed your scorp. If you tong feed its not that big of a deal but if you throw a couple in the crickets could find there way into the pipe and drowned.

thanks absolution i thought the above ground humidity didnt matter as much as the sub being moist.i like to hand feed them so no crickets will be running around their enclosure.
they have made some pretty nice burrows under the two rocks and mopani wood.i think i might have too much frog moss on top of the soil.do you think?

I don't think the amount of moss matters much to the scorpions. In their natural habitat, the jungle
floor is littered with leaves, moss, branches, bark, you name it. I found this National Geographic
video on youtube that showcases emperors in the wild. I think it gives a good idea of the type of
environment we should be trying to reproduce in our enclosures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdVvoSP8QtY

Don't worry about the moss it shouldn't be a problem. If you see your scorps having trouble moving around in it maybe take some out. But other than that don't worry about it

cool,ill just keep an eye on them.
thanks for that vid man!
18 months wth?!?!?!
during that time i should remove the male and put him in his own enclosure right?

I like moss. Your gravid female may become more territorial and aggressive toward your male, so it is wise to remove him. She might injure him, or get stressed out and absorb the embryos. Nice work on the enclosure!

I wouldnt listen to anything that video had to say... I have a video record on youtube from the time my male and female mated to the time of berth was 6 months and 11 days

You prob should remove the male. I dont think there would be much problem if he stayed with her but it would prob be safer just to remove him. I left the male with the female for around 6 months... Like a week after I separated them she gave berth.

Im just wondering have you decided what you are ganna do when the babies are born.

6months sounds a lil more realistic.
ive already got five friends that would take one each for sure.
5down.and i havent spoken to all of em yet.
post some on craigslist for free depending on what goes id keep the rest and house females and males seperately in bigger tanks when the time comes..i only wanna witness the emperors mothering once..

thanks street

6 months is extremely fast for an emperor scorpion.

I don't think 6 months will cut it either.. maybe if you cook it constantly at 110 fahrenheit.. but then again, I wouldn't promote doing that.

eek ill just pay attention to what happens if and when these two mate and pop out some scorplings.

i did just witness the female attack the male as he walked by the burrow she was in.

Women!! I dont think P. are that communal as people say they are

hahahaha.women.do you think i should seperate them?

Nah! Nature will work it out. Try to feed them more