New Scorpion Owner

I've been using the red heat bulb and it seems to really dry out the first small layer of coconut fiber..is that okay? Or do I need to be misting more? The rest (3-4 inches down) seems to stay moist.

Do you require that heat bulb to be placed in that distance from the tank in order to achieve the ideal temperature for the bark scorpions? If not, you may adjust the distance.

If the heat bulb is placed near to a single side of the tank instead of directly on top of the tank (centralised position), you should be able to provide a heat gradient in that enclosure, and one side of the substrate surface should be drying out faster then the other.

As long as the substrate is not totally dried out by the heat (preferably no less than 50% of the substrate being dry) and you have provided a shallow drinking dish. There should be no issue with regards to the water supply/ humidity.

Oops, I was talking about my Emperor..forgot to state that, ha.

I haven't been using a heat lamp for my Vittatus because I've been reading that they're extremely hardy and will be fine at room temp..which is around 70-80 degrees.
I've been misting him once every 1-2 days, he has a water bowl...ton of bark.

My Emp's heat lamp is resting on the back left corner of the lid over his main hide-out.
Much of the coconut fiber around that area is a more sandy color due to the heat, and some around other parts of the terrarium.

Is that okay? Or does every bit of it need to stay the darker, moist color?

Also, how often should I be cleaning out my Scorpion terrariums? Replacing the substrate, etc. I have read once every 1-2 weeks..but that seems a bit extreme.

if its sandy colour you need to mist more it will dry out in parts occasionally when you notice just mist

also i would have 2 hides one on the warm side and one on the cooler side just to give him the option of both

you do not need to clean them out! just spot clen if there is left over food remove it if you see white marks of poop remove it apart fom that you really dont need to do anything

some people change the substrate maybe once a year...i get bored and prly change the decor every now and then like every 6 months. which mixes the substrate up ...but ..unless you have an infestation of cranky mites or your ventalation is bad leading to bad mold there really is no reason to to replace substrate at all

even if you introduce a new scorp all you have to do is remove the current scorp, mix the substrate up a bit and change the decor around making sure you have enough hides for all scorps plus one extra then your good to go and add the two (or more) in together

He has two hides. Only stays in the one under the heat lamp, though.
So the poop is just..white? Will he poop in his hide-outs?
I don't think I've seen any poop yet..besides the stuff I metioned in the beginning of this thread.

Thanks for the info.

If u don't see any I wouldn't worry

Guan Thwei wrote:

Oops, I was talking about my Emperor..forgot to state that, ha.

I haven't been using a heat lamp for my Vittatus because I've been reading that they're extremely hardy and will be fine at room temp..which is around 70-80 degrees.
I've been misting him once every 1-2 days, he has a water bowl...ton of bark.

My Emp's heat lamp is resting on the back left corner of the lid over his main hide-out.
Much of the coconut fiber around that area is a more sandy color due to the heat, and some around other parts of the terrarium.

Is that okay? Or does every bit of it need to stay the darker, moist color?

Also, how often should I be cleaning out my Scorpion terrariums? Replacing the substrate, etc. I have read once every 1-2 weeks..but that seems a bit extreme.

Ahh.. Emps now.. No worries.

+1 to all Bex has said above

If you get tired of training your arm's muscles with daily or regular misting (for your emps enclosure), you may consider simply pouring in water straight into the substrate. Its a 30 seconds job and i do it once every 2 weeks. You should get use to the quantity of water after 1-2 tries. Substrate should be adequately moist and not soaking wet.

Alright, thanks for the info guys.

I went ahead and put some of that Sphagnum Moss in the terrarium to help with the humidity. The humidity gauge says it's at around 85%.. I know you guys said not to trust it, but that seems about right.

I was thinking, is the poop going to be a big problem? Do I HAVE to get rid of it asap? Because I don't think I'm going to be able to see it with all of the moss in there without a magnifying glass or somthing..

Guan Thwei wrote:

I was thinking, is the poop going to be a big problem? Do I HAVE to get rid of it asap? Because I don't think I'm going to be able to see it with all of the moss in there without a magnifying glass or somthing..

I remove any residues when feeding my scorps, and only if there's something clearly visible. I won't start searching for it and I didn't have any issues until now. I would say left over feeder parts are much worse.

When i get my first forest scorpion, i used to be very "diligent" in spot cleaning for the enclosure and this includes removing poop stains as well.. until it gets just too overwhelming and time consuming..

I agree with what DolbyR has mentioned. Focus your energy on removing left-over preys is a better choice. E.g. A half eaten cricket + damp substrate will most likely attract mites or cause some white wormy like larvaes to appear if left unattended in a few days..

GS wrote:

white wormy like larvaes to appear if left unattended in a few days..

I believe those are fruitfly larvae. Harmless but annoying.

DolbyR wrote:

GS wrote:

white wormy like larvaes to appear if left unattended in a few days..

I believe those are fruitfly larvae. Harmless but annoying.

Yep, thats right

Alright, thanks guys.

New question..

I read that you can put Rollie Pollies in with the Scorpions to eat the dead Crickets.

Is this a good idea?

Sorry for all the questions, slowly learning..ha

um apparently you can but ive never tried it..whats the worse that can happen though just them being eaten by the scorps really so id say give it a go

I added a dozen isopods to my emp tank 3 months ago. My emp always eats in her burrow so I have no way to
clean up any uneaten prey. The isopods have taken up residence in her burrow, hanging out on the inside of the
terra cotta hide. They don't seem to bother her and she doesn't seem to eat them. They're probably too small to
interest an adult emp, although smaller emps might see them as snacks. I assume the isopods are feeding on left
over cricket parts since there's nothing else for them to eat except coco fiber and sphagnum moss.

Thank you Bex and Shebeen.

Where can I purchase the Isopods? Or did you just take some from outside?

Also, would they eat the Scorpion poop? That would be wonderful...

Guan Thwei wrote:

Thank you Bex and Shebeen.

Where can I purchase the Isopods? Or did you just take some from outside?

Also, would they eat the Scorpion poop? That would be wonderful...

I wouldn't get them outside because they could carry chemicals/pesticides that could harm your scorpion. Do you live in the U.S.? If so, you can get them here and here.

Thanks for the links.

I was thinking, since I acquired my Centruroides Vitattus from the wild..there's a chance it could have pesticides and stuff as well, right?

Is there anything I can like, spray on him/her to get rid of any pesticides?

Nah just leave him lol, the real risk of adding stuff with pesticides is if they get eaten by the scorp

Okay so I know Emperors love staying hidden..but I literally have not seen mine come out in about two weeks..is that normal?

He just stays in the back of his cork bark all the time..I shined a flashlight in there earlier while misting and saw him, he moved a bit so I know he's still alive..

Hiding away or not eating for long period of time is common for them.
Some have not seen their Emps for months

Have you tried "sneaking" up to his enclosure in the "dark hours" of the night with a black light or by turning on a IR lamp? There'll be higher chance to spot him out of his burrow.

Even if not, it is still normal. The things that are not normal: e.g. dragging of tail / legs curling inwards towards the body..

Yeah completely normal the only way we used to see ours was by webcam lol

Ah, okay. Just making sure.

Now that I think of it, I remember seeing him drinking out of his water bowl one night when I got up to use the bathroom..

Completely different than the Vitattus, he's ALWAYS skittering around the bark tower I built for him...or her.

As I was typing this I noticed the temp/humidity gauge in my Emp's tank fell over..again.
First time I tried using this sticky stuff that came with it, didn't hold it up..this time I used suction cups..apparently that doesn't work either.
What do you guys use?