Misting Alternative for Desert Scorps

It seems to me when I lightly mist one side of the enclosure of my desert scorps' cages that the mist rapidly dries in the warm, dry invert closet. I was thinking that a folded damp paper towel placed on one side of the cage might work well in place of the occational misting. It would stay damp longer and it could be thrown out the next day to hopefully reduce fungal spores in the cage. Any thoughts?

My opinion I wouldn't mist at all. Occasionally offer a bottle cap of water...maybe like twice a year.
Eddy

By the way desert species get all the water they need from their prey

The misting is not always for drinking, i mist 2-4 times per month.
And the only scorpions that drinks is P. Trans, that i can see.

But it gives the scorpions little bit more humid , helps them to molt.
I only mist this much in the winter when the air is really dry.

But they can go for long without water, but remember the desert can be more humid then your place.

I typically only mist my younger instars. For my breeders I use 3" clay drain dishes that I slightly fill with water twice a month. Well hydrated specimens typically shell out more babies for me, which is why I do it. The desert species water game is all about balance.

Really depends on the species.

Some are considered "desert" species often live in semi-arid regions as well, and can tolerate fluctuations in humidity.

Others will actually drown in any freestanding water.

It also depends on the size of the tank.

If you have a large tank, I'd say yeah, have a water dish in the corner and fill it up every month or so.

If the tank is small however, then I wouldn't recommend a water dish, all that excess humidity could cause mycosis.

Thanks for the input everyone. I also feel that all desert species should not be treated the same. I'm sure there is variation in the regions they come from.

One thing I have wondered is how do the desert scorps' prey get water? If they can find it why can't the scorps find it? Maybe the scorps drink more than we think??? Again, probably depends upon the area.

robert44 wrote:

If they can find it why can't the scorps find it?

Just to clarify,
The former "they" you meant wild desert scorpions

The latter "scorps" are captive ones that we keep?

They as in their pray i guess.

Sorry for the lack of clarity. What I meant to say was if wild desert scorps' prey (insects, etc) can find enough water in the desert to stay alive, why can't the wild desert scorps also use this same source of water which the insects use? I guess I'm questioning the common belief that wild desert scorps get most or all of their moisture from their prey. I'm not saying they don't, I'm just thinking out loud.

One explanation would be the wild insects can eat plants in the desert (which have long roots) to get moisture and the wild scorps then eat the insects. This would be one way a wild scorp could survive with very little "drinking water." On the other hand, if the insect prey can find a place to drink, then I would think the wild scorps could as well.

Thanks Bakke84

@Robert
My apologies, i should learn how to read carefully, you did mentioned it's "scorp's prey"

Envyizm wrote:

I typically only mist my younger instars. For my breeders I use 3" clay drain dishes that I slightly fill with water twice a month. Well hydrated specimens typically shell out more babies for me, which is why I do it. The desert species water game is all about balance.

+1

robert44 wrote:

if the insect prey can find a place to drink, then I would think the wild scorps could as well.

Good thinking.

In the wild, we would not have to worry about scorpions getting their required water supply.
"Nature will take care of themselves" , so to speak.

On the other hand, for captive scorpions, they have lost the option to do so. Hence, water provisioning is up to us, as keepers. When provided with the opportunity, captive desert scorpions do drink from a shallow dish or mist when they are thirsty.

Click here to view:

My recommendation is, as long as the floor space of the enclosure is more than 15cm by 15cm, height 10cm or more, you'll be able to accommodate a tiny bottle cap (diameter about 3cm+/-) filled with pebbles, placed in the center of the enclosure. With good ventilation, the humidity it may cause, is negligible. This is recommended for sub-adult to adult specimens e.g. 4.instar onwards

The important thing is to tackle the water requirements of different desert species. And we should be able to do this by varying the frequency of when to fill up that dish with water.

Thanks everyone. I guess if and when you mist you should do it at night when the scorps are up and about. I find the mist dries very quickly and an enclosure misted during the day would probably be too dried out for them to drink at night.

Has anyone used a folded and moistened paper towel instead of misting?

I have a medium sized Parabuthus transvaalicus (not sure of instar) that is showing signs of premolt. He is housed on pure sand and has a piece of cork bark for a hide. I lightly misted the top and bottom of his hide and I saw him afterwards sitting on top of it. It seems like it might be a good idea to give the desert scrorps an extra shot of humidity if it appears they are in premolt???