A.crassicauda help.

Hi,
I just got this little guy and he's about to molt. My question is do I need to raise the humidity to help? He's in a small, locked plastic tub full of sand with plenty of flat rocks. I've never had a desert scorp this young. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Niffler

A few drops of water in one corner or the enclosure wouldn't hurt although temperature is just as important, if not more so to precipitate a successful moult. Temps of around 32-35C (89-95F) should be aimed at although a drop of 10 degrees (C) at nighttime would be advisable.
Another thing is Androctonus spp are semi fossorial so a substrate of consolidated sand is also advisable to allow it to dig down. That looses substrate it's on at the moment won't give it the opportunity to do that. Maybe a combination of half the groundplan being consolidated sand and the other half loose sand would be a good choice. Don't place the scorpion on consolidated sand though until it is dry.....you could maybe prepare a new enclosure for it now while it's in premoult and move it over to the new enclosure incorporating consolidated sand after it had moulted and had a week or so for it's exoskeleton to harden.

Lastly..i know those polished stones look nice but unfortunately they don't offer your scorpion much chance of climbing over them. Scorpions can't climb glass or smooth plastic and those stones are quite similar. Standard rough surfaced stones would be a better choice for it.....Plus scorps are not naturally out on display during daylight. Maybe you have a hide in there for it so that it can escape the glare of daylight and you've just removed it so as to be able to take a picture. I don't know.....If not though, a flat stone or something similar it can hide under would be beneficial for it...Scorps forced to remain out in the open during daylight will eventually become very stressed.

Thanks for the info. That pic is not the set up he's in, it's what he was sold to me in. Sorry for the confusion.
Now he's in a locked sterilite tub with about 4 inches of sand and lots of flat rocks.
After he molts I'll take a pic of the enclosure I'm trying not to disturb him anymore than I have to.
Thanks again

So very cute!!! I hope he molts soon!

I have observed that my 2i-5i Androctonus and actually all my desert species molt more frequently when I have misted a very small corner of their deli cups. More than 70% of my current A.bicolor brood only molted when I misted the corner of their cups, 5 of them actually molted on the same day when provided some humidity. Same has been observed with my Parabuthus broods.

I leave all my Androctonus sp as dry as possible. Leave it alone it will do its thing.

Envyizm wrote:

Everyone that I've discussed the topic with typically went wrong <4i, which leads me to believe a lack of water or humidity was involved. To a larger or more developed animal, morning dew may not be such a large factor for survival. However, dew can be a life saver for smaller individuals with smaller body mass, thus less time for a similar or slightly exaggerated evaporative rate to become fatal.

I'm not suggesting mist them everyday but a small damp spot to one side every week and a half or so produces more positive results than negatives. I do this for my lower instar desert sp and they drink every single time. I have come to realise that moisture plays a big part in all lower instar desert species, I have lost broods do to too little moisture and have had no problem with the system I am using now. This is only for 5i and lower as I find they dessicate much quicker.

I took a pic of the little guy as he peeked out of the burrow. Holy crap he's fast. I took the top off the sterlite and secured it in a 5 1/2 gallon so the heat would be more effective without a humidity build up. It's a 25 watt red bulb.

Judging by the sensory pits on the tail, that's not a Androctonus but a Orthochirus sp.

Really? The guy I got him from told me A crassicauda. He seemed sure of it. When he molts I'll get some good clear pics up.
Thanks

That is indeed an Orthochirus species. Get a pic of it next to a ruler or object to measure it, we can guess the instar from the size.

Orthochirus sp look like little black sausages lol.

Ok, thanks.
Is the care the same?
Is my set up correct?
All of him would would fit on a nickel.
Thanks to everyone for all the help.

You can keep them exactly the same.
If a nickel is about 2cm in diameter (dont know of this is correct) I would say it is between 4i and 5i, this is just a guess though.

Hello,

I did a search and came up with this nice thread:)
Here