My New Desert Scorpion Habitat

Looking at purchasing a desert scorpion such as a androctonus australis or a Leiurus quinquestriatus. I just set up my tank. It has a locking lid and locking doors. I have to buy more sand but the pet store only had 2 bags of the sand. How does the tank look? Ignoring the sand quantity. Any Suggestions? Also who is selling desert scorpions besides www.kenthebugguy.com? I am trying to get a scorpion with a tude. Any ideas to where I can buy any?

Thanks in advance

That looks like an incredible set up. What size is that terrarium? My only statement would be you have to choose the species carefully. An obligate burrower such as Hadrurus arizonensis will not have room to burrow as the sand is too loose and not deep enough. They require clay/sand mixtures that sustain burrows. Be sure to research whatever species you end up deciding on to ensure that it is not an obligate burrower.

Also, I see a lot of decorations but I do not see an actual hide. It is true that scorps will burrow underneath slabs of rock or bark, but again the sand in there is loose so it may have a hard time getting under there. I would add one of those exo terra hides or a similar product that has a hole in it the scorp can go into and hide in.

I'm jealous I wish I had room for a huge setup like that!

Scorpions with attitude...they all have! although scorpions who's stress levels are high will probably not show it or it'll be exaggerated.
Scorpions are not display pets as their nocturnal and sometimes skittish behaviour will mean they're usually active at a time when you are not. Forcing them to be on parade is one of the things that causes stress.
As for your setup it could be much better....in my opinion.
I'd trash all the fake junk and introduce natural materials. I'd also bury some of the stones/roots/dried grasses/dried wood/bark/whatever down into the substrate instead of just laying them on top. The flat ground level is also boring to look at. With that amount of space you could make an undulating sandscape which would also be much more pleasing to the eye as well as looking better.Your setup looks to neat and tidy.

Incidentally both Leirus and Androctonus will dig burrows if given the chance so give them consolidated sand instead of loose sand.....and yes, double the depth....at least.

Olsin said:

Scorpions with attitude...they all have! although scorpions who's stress levels are high will probably not show it or it'll be exaggerated.
Scorpions are not display pets as their nocturnal and sometimes skittish behaviour will mean they're usually active at a time when you are not. Forcing them to be on parade is one of the things that causes stress.
As for your setup it could be much better....in my opinion.
I'd trash all the fake junk and introduce natural materials. I'd also bury some of the stones/roots/dried grasses/dried wood/bark/whatever down into the substrate instead of just laying them on top. The flat ground level is also boring to look at. With that amount of space you could make an undulating sandscape which would also be much more pleasing to the eye as well as looking better.Your setup looks to neat and tidy.

Incidentally both Leirus and Androctonus will dig burrows if given the chance so give them consolidated sand instead of loose sand.....and yes, double the depth....at least.

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Good suggestion about the sand except if you didn't notice it's a front opening Exo tank. Now unless he doesn't bee plan on opening it from the front he doesn't have much more room for extra sand unless he piles it all in the back.

Olsin said:

Scorpions are not display pets as their nocturnal and sometimes skittish behaviour will mean they're usually active at a time when you are not. Forcing them to be on parade is one of the things that causes stress.
As for your setup it could be much better....in my opinion.
I'd trash all the fake junk and introduce natural materials. I'd also bury some of the stones/roots/dried grasses/dried wood/bark/whatever down into the substrate instead of just laying them on top. The flat ground level is also boring to look at. With that amount of space you could make an undulating sandscape which would also be much more pleasing to the eye as well as looking better.Your setup looks to neat and tidy.

Click to expand...

All very good points Olsin. Although I myself consider them to be a display pet, just not a very good one if you have an early bedtime. Plenty of my buthids come out at around 7-9 a clock almost every night, especially the T. stigmurus. With them it's like clockwork: it gets dark, they come out for 4 hours, then they go back and hide.

But part of the whole "display" thing is making as aesthetic as possible, so one must put a little more effort and imagination (not necessarily money) in their environment in the enclosure as well. And I agree Troyboy's setup looks a little too refined and organized to look like a natural environment. With that said, I took some pictures just for you Troyboy9219. This enclosure is for a Nebo hierichonticus female, check it out.




And a top view of it as well.

I did not spend any money on materials for this enclosure that I didn't already have. It's completely improvised; bark I ripped off a dead tree on my way back from school -- boiled and baked -- underneath a bunch of dry spanish moss, with clean play sand from home depot mixed with dry coco fiber for color and river rocks for texture, and dead branches from my lime tree in the front yard (also washed and baked). The look I was going for was a dry river bed in a xeric habitat. There are so many things you can do with the stuff you can find in your own backyard. You can even use live cacti too. Often I see people say "don't use cacti in your setup it can hurt your scorpion," but I say go right ahead. One of the many places you can find wild Androctonus australis are cactus hedges, and there of plenty of cacti in the wild. I'm also pretty sure a burrowing scorpion will know its own limits when confronted with a cactus. My lime branches are just covered in thorns, and she's never tried to climb them, nor has she ever been hurt. It's just more debris for her to hide under. You can even use Google to look at scorpion habitats. Like Hottentotta franzwerneri can be found in Figuig, Morocco. So if you Google "Figuig Morocco," you will basically see what to base your enclosure on.

Great looking setup!

If you want a north american desert species, Smeringerus mesaensis would be very happy in that setup

I second smokehound, Smeringerus mesaensis would do very well in that enclosure.

I would say buy an A. Bicolor if you want a desert with a tude. They are very feisty, but they are a very reclusive scorpion. I very rarely ever see mine, and i see most of my other scorps on a daily basis. A. australis is cool too, but they are only aggressive once in a while. Mine is actually very tame. Surprisingly my most aggressive scorp is a H. Arizonensis, go figure. You'll have to show some pics, once you get a scorp for the tank. Also i'd advise buying from a dealer here on arachnoboards. Just make sure to look up their reviews first. I've only had good experiences here. Good luck, and happy hunting .