Questions regarding H. spinifer care

So I think I've decided on an H. spinifer as my first scorpion. There's a pretty good price on jamiestarantulas for ones that are about 1-1 1/2" long. I've got some experience raising both T's and true spiders from a very small size so unless scorpions are a lot different I'm not too worried. Plus I'd rather have them for longer.

But I've been going through caresheets and I wanted to run my potential setup by you guys since online caresheets can never seem to agree on anything...

My reptile room is 75-85 ambient temp, so I wouldn't be using any supplementary heat.
I'd keep humidity 75-80% using misting and wet sphagnum moss with cocofiber bedding.
I'd use a low wide water dish.
Finally, I'd feed primarily crickets, maybe dubias as it gets larger. About once a week.

Does all that sound about right? I know this may be overkill, but I tend to have pretty good luck when I get a new species, and my obsessive over-preparation is a part of that lol.

Misting only temporarily raises humidity. Moist substrate and your water dish is enough. They're burrowers, so if you want to give it the chance, switch the coconut fiber over for top soil or something that will hold up to digging well. Otherwise, sounds good.

I've got mine in a pothos planted Exoterra with 6-8" of potting soil and a big cork bark tube. It dug past the tube and made a deep, circling burrow all the way around the plant and up to the edge of the glass at the bottom. The roots of the pothos hold up a burrow nicely, but those take a while to develop. Granted, I barely see the scorpion anymore, but I'm gonna let it do its thing. A huge H. spinifer I had years ago preferred sitting out in the open though, even when I gave it a hide and enough room to burrow.

Thanks for the response. I've always wanted to do a planted tank so this may be my chance. The only other one I've got that would support that right now is a burrowing frog (and they are instant death to plants!). My one question with topsoil though is what is safe? I know that sounds silly, but I'm worried about anything I pick up from somewhere like Lowes or Walmart having pesticides.

DVirginiana said:

Thanks for the response. I've always wanted to do a planted tank so this may be my chance. The only other one I've got that would support that right now is a burrowing frog (and they are instant death to plants!). My one question with topsoil though is what is safe? I know that sounds silly, but I'm worried about anything I pick up from somewhere like Lowes or Walmart having pesticides.

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They should say if they're pesticide and chemical free. Check for an ingredients list. This could work; no fertilizer, pretty basic composition: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Earthgro-1-cu-ft-Topsoil-71151180/100355954

I suggest starting a potted enclosure a few weeks to months before you plan on housing the scorpion in there. Give the plant time to form some roots and stabilize the soil. Adding some tiny cleaner isopods like Trichorhina tomentosa could help in the long-term for a humid enclosure too.

Anubis77 said:

They should say if they're pesticide and chemical free. Check for an ingredients list. This could work; no fertilizer, pretty basic composition: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Earthgro-1-cu-ft-Topsoil-71151180/100355954

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+1 I have this soil. I looked high and low in my area and not only was this the ideal soil, it was also the cheapest. $1.37 for a 40lb bag.