Is this normal?

Hi! im new to all this!, I recently got given to me a Pandinus cavimanus so i did abit of research and looked up on here and found out that they like to burrow, so i decided to rearrange the tank and make a false bottom, I did that at least 5 days ago and i havent seen him surface since, At 1st i thought he was stuck so we moved the tank to save him but when we got the tank down he'd moved so i know hes not stuck, and hes been eating the crickets ive been giving him, Just abit worried hes not come out? Ive got some pictures of the tank before and after, Any advice or info? Thanks Phil
How I got him
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After i finished
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If it stays hid you must be doing something right. I would worry more if it was out in the open all the time

One thing - not sure that it matters tho.
Your substrate is in contact with the water in your false bottom because you used rather large rocks meaning it can soak the water.

Im sure some of the experts can comment on that?

Set-up looks pretty cool, though I would stick the heat mat onto the back of the tank rather than underneath it, just in case it burrows right down onto it and gets a bit hot. Certainly no problems with the humidity

Hope it does well.

Damo.

P.S. Expect not to see a happy scorp for days at a time.

Mesx said:

One thing - not sure that it matters tho.
Your substrate is in contact with the water in your false bottom because you used rather large rocks meaning it can soak the water.

Im sure some of the experts can comment on that?

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Anyone have any comment on this? I recently setup my first ever tank and with a false bottom. I used large-ish rocks and my substrate is also in direct contact with the water in some areas. Figured it didn't matter but it really wouldn't take much to add some smaller gravel to fill the gaps.

Edit: Just noticed the post date/time :8o ...guess a couple of minutes is not enough time to get a reply

Your setup seams pretty humid, but other wise alright. I gave my P.cavimanus some more dirt about a month ago and he quickly burrowed down in it. Now the only time I see him is at night, and have yet to witness him eat since the change. ~ Rex

dairy Im sure some of the experts will comment sooner or later
Meanwhile check out this thread - there's a link to some movies in my post there.

Good luck

BadBikaDamo said:

Set-up looks pretty cool, though I would stick the heat mat onto the back of the tank rather than underneath it, just in case it burrows right down onto it and gets a bit hot. Certainly no problems with the humidity

Hope it does well.

Damo.

P.S. Expect not to see a happy scorp for days at a time.

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With heat mats go with one that is at least 1/3 the size of the glass pane and choose one of the further edges to create a gradient though not necessarily the edge itself.

Mesx said:

One thing - not sure that it matters tho.
Your substrate is in contact with the water in your false bottom because you used rather large rocks meaning it can soak the water.

Im sure some of the experts can comment on that?

Click to expand...

I'm no expert but I can assure you that its no problem. Afterall, how is the substrate supposed to soak up water if it isnt touching it?

Thanks alot guys

Brian S said:

I'm no expert but I can assure you that its no problem. After all, how is the substrate supposed to soak up water if it isn't touching it?

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IMHO I think you have an excellent setup there. My P cavi. never came out it had extensive burrows all over.

I agree with Brian. In principal the water leaches up through the substrate as it evaporates into the air, making the sub damp and the air humid. Now if there was standing pools of water on top of the ground you may have an issue. The condensation on the glass indicates there is humidity in the air and the inside of the tank is warmer than the outside of the tank (good in my opinion) On a side note; Ive had a Heterometrus burrow right down to the rocks of a false bottom I had, she and her brood denned right in the water.

If you are using the incandescent lamp for light that is okay, but if you are using it for warmth I would recommend you changing to an IR bulb. If I see it correctly your temps are in the mid to high 70's F°, if this is correct, try to get them up in the mid to high 80's F°.

Now there are two issues I can foresee;
1) the heat mat on the bottom will make the water evaporate quicker (that's not the problem) if the water evaporate entirely and you then add more water you may crack the glass, as the mat will have heated the glass up.

2) I had this happen to me, some scorpion slings burrowed to the rock layer and were living in amongst the crevices of the rocks, when I filled up the water one day they were trapped in a crevice that was now entirely submerged and subsequently died. So if your P cavi. burrows to the rocks and is in between them, and the water level is suddenly raised it may not know the way to the top again and perish. Just keep that in mind when leaving area to travel through the rocks.

GL

Thanks Thaedion i followed your vids from youtube for my new tank lol, So do u think i should remove the heat mat untill it cools down and then refresh the water? and i'll make sure when i put the water in that my scorp doesnt drown! thanks alot

Lampost_Stealer said:

Thanks Thaedion i followed your vids from youtube for my new tank lol, So do u think i should remove the heat mat untill it cools down and then refresh the water? and i'll make sure when i put the water in that my scorp doesnt drown! thanks alot

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YW, I hope you have much success with you scorps...

As long as you don't let it dry out totally there really would not be a need to cool off, but if it is bone dry it is probably really hot, then you should cool it down.

Brian S said:

I'm no expert but I can assure you that its no problem. Afterall, how is the substrate supposed to soak up water if it isnt touching it?

Click to expand...

I thought the water just had to evaporate?

Mesx said:

I thought the water just had to evaporate?

Click to expand...

Nope, the purpose of that is to soak up the substrate which will resemble the humid conditions from where they are native to.