Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I cross-posted this one with the scorpion forum, but the scorp forum is very slow. I'm hoping someone here can help my scorpions. Sorry about going off-topic, but I'm desperate.

I have one body of a dead Emporer who died for no apparent reason, and four more recent deliveries of live and healthy scorps. Three are Emporers, the other is a heteromeles longimatus (sp), AKA Giant Blue Asian Forest Scorpion. I know they are healthy, because as I put them in the large tank, each one had grabbed a cricket, within three minutes. But now they incessantly try to climb the glass walls The tank is huge. There are only one or two crickets in there now. The walls have condensed water on them. I'm keeping them as tropical forest-floor animals, on peat moss that I pour a little water on here and there so it's not bone-dry. One end of the tank is 75F. The other is in the 60's because the top is off on the cool end. There is no light in their tank. It's heated by an under-tank heater. The ground on the warm side is 72F and dry on top. The overall humidity seems to be about 60%. If I want to raise the humidity I would have to completely and fairly tightly fit a lid to the top of the tank. But they won't venture onto the warm surfaces. I do believe they are slowly dying. I'm confused. Maybe I'm making a big mistake of some kind. Please help.

Clffdvr

Sorry, I don't know enough about scorp to help out. But 72 does seem a bit low for emps. According to "Scorpions: A complete pet owners guide" bu Manny Rubio (best scorp book out there) desert and tropical scorps require 80-95 degrees to feed digest and grow.
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KJ Vezino
My Gallery

cowering on the cool side and trying to climb the glass. That's just what my T did when I first got him, until I corrected his environment (I had him on substrate that was too damp - now he's hiding, happy, molting, and beautiful) Hmmm-maybe I'm confusing scorp husbandry with T husbandry. I thought the general advice is, keep scorps at room temperature. But my room temp is cold, to save money. I have to custom-heat each tank, cage, and enclosure my animals live in. Each one has a Spyder Robotics Herptat II. Those are very good thermostats. I'm practically an expert at tropical and desert lizards, but since that scorp's death, I'm very nervous about my inverts. I'm their only hope to survive. Seeing them climb at the glass makes me crazy.

I agree that a tropical invert should be naturally adapted to 80 - 85 F. It just makes sense. But these guys evade those temps. Maybe I should force it on them.

Roger

I can't say what's best for sure. But you'd be way better off after reading Manny's book.
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KJ Vezino
My Gallery