Scorpion Care Sheets

Food:

Scorpions are predators and as such prefer live food.  Crickets and mealworms the most commonly available food source for scorpions.  Other sources include super mealworms and wingless fruit flies.  If fed mealworms, they should be placed in a small dish so as not to allow them to bury into the substrate.  Most species like to eat prey that is about 1/3 their size.  Scorpions will generally not eat prey larger than 2/3 their size.  Other possibilities include roaches and wax worms.  Wax worms are generally very messy as they are soft bodied and ooze while being eaten, leaving a sticky mess that attracts mites.  Many scorpions will also refuse to eat them.  It is also recommended not to feed your pet wild caught prey unless absolutely sure they are not contaminated with pesticides as they can kill your scorpion.  Uneaten prey items should be removed from the enclosure within 24 hours.  If your scorpion molts while prey is in the tank they can be seriously harmed or killed as they are quite soft bodied and vulnerable at this time.  If you see your scorpion molting, immediately remove all uneaten prey from the scorpions enclosure.

Water:

All scorpions should have a water source available in their enclosure.  Water can be introduced into the enclosure via misting or a water dish.  Household items that can be used for water dishes include: Yoo-hoo bottle caps, pill vial lids, or even the caps from 5 Gallon Water Bottles.

Substrate:

The prefered substrate will depend on the requirements of the scorpion. For the more dry-loving burrowing scorpions, a sand-based substrate is generaly prefered. The sand should be wetted, packed into the bottom of the enclosure, and then allowed to thoroughly dry. However, this alone does not provide a stable substrate for burrowing. There are various elements which can be added to sand to help create a more suitable substrate. Gravel, peat moss and bentonite (a clay additive) are popular options. For the more humid-loving burrowing scorpions, a mixture of potting soil, peat moss or vermiculite is usualy used. These mixes hold moisture better than the sand-based mixtures and more closely mimic the natural substrate of these scorpions. A word of caution, if using potting soil, make sure that there are no pesticides or fertilizers in the soil as these can harm your scorpion. Other elements, such as mulch (do not use cedar) and coconut husk are sometimes added to provide better water retention and to help stabilize burrows. These elements are also sometimes used alone. The last catagory of substrates are those which are used for scorpions which do not usualy burrow. Some of the more arboreal scorpions require suitably oriented pieces of bark or other materials which are easy to climb and provide a sense of security. Others prefer rocky environments. For these scorpions, stacks of slate, siliconed in place, make a suitable refuge. Often bark and rock are incorporated with one of the previously mentioned substrate mixes so as to create a more varried environment.

Housing:

A wide range of containers can be used to enclose your scorpion. Plastic containers of all sizes and descriptions can be used -- with many of them being very inexpensive. For a more aestheticaly appealing enclosure, aquariums with screen lids work well. Regardless of what the enclosure is made of, the same requirements apply. The enclosure must be SECURE. This is especially true for the more dangerous species. Although scorpions can not climb glass or other smooth surfaces, they can use even slightly roughened areas to escape from a smooth-walled enclosure. They can also balance themselves against the side of the enclosure on the tip of their outstretched metasomas so as to gain some height. Thus, a secure lid is essential to succesfuly keep a scorpion in. Not only will the lid keep the scorpion in, it will help to keep foreign objects out of the enclosure. Furthermore, by regulating the size of the openings to the enclosure, a higher humidity can be maintained for those scorpions that require it. The second requirement of an enclosure is that it must be properly ventelated. Scorpions do not need much air at all, but restricted ventelation can lead to problems with mold, especialy in the more humid enclosures. The last requirement of the enclosure is that it provide places for your scorpion to hide. Depending on the scorpion, this might involve a piece of plastic, rock or bark under which it can dig a scrape. Alternately, it might involve a piece of cork bark leaned against the side of the enclosure for the more arboreal scorpions. Depending on the time, money and creativity involved, and providing the enclosure meets all your scorpion's needs, the enclosure can be as plain or as naturalistic as you want it to be.

Climate:

Most scorpions do well at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 85-90°F. In providing an elevated temperature, it is important to ensure that the scorpion can chose its prefered temperature. The natural inclination of a burrowing scorpion is to burrow to escape the heat. Thus, if using a heat pad to elevate the temperature, it should be placed on the side of the enclosure, not the bottom. Other methods of elevating the temperature include the use of red bulbs, ceramic heaters or other radient heat sources. People with larger collections often use a space heater to elevate the ambient temperature. The humidity requirements of scorpions vary widely. On the low end, some of the desert species do quite well at extremely low humidity, provided they have access to some water and shelter from any radient energy sources. On the high end, some of the scorpions native to rainforests require humidites of 80% or more. An elevated humidity can be achieved in a variety of ways. Misting is common, although it only elevates the humidity for a very short time. Combined with a moisture-retaining substrate, however, this may provide adequate humidity for some species. A wide water dish and restricted ventelation are also useful in raising the humidity in the enclosure. More elaborate measures such as the inclusion of a water-filled gravel layer at the bottom of the enclosure or the inclusion of a waterfall or other water feature within the enclosure can reduce the number of mistings that are required.