Scorpions: Housing & Habitat

Giving Your Scorpion a Good Home:

Glass aquarium tanks make the best home for your new pet. Ten gallon tanks are good for a single scorpion, but you should go with a 15 to 20 gallon tank if you’re going to have more than one.

Home security is an issue. Scorpions can easily squeeze through small openings, are agile enough to climb well, and have the strength to lift tops. You tank, or terrarium, must have a locking screen top that will not only keep your pet in, but will keep other pets and small children out.

Hiding spots should be provided. Multiple hiding areas are needed if you have more than one pet scorpion. These can be made out of pottery, bark, half logs, or any other decorative items available from your local pet stores.

Proper Flooring:

Flooring requirements are different for tropical and desert scorpions. Tropical scorpions need a damp substrate to burrow in. Sterilized potting soil, eco earth, or bed-a-beast, are all good substrate choices. Desert scorpions can be provided with commercial bags of play sand as bedding. Make the bedding on the bottom of the tank 3 to 5 inches deep for burrowing.

Temperature & Humidity:

High humidity is necessary for scorpions and can be maintained by daily misting. Their substrate should be damp, but not wet, and adding pieces of sphagnum moss on top of the substrate will also help retain moisture in their habitat. Mould on the substrate, or condensation on the walls, indicate that the humidity is too high.

Temperature of the tank should be between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. A heating mat is the best way to provide warmth, but it should be placed under one portion of the tank only so the scorpion can regulate its own temperature.


Accessories & Optional Decorations:

Special lighting isn’t necessary, but scorpions glow under a black light and will look fluorescent. Providing a UV black light for the tank allows you to watch them without disturbing their natural behaviour.

Optional decorations can be added to make their environment more attractive and natural looking. Pieces of bark, flat stones, broken ceramic flower pots or commercial reptile hides can be provided as hiding spots for the scorpions.

A shallow water dish should be provided, but it must be shallow enough to prevent drowning.

Rearranging the decorations to their own liking is quite common with pet scorpions. It might not look neat and tidy when they’re done, but it’s best not to continually move the decorations around or the scorpion(s) may become stressed.