I come from the world of reptiles where many species can be stressed by being in too large of an enclosure. Is this the case as well for scorpions? I have a spare 24x18x12 terrarium with substrate lip that I’d like to potentially use for a desert hairy scorpion. I’ve seen lots of things about minimum sizes but nothing in the other direction. I can supplement with as many hides as needed and plan on providing enough substrate for burrowing.
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If you’re tong feeding, I don’t think it’s too big of an issue because you can monitor the intake.
My concern would be that in too large and enclosure it can be harder for the scorpion to hunt for food so the inclination may be to add more feeders which can become a different issue if the scorpion can’t get away and gets stressed or harassed. At least that’s typically how it’s looked at for animals like snakes and lizards so I assume it’s the same issues here.
It wouldn’t hurt to try but definitely make sure you have the feeding issues properly managed I think.
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Thanks so much for the feedback. I tong feed all of my reptiles so I figured I would do the same here.
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I feel like an enclosure can definitely be “too big.” As @armiyana mentioned, there’s a concern about the scorpion being able to find food. That could be mitigated by tong-feeding, but what happens if your animal won’t take prey from tongs? I don’t know about scorpions specifically, but not all inverts will take prey off tongs. The other potential issue is that you may struggle to find your scorpion if the enclosure is too big. Ideally you should be able to check on your scorpion, and especially if you’re tong feeding, you’ll need to be able to locate them in the enclosure. That might be more challenging in a large enclosure with proper cover. I’m not necessarily saying it would be impossible, but it’s a challenge to be aware of, and perhaps keep it in mind when putting everything together.
I don’t know much about scorpions, as I’ve never kept them myself. The only inverts I have at the moment are spiders, but I wouldn’t want to keep them in an enclosure that big. I’d be concerned about the stuff I mentioned. But it’s of course up to you, and maybe someone with scorpion knowledge will pop up and say it’s a great idea for that species. I’m definitely not an expert in scorpion care.
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I have a follow up on this for anyone with expertise. My scorpion arrived last night and seems extremely lethargic. She moved maybe a couple of inches the whole night and didn’t burrow or find a hide. Her legs are extremely thin, almost flat from the right angle, and I don’t know if this is normal. This morning when I left for work she still hasn’t moved. I haven’t disturbed her so she could acclimate but I’m getting concerned. I have the temp set to 80 degrees as outlined in a care sheet I found on Tarantula Collective. She has hides and a burrow made from excavator clay available to her. Is this normal for a recently shipped scorpion or should I be worried?
Could she be dehydrated? I think you said it’s a desert species, but it could still be an issue after the stress of shipping. With my spiders, I’ve always made sure they had easy access to moisture immediately after removing them from the shipping vials. I’ll spray or drip a few drops of water on the side of the enclosure near them so they have easy access. I know that arid scorpions are pretty sensitive to moisture and can develop fungal infections if exposed to too much humidity, but they can still get dehydrated, so I’d make sure she has easy access to at least a few drops of water (maybe put her in a smaller container and give her a few drops of water in there, if you’re concerned about over-humidifying her enclosure).
I’d also contact the seller with your concerns as soon as possible, if you haven’t already. They might have some good info for you, and even if they don’t, it’s important to keep them posted in a timely matter about any concerns you have, in case she doesn’t recover and you want a refund or replacement.
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She had passed by the time I got home from work and in all likelihood it happened overnight I just didn’t want to disturb her this morning. She was clearly not in good health when she arrived yesterday. Seller hasn’t responded to any of my messages. I feel sad for her and we are about to go bury her. Poor thing.
I’m so very sorry. 
It sounds like she was on death’s door when you received her, so it definitely wasn’t anything you did, though I know that’s small comfort. Hopefully the seller will get back to you and take responsibility for selling you an animal in poor health. If not, hopefully you can at least get your money back from PayPal or the like…not that any of that will bring her back or make it right.
This probably goes without saying, but if the seller never takes responsibility/does right by you, don’t buy from them again. I’m really sorry this happened.
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Thank you I really appreciate the support and feedback. Hopefully they get back to me and we can sort it out. I know things happen, I just hope she didn’t suffer too much.
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