So you want to have desert scorpions?

[rmleone]

Im going to show you what you need and some tips. For desert species scorpions.

First you will need to get supplies. I keep desert species so care and supplies for forest and tropical species will be different.

You will need an enclosure with a screen top. ( I use a 12x12x12)
You can use smaller, some people use shoebox totes.( I dont like that because to me they are too low) scorpions cannot climb smooth surfaces nor can they jump.

You will need desert sand

You will need an under tank heater or overhead IR heater or ceramic heater with thermostat.
( i don’t prefer top heating as it can get quite hot and make it difficult for the scorpion to escape the heat) place the UTH on the side of the enclosure not the bottom.( since they like to burrow they will basically cook themselves with bottom heat) you want your temperature to be 85°- 90° you dont want to exceed 100°

You will need a clear deli cup with lid ( big enough to hold your scorpions size)

You will need a thermometer hydrometer, rubber tipped tongs,
Magnifyglass with light ( high power is best), laser thermometer, a black light flashlight and a dehumidifier ( i use Eva Dry its small, non toxic, can fit in the enclosure and it is renewable. It is silica gel that is rechargeable)

You can decorate your tank ( use light weight things such as driftwood. You also want to supply a hide ( i use a half a Kroger yougurt tub ) since these species like to burrow you don’t want something that could accidentally crush them. ( with heavier pieces really push it all the way to the bottom of tank so they can’t dig under it and possibly crushing themselves.
Use about 3 inches of substrate as they like to burrow.

Desert scorpions are very susceptible to a fungal infection called mycosis. So its imperative that it is bone dry and humidity needs to be really low (40% or lower) they do not need water as they will get it from thier prey. The Eva Dry will help eliminate moisture. Mycosis is incurable and will kill your scorpion.

Your clear deli cup, black light, magnifyglass and tongs will be used to find where your scorpion is ( they glow under black light )

You will need the clear deli cup to temporarily house or transport them as you clean the enclosure.
This deli cup will also help you safely sex your scorpion and to examine it for mycosis.

Place the deli cup in the enclosure ( so if you lose control of the scorpion it will still be in the enclosure)

You will use your tongs to move your scorpion from the enclosure to the deli cup.
You will need to either grab the scorpion at the 5th segment of thier tail (shown in anatomy diagram) this will immobilize thier ability to use thier telson(stinger).

( i dont do this with my smaller more delicate species)
Or you can use your tongs as a gentle scoop. Never grab your scorpion with your hand. You also want to make sure you never grab them by thier legs, they are fragile. ( broken legs can mean death to them) do not clamp down hard on the scorpion use just enough pressure to grab them. I prefer the scoop method as i can easily slide the tongs under them and support thier entire body.
I keep my enclosures pretty sparsely decorated so that i can know where the scorpion is and to easily catch them, too much decorations can make getting them more challenging, which could possibly put you or your scorpion in harms way.

Place your scorpion gently into the deli cup.

Secure the lid. Now you can take your scorpion out of the enclosure

You can sex and examine you scorpion using your lighted magnifier and your black light.
To sex your scorpion you will need to look underneath it, locate the pectins (shown) the females will be smaller and more feathery where the males are long.
Mycosis will show up as black spots on the scorpion usually starting on the legs but it can show up anywhere. (Shown)
Mycosis will also be seen under black light (shown)
Remember mycosis is incurable and there is an unproven therory that they can molt out of it. (Adult scorpion do not molt)
Mycosis eats the scorpion from the inside ( that is why molting won’t help cure that) eventually the mycosis will infect the lungs suffocating the scorpion, it can eat away at joints making them unusable ( a scorpion unable to move will die)

A healthy scorpion will have its tail either curled up behind them or to the side depending on species. A dying or dead scorpion will have its tail straight out behind it.

Most scorpions have poor eyesight and they use their hairs to feel the vibrations to let them know if its prey or predator. Some species are ambush predators that hide and wait for prey to come to them, some will actively hunt. They will eat just about anything that crosses thier path. Crickets, worms, beetles, spiders, other scorpions, lizards even small mammals.

You can feed them 1 or 2 days a week. In the wild they can go months without food. ( i wouldn’t do that) give them crickets, meal worms, super worms, horn worms, beetles, cockroaches. You could theoretically feed them lizards and small mice but i wouldn’t.

A note on molting, your scorpion will molt about 5 times from slings to adulthood. You may supply a humid hide with spaghum moss to assist with molting or a moist hide lined with paper towels. The scorpion will decide if they need it or not. This can help hydrate thier old shell. You may also mist the enclosure to raise the humidity in the enclosure. Remove the damp moss or moist hide after the scorpion molts ( remember moisture can mean death)

Scorpions are very sensitive to lights. Do not use white lights on enclosures. ( low ambient light of a room is enough) do not put near sunlight or other hot or bright lighting. Keep them away from UVA lights as this will kill them. If you do wish to light, use infrared (red lighting) or use black lights as these will not harm your scorpion however do not continuously use black lights on your scorpion it can harm them or blind them. The use of black light should be used to locate your scorpion for when you need to work in the enclosure then turn it off.

A note on cohabitation, some species can be kept communally as adults only. You would want to make sure they have enough space and resources to lessen chances of fighting or cannibalism. Personally i wouldn’t house more than 1 per enclosure. Remember that if you keep the HOT species ( deathstalkers, yellow fattails etc.) The more you have in an enclosure the higher risk of danger for you, secondly many species will cannibalize each other. Personally i wouldn’t keep more than 1 per enclosure unless you plan on breeding, and you want to monitor them sexual cannibalism can occur. You will want to ensure that the male and female are well fed prior to attempting to breed them as it may lessen the chances for cannibalism. You want to move the male to the female enclosure and remove him after.

I hope this information is something you found useful.
You will find scorpions to be very easy to keep and a lot of fun to watch. So long as you follow safety there really is no threat to anyone, even with the deadliest of species.
Id be happy to further answer questions in case i missed something or i didn’t elaborate clearly enough.

[lumpy]

Just a beautiful read @rmleone! Super well written and is easy to understand!

[rmleone]

Thank you i tried to make it as simply as i can with pictures. Many internet sites are vague, guve confusing or conflicting information as well as some use such wording and terminologies that it is difficult to fully grasp what they are saying. ( i found this out when i got my 1st rosy boa) every site said something different and none were really clear.

[erie-herps]

This is super informative! I’ve done a little bit of research into scorpions in the past and this is super easy to understand and very informative.

I do just have one question about it:

@rmleone

You may supply a humid hide with spaghum moss to assist with molting.

Does this help with scorpions? I know that for tarantulas humidity doesn’t help with molting at all. I think scorpions are the same way but I’m not positive.

[rmleone]

Sometimes they need it, not every time. If they get stuck in thier molt they will die. I think i may edit some of my post. I believe i forgot to post the temperature as well.

You can also mist to raise the humidity. The purpose of the moist hide is to soften their old shell. You can go with moist paper towel lined box.

Im sorry if i was unclear in a couple spots. I shall fix this.

[jawramik]

Very well-done care guide, thank you! I’ve always thought scorpions are super cool animals. Lately I’ve been seriously considering keeping a species or two at some point fairly soon. They seem like they’re neat critters to keep.

How many do you have currently?

[rmleone]

I have 6 currently but looking to add a few more.

I’ve avoided the partheneogenic species because im not sure id be able to sell off enough. With hots i like to keep them separately to avoid cannibalism and increased danger for me. Another species i likely wont keep is the spitting scorpion as they can shoot venom up to 3 feet.

Scorpions are really easy to keep and they are fun to watch at night when they are active. Surprisingly my Egyptian Green is the most spicy, she will strike at my tongs repeatedly, most species really aren’t terribly aggressive, but they do deserve respect. So long as you follow safety they will be rewarding to keep. androctonus australis are a big species but lots of fun the deathstalker is a bit smaller but really fun too.

[rmleone]

I wanted to make this post because of the lack of information out that was helpful. There are many forums out where the experienced keepers were condescending to new keepers asking questions. I found some of it laughable as these so called “experts” gave incorrect and harmful advice. My goal is to have people that have questions to make informed choices about their pets and to excite them not discouraged them.
One such comment i read said “you know they are hots right?” Yeah im pretty sure they are aware, but if not they will know some basics to stay safe.

Honestly people are gonna do what they wanna do regardless, so why not give them the info so they can do so safely and make an informed choice.

I never tell anyone advice i don’t practice and use myself. I will never advocate imprproper handling, free handling, using a hot as a prop, working under the influence of any drug or alcohol or if you have not slept. It is always saftey 1st and evertime. Barring some catastrophic accident where the enclosure gets shattered, so long as you follow the handling procedure they are completely safe. For those uncomfortable with glass there is plastics ( they cannot climb smooth surfaces nor jump) i still recommend at least 6" from subrate to lid, for larger species such as androctonus australis which are easily 4" you want a bit higher, they like to stand on their tails and try to grab stuff i have 9" from substrate to sceen top, there is no way he can get even close.

Imagine being new to a hobby or species and everyone tells you that you are stupid for wanting X species you may give up (not a good outcome) or you could go the other way and say “im gonna do it anyways” ( even worse outcome) at least with what i put here its real info and i go into detail about safety. ( much better outcome)

I love animals and want the best for them, which means proper care and proper education especially to people who wouldn’t necessarily keep an animal. Education helps remove all the knee-jerk reactions to instantly kill a species because they have been vilified. Our world is in serious trouble because we have decimated whole species based off of fear without education. Yes a healthy respect for species is needed after all we wouldn’t say go pet a grizzly bear, but with education comes a healthy respect and learning how to co-exist and to stay safe. When we are passionate about animals, we care about them and want to see them thrive.

Id imagine ( being new to snakes) if i got bad information or unhelpful attitudes i would be devastated especially if that meant harm or having to get rid of them because of that.

Im grateful to everyone here with all the help i received with my snakes.

I want to see more people care about our arachnid friends. I know even if they don’t keep them, maybe they have a new respect or if nothing else they learned scorpions glow under black lighting, helpful information for campers who camp in the wild (not in an R.V.)

[ashleyraeanne]

There are forest scorpions that need high humidity as well. Right? Maybe it would be good to edit the title to say desert scorpions instead of just scorpions. We don’t want someone with a forest scorpion that is native to the Amazon rainforest thinking sand and stuff would be ok for them.

[erie-herps]

It said in the second line that it was for desert species but I think adding it to the title might be good too.

[rmleone]

I definitely can do that you are both right i want there to be no confusion. I can’t seem to do another edit. I must be doing something wrong. But yes definitely this is desert scorpions. For forest/tropical species they need the humidity.

I didn’t feel comfortable doing one for them as my knowledge is in keeping dezert variety and i do not wish to give information to which i have limited experience.

Im sure i could write something about them but it would just be more or less hersey.

[lumpy]

@rmleone, it is now a wiki, it can be infinitely edited.

[schwerergustav]

Your writing was very interesting, I must say, but I am not agreeing with you at all on all the points you made.

Besides, the biggest no-go you’re doing in the hobby is a tank heater that goes under the terrarium. That is beyond stupidity. Sorry for saying it like that, but it’s true. You can’t do that, it’s completely unnatural when the heat comes from the ground. The heat must come from the top, if scorpions want to escape the heat, they burrow down deep. Basically, you’re killing their natural behavior, which stresses them out and kills them.

The maximum humidity of 40% is not true. You can’t say 40% is the maximum because nature is not like that; scorpions come from different environments. They dig and down there it gets moist.

For scorpion species like Androctonus baluchicus from Pakistan, the humidity ranges in summer between 50–70 %. The same goes for Androctonus crassicauda from the UAE, where they have 60–70 % humidity. Or Hottentotta sousai from southern Morocco, humidity averaging 73%.

Like all Androconus specimens, they dig deep burrows, and naturally, there are moist sections in those burrows.
Also, I don’t see deep substrate in your pictures, scorpions need enough substrate to dig. Besides, pure sand is not what they need; only a few animals like pure sand; they need clay-mixed sand.

And Mycosis is not restricted to captive scorpions; for example, in some areas where Hottentotta franzwerneri lives, they get it naturally. And they can survive it. To prevent mycosis you need good ventilation.

The same goes for they do not need water, as they will get it from their prey. That is also stupid, in the desert or dry areas where they come from, there is morning dew. I made the same mistake when I started the hobby: if you don’t give a scorpion water or moist spots, they will die with a high risk. Scorpions from instars 2–3 can be very fragile; if they get no water, they will die. Scorpions who are in pre-molt and have not eaten for a longer time will have a higher risk of getting stuck in the molt or even dying before they can molt. I know that from scorpion experts, by the way.

Desert Scorpions need a water bowl.