TSKA Exotics The Specialist Keepers Association

Care Guide Reference

Raising Desert Scorpions
Pandinus & Heterometrus

I am showing you all how I have been raising some of my desert scorps such as Androctonus spp and Hottentotta spp. I see no reason why this wont work for other desert scorpions such as Leiurus, Parabuthus,Vajoevis and others as well. This is not the only way to do this nor do I say it is the best but I have had great success at doing it this way.

The early instars are kept in small condiment cups with sand. These cups are too small to place a hide in so I keep the cups in a box which stays dark.

I can usually tell when one is approaching a molt (at least on A bicolor). When this happens I will put a very small amount of water on 1 side of the cup (see picture below) but one has to be very very careful not to add to much or they can get mycosis. If the water does not dry out in about 2 days change the sand so it will be back on dry substrate. About 70% of the time when I do this they will molt within 2-3 days.

Fixing the lid (like in the pic below) would probably be better because the moisture would dry out easier

While not a necessity, My "Hot Box" certainly speeds growth and seems to reduce deaths during molting. This is very crude as you can see and I will certainly have to make a better set up as I breed more and more scorpions. It is a styrofoam box with a reptile heating pad (wrapped in towels) to one side. With the box 3/4 covered the temps stay between 85F-90F.

Here you can see in the next pic the scorp on the left (no Hot Box) is 2 molts behind the other (been in the Hot Box)

When they finally outgrow their little condiment cup, I move them into something like in the next picture. Since I am keeping this out I have to use a hide. This will keep it as an adult until I get my future breeding colonies sorted out later down the road.

Raising Pandinus & Heterometrus babies

Since this question has been popping up on various forums lately I decided a thread like this is in order for future reference.This isnt the only way to do this nor neccisarily the best but it does work well. Luckily, these are about the easiest scorplings to raise so long as you do the basics correctly.......

When the female gives birth the young will remain on her back until they molt into 2nd instar. At this point there is really nothing to do but wait. There is really no need to feed the Mother at this point as they will often refuse food. It will take about a week or 2 (depending on temps etc) for the 1st instar to molt. As long as the substrate is moist everything will be fine.

After the young molt and leave the Mother you can separate them into delicups like this. You can keep the young together as they arent the cannibalistic type as many Buthids are. These delicups seem to work better as they restrict ventilation which keeps them humid. I use moist peat moss with a bottle cap for water.
Note that many keepers I know will leave the young with Mom through 2nd instar and even 3rd instar. While I dont do this myself it is strictly a matter of personal preference.

After the young are gone, Mom will have a renewed interest in feeding again so be sure to give her plenty of food in order to replenish herself.

When the young out grow their deli cup it is time to move them into a bigger container. A plastic shoe box works great for this. Just drill or melt some air holes and you are in business. This works better than a kritter keeper as it also keeps the moisture inside keeping them from getting too dry

Here is an inside shot. Like the deli cup only with a hide

Here are some Heterometrus I have raised since they left their Mo

Written by Brian S