Androctonus amoreuxi or Androctonus australis

Greetings

This guy was captured in the Tunisian desert near the Libyan border (no, I don't live there - just working and camel-counting)

This is my first exposure to real live scorpions so I'm googling and guessing it's androctonus-amoreuxi

I am hopeful a picture will appear, as if by magic, when I paste the whatever code here. Failing that, I'm using the same photo for my avatar.

No access to crickets so I'm catching moths and flies - I don't know if he eats them or tramples them into the sand. Does not seem to like moths or anything I put in there.

The beetle I put in there as food pretty much became a roommate and was eating the flies so I released him to the wild. I am inferring from this that scorpions don't eat beetles.

The is a recessed water dish in the corner with rocks (I gather from the forums you're supposed to have rocks in there) and a climbing stick if he gets the urge to climb a stick

Does this desert guy need a dish or damp substrate or what? Substrate is GENUINE (accept no substitutes!) Sahara sand as I happen to be in the Sahara desert at the moment and they have lots of it here.

I've had him for a couple of weeks now and I don't know if I'm sustaining him with bugs and water or if they are just able to survive that long without either. He's a pretty low activity guy at best but does explore his box daily so I'm hopeful he isn't suffering.

Just caught a grasshopper that's BIG compared to the scorp - about the same length when scorp curled up. Should I disable the hopper or let the scorp hunt?








Any and all scorpion-care tips will be cheerfully accepted.

Thanx

'' Substrate is GENUINE (accept no substitutes!) Sahara sand as I happen to be in the Sahara desert at the moment and they have lots of it here.''




It looks like Androctonus australis to me. The metasoma is to thin to be A. amoreuxi. The colour of A. australis is quite variable depending on locality.

Offer it a waterdish sporadically and don't worry to much if it is not eating. Keep trying every few days/week until it does. It will be able to handle prey its own size but generally aim for smaller food to avoid any potential injury to your scorpion.

And be careful keeping it in that cardboard box lol.

Thanks much!!

I'll put the hopper in and see how it goes. There are crickets around but they're tough find - you hear them fine but can't zero in on 'em.

Yeah, the cardboard box is not ideal but it's all I have out here. In the middle picture I have put clear packing tape along the top lip as an extra barrier. Seems to work.

I put it there after trying to peer into the scorp's house only to notice that he was at the top of the box 6" from my face. I think that's what they call a "rookie mistake".

Nice Fat tail, dont get sting

lol Bakke84 I was just about to say the same thing - with thin pincers and a fat tail, chances are whatever he is is fairly poisonous, wouldn't want to get stung, especially since you're not 100% on ID, which could make treating an injury more difficult....

Ye those probly have one of the most potent skorpion venom there is.
And the give a big injektion.

Can you send me one:-) lol

I would also like one pretty badly. Also consider lining the inside of the box with tape at the 4 or 5 inches up area. Just looking at it from the pic I'd be worried about him falling from the top and getting injured landing on that hide. Or consider getting a glass aquarium. Or and this in my favorite option... Ship it to me and I'll provide a suitable enclosure.