My 1st Death Stalker (Lieurus quinquestriatus) - in Malaysia! Need advice on Breeding

Hi all, I was checking out an exotic pet section in a departmental store and low and behold there was a Leiurus quinquestriatus for sale. This may not seem particularly unusual but this is in Malaysia; An alien animal that is at the top of the venom list as far as scorpions go, is available here without any certainty of it falling into sufficiently responsible hands if any would suffice for a creature of this stature. Currently, I've had ample experience with Hets and other species that can be found in my region. This is my 1st imported scorpion. I had mixed feelings about buying it due to its reputation but these were the deciding factors of my eventual purchase: -


1. It was a beautiful specimen of an already magnificent looking species.

2. I've always wanted a buthid if not a local one.

3. I've always wanted a desert species of any kind.

4. To broaden my experience with other scorpions including HOTS. I already have a Spitting cobra and a Malayan Krait.

5. Rather me than someone who doesn't know how to care for it resulting death of the animal or worse the person, though I don't wish to pretend that I am anywhere qualified either. I've read the stuff that's been posted on queries about anyone hoping to keep or own one which can be disheartening.

6. My buddy and forum member Rafiq has one probably female. Affter closer inspection of the one for sale I'm quite certain it is a male. Thus we're hoping they could be a pair.

So I beg of you, pls spare me the righteous sermons as they wouldn't help now. I'm kindly requesting reliable advice anyone can give regarding the proper care of this animal for the benefit of me and anyone else reading this posts or who wishes to keep this animal for the sincere appreciation of it as a beautiful creature of this earth. The guy at the pet store did maintain restraint in allowing me to inspect it and assured me that this particular scorpion is not for anyone. I concurred but convinced him I'm no newbie to scorps or venomous animals. These are pics of how the scorpion is housed in my residence. I will welcome any contributory ideas for safety measures and alternate enclosure settings.

The substrate is a mix of sand and fine aquarium gravel. I didn't pre-damp the substrate in fear of mycosis

Though considered unnecessary by some, I placed a piece of bark in the middle.

Double tank is be secure enough I hope. A closer look at him of him in the same pic

This was taken of the enclosure two days after.

As I hoped, the scorpion has dug a hide under the bark


These are some nice shots I managed to get of him parking on the bark.



Finally the queries that I have for anyone out there with 1st hand experience with this species.

1. I've read that no water is required whatsoever. To what extent is this true and why?

2. What are its eating habits like? I've never caught it in the act of eating yet so I'm rather curious. I think the slowly dissipating number of mealworms is a reasonable indicator of it actually eating but I ca never be sure. Furthermore how regularly should I feed it? The one i have currently did not seem interested in crickets.

3. Are desert scorpions susceptible to any kind of undesirable conditions in captivity? I'm new to desert species.

5. Do they need ample heat for any period of time? I live in a tropical country, so I never have problems with inverts succumbing to cold.

4. What is the lifespan and how many moults do they undergo?

5. Can anyone post on this thread a reliable picture guide on how to sex them accurately? Pictures of the underneath showing the pectines and the operculum for both male and female for comparison would be great.

6. Tips and advice in the event the scorpion needs to be removed from the enclosure. I have a pair of 12' tweezers but they don't have much grip on the tail of this species. They wiggle out of it very fervently. Currently, I use a cup to walk it over a lid in its enclosure.

7. How do we introduce a pair for the purpose of mating? How should we approach it? should we introduce the male into the female's enclosure or should we place them in bigger tank at the same time? What do we expect to see as indications of courtship behavior?

8. What is the approximate gestation period?

9. Are free-reigning scorplings as deadly as the adults?

Pls Feel free to add any essential questions I might have missed. I thank all in advance for their replies, advice, comment, and contributions.

Thank you Mike for giving me the idea to post a query thread. Eddy I've been told you're the one to go to for this one, so I'm hoping to hear from you.

P.S. I hope the things I say in this post don't come off as me being arrogant but I'm just very fed up of the fact that every time someone requests information like breeding, all I see with regards to this species are death threats and warning signs. I appreciate the reasons why they are there and it never gets said enough but its come to the point where it overwhelms a hosts of equally significant information such as the above. Pls man give peace a chance