New Scorpion Owner (Heterometrus Longimanus)

Hello everyone.

I have had snakes and other animals in the past, but this is my first scorpion. It was sold as an Heterometrus Longimanus and the lady at the pet store was scared about him. lol I take it that it was due to they usually having emperor scorpions and not this species which is more aggressive.

One thing I would like to ask you, she said at the store that the scorpion once jumped at her coworker when they opened the terrarium, which I found rather odd. From my understanding, scorpions can't jump. Am I mistaken?

For example if I open the terrarium from above, is there any way that it would try to jump at me?

I would also really like to sex him and ask for your help in doing so, but I'm still not confident enough to pick him up to take a photo of the underside.

Thanks in advance for any tips, I'm happy to be here. Sorry for any typos but English is not my native language.

Cheers.

No one?

You can get a good picture by scooping him/her in a clear plastic container. As far as jumping, dont expect to be looking in and get a faceful of pinchers haha.


ps; your english is not bad at all.

Hi Joshp,

Have some patience. Some of us are working. lol

I believe the usage of the word "jump" by the lady at the store is just a metaphor describing a defensive act of the scorpion. Example like trying to grab/pinch you with their chela(pincer) or do a striking pose hoping to warn her predators to back off.. scorpions do not jump.

Defensive attempts to grab/pinch:


Striking pose:


This may happen when there are sudden movements in the scorpion's surrounding. E.g. people trying to open the lid of the tank or lift the hide of a scorpion.



Before we go into sexing methods, how big is your Heterometrus longimanus?

Btw, welcome to the forum!

Do a self-intro if you have the time
https://scorpionforum.darkbb.com/f2-introduce-yourself

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Yes Heterometrus sp. can be quite defensive scorpions. My female H. madraspatensis certainly is. As for being able to jump, scorpions aren't really capable of this. Some of my more fiesty species sometimes literally roll themselves over when getting over excited capturing prey but never have they jumped.

There is no need to pick your scorpion up anyway. If you want to have a go at sexing it, guide the scorpion into a clear plastic tub (cricket tubs are perfect) and then hold it up so you can see the underside of the scorpion. A technique I use is to get a scorpion into a cricket tub and then use a small towel or sponge and gently press the scorpion on to the bottom of the tub. This will hold the scorpion still so you can get a clear look at the pectines and genital operculum It's also a useful way to take clear pictures of this area of the scorpion. You can also turn the scorpion upside down to see their underside with this method, instead of having to hold the tub above your head.

There are loads of pictures/guides on here and elsewhere of how to sex your scorpion, and if you get stuck, take a picture of the pectines/operculum and post it up here for everyone to have a look at.

Also, get some pics of your scorpion and its enclosure up for us all to see. Everyone loves pictures .

Oh and your English is perfect. Probably better than mine and I am English haha.

2 posts in the time it has taken me to write that. And GS has included pictures.

Man I'm slow at typing haha.

LOL... i'm facing the same thing Callum.

While i was typing. Ludedor24 bro beat me to it.

And i tried to edit to add that Ludedor24 has mentioned a good method of sexing, you then beat me to it.. hahaha

I believe Den will have more "interruptions" when he is crafting his post

Anyways.. Good info guys.. Good info

Thanks everyone for the replies and warm welcome.

GS, thanks for the photos and comprehensive reply. I believe my Heterometrus longimanus to be around 10-11 cm. It is already an adult, right? Do you have any idea if it will molt again?

I am attaching 2 photos I took of it, sorry if they aren't perfect.





I have been studying different care sheets online, reading about them and also have ordered Barron's Complete Pet Owner's Manual book on Scorpions for reference, but there is nothing like knowledge driven from experience and on that I count on you guys.

That is a lovely looking scorpion dude but it's not going to be very happy on that substrate. Heterometrus sp. are humidity loving, burrowing scorpions so they need a deep, damp substrate of soil/eco earth etc.

I'm aware of the humidity issues, but you think it won't be possible to keep this substrate damp with daily misting?

If you sprayed the enclosure daily, yes it would raise the humidity for a while but over the course of the day the water will evaporate out of the tank. This will cause massive daily humidity variations in the enclosure from near 100% to what ever your ambient humidity is. You scorpion won't enjoy this.

By using soil or a substrate that holds moisture the humidity will remain relatively constant. The scorpion will also then be able to regulate how much humidity it wants by changing where it sits in its burrow i.e. high humidity deep in the burrow, lower humidity at the entrance/outside the burrow. The other advantage of having a substrate that holds moisture is that you reduce how much you need to spray the enclosure. You can keep the substrate damp by pouring in some water as and when it needs it (usually every couple of weeks) and to be honest this gets rid of the need to mist the tank. Although I do still like to do this occasionally as quite a few of my scorpions prefer to drink water droplets off the decor and glass.

God, I've rambled on a bit just to say that tropical forest scorpion species need a deep sub and high humidity lol.

What type of heating are you using for the tank??

Callum B wrote:

That is a lovely looking scorpion dude but it's not going to be very happy on that substrate. Heterometrus sp. are humidity loving, burrowing scorpions so they need a deep, damp substrate of soil/eco earth etc.

+1

JoshP wrote:

I'm aware of the humidity issues, but you think it won't be possible to keep this substrate damp with daily misting?

Yes it is possible to keep stony substrate damp with daily misting but it's definitely not a proper method to keep him. Not being able to burrow is one concern, taking way too much of your time misting is another.

Okay, let me give an example.

Keep him on a daily misted sand/stony substrate is like if i asked you to sleep daily on your chair..
Well, if you're tired enough.. you can definitely nod off and fell asleep on that chair but in the long run, it is going to ruin your health just because it is not natural as compared to having a decent bed with blanket for you to really rest your body.. And by having a 4-6 inch substrate for him to burrow, is just like what Callum has suggested, he can dig to his desired humidity and also find total solitude in that burrow's darkness.

Btw, yep that should be an adult. Sexing is possible via the method Callum suggested

GS wrote:

Hi Joshp,

Have some patience. Some of us are working. lol

That's the best comment I've seen here in a while

Gs, where's your thumb from that P. leisoma pic?

Welcome to the forum JoshP!

Callum, I am using a tropical heating mat (yes I have read that it should be used on the sides so that the scorpion can burrow to protect from the heat).

GS, how about the molting process, will it still molt being an adult?

I have a feeding tweezers that I use to feed the snakes, can this be safely used to pick up the scorpion from the segment below the telson, or there's a high risk that it will hurt it? Also, is there a risk that it will climb up the tweezers and reach my hand? He surely tried that with a fish tank net. lol

Thanks for all the words guys!

You can use the tweezers, but grab the scorpion from the first segment (the one straight after the body), not from the last.

If you're not fast enough, it might steal your tweezers

Being an adult, it will not molt more.

DolbyR wrote:

GS wrote:

Hi Joshp,

Have some patience. Some of us are working. lol

That's the best comment I've seen here in a while

Gs, where's your thumb from that P. leisoma pic?

I'm a risk taker but knowing when is the limit and when to stop, is my strength as well!

DolbyR wrote:

You can use the tweezers, but grab the scorpion from the first segment (the one straight after the body), not from the last.

If you're not fast enough, it might steal your tweezers

Being an adult, it will not molt more.

Here is a photo for sexing. From what I have read and comparing to other pictures posted online I believe it is a male. Am I correct?

I would say male as well.

Cheers!