In stock Vietnamese Asian Forest Scorpion for sale All scorpions for sale
Heterometrus silenus
Vietnamese Asian Forest Scorpion: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A large, heavy-bodied tropical forest burrower with powerful pincers and real defensive potential. This wild-caught adult needs deep moist substrate, a secure retreat, and single housing: display only.
Group: ScorpionsDifficulty: Spice 2: BeginnerSetup: Tropical burrowing terrestrialHandling: No handling, powerful pinch and sting risk
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 75-82°F, stable room warmth |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 70-80% with cross ventilation; deep moist, top drier |
| Setup Type | Tropical burrowing terrestrial |
| Substrate | 4-6 in moist soil/coco, leaf litter, cork cover |
| Feeding | Cultured crickets/roaches every 7-14 days |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 2: Beginner |
| Handling | No handling, powerful pinch and sting risk |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- Small instar: secure starter enclosure with tiny escape-proof vents.
- Juvenile: Burrow Buddy grow-out with deep, moisture-retentive substrate.
- Adult (4-5 in): larger low terrestrial enclosure with useful floor space and 4-6 in of substrate.
Warnings First
- Powerful claws can pinch hard and a defensive animal may sting; display only, never restrain it by hand.
- Single housing is the safest default; cannibalism risk is real, especially around molts or size mismatches.
- Humid does not mean sealed: damp substrate without cross ventilation causes mold, mites, and cuticle problems.
- Remove live prey when it refuses food or preps to molt; feeders can injure a soft, freshly molted animal.
- This wild-caught adult has unknown age and history: quarantine it and check for hitchhiking mites before housing it near other animals.
Simple Care
- House one scorpion in a secure, low terrestrial enclosure.
- Provide 4-6 in of substrate that stays moist below the surface and can hold a stable burrow.
- Add low cross ventilation on opposing walls so air moves through the substrate and leaf litter.
- Keep a snug cork hide and a clean, shallow water dish available at all times.
- Offer cultured insect prey every 7-14 days, adjusting to body condition and feeding response.
- Use a catch cup for transfers and keep hands, children, and pets away from the animal.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Build for burrowing, not climbing: a 4-5 in adult needs useful floor space, a secure lid, and enough depth for a retreat.
- Use pesticide-free soil or coco that clumps when squeezed but doesn't release water; add leaf litter and cork bark.
- Create a vertical moisture gradient: lower substrate cool and moist, middle damp, part of the upper surface allowed to dry.
- Vent low on two opposing walls so air moves through the layer the scorpion actually occupies, not just the lid area.
- Keep the enclosure out of direct sun and away from unregulated heat mats; a dark burrow should stay the cooler refuge.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Cultured crickets, dubia roaches, or similar prey, no larger than it can overpower safely. Juveniles may eat weekly, adults every 7-14 days.
- Remove uneaten prey within 24 hours and always before a molt; long fasts can be normal in a settled, stable adult.
- Wait until the exoskeleton and sting are fully hardened after a molt before offering prey; don't dig up a sealed burrow to check.
- If a female is carrying young on her back, minimize disturbance and offer only small, non-aggressive prey once she resumes feeding.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Vietnam and Cambodia, with confirmed records in eastern Thailand.
- Habitat translation: Build a humid forest-floor burrow: deep moisture-retentive substrate, a cork retreat, leaf litter, and a water dish. Keep the lower layer damp enough to hold a burrow while the surface stays ventilated; never swamp or seal it.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Sometimes sold under the older names H. petersii or H. spinifer; same care applies.
- Temperature, humidity, and lifespan figures here are husbandry ranges, not fixed limits; adjust gradually from burrow use, hydration, and feeding response.
- Group housing is optional advanced practice, not baseline care: much more space, deep substrate, multiple hides, similar sizes, heavy monitoring, and a ready separation plan.