In stock Asian Forest Scorpions for sale All scorpions for sale
Heterometrus spp.
Sold under its hobby name. This guide covers the group or trade name this fella is sold as, so the ranges fit the whole group. Start in the middle and watch how your animal settles in.
Asian Forest Scorpions: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: Large humid forest scorpions with strong claws and defensive behavior. Sizes vary widely by species; the trade's H. swammerdami is a genuine giant. Cross ventilation on a humid setup is not optional for this genus.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 2: BeginnerSetup: Tropical burrowing terrestrialHandling: Not recommended, defensive pinch and sting
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 | 75-85°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 70-80%, damp deep substrate, drier surface |
| Setup Type | Tropical burrowing terrestrial |
| Substrate | Deep moist substrate |
| Feeding | Juveniles every 5-7 days, adults every 1-2 weeks |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 2: Beginner |
| Handling | Not recommended, defensive pinch and sting |
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
- Baby Buddy: secure starter enclosure for 2i-3i instars, escape-proof ventilation only
- Burrow Buddy: grow-out burrow setup for juveniles
- Larger tropical terrestrial setup for full-grown adults
Warnings First
- Defensive: pinches and stings. Not a handling pet.
- High humidity without cross ventilation is the main killer for this genus: still damp air grows mold and shell fungus fast.
- Communal setups need plenty of space, food and monitoring; cannibalism still happens around molts and size mismatches.
- Needs consistently high humidity; let it dry out and it struggles.
Simple Care
- Moist substrate, kept deep enough to hold burrows.
- Cross ventilation low on two opposite walls. High humidity is only safe when the air is moving.
- Hide and water dish. Put pebbles in the dish so scorplings cannot drown.
- If kept communally, use deep substrate, multiple hides, similar sizes, and watch molt/feeding timing.
- Strong claws: use tools, not fingers, for anything but the calmest, most familiar animal.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Deep moist substrate that holds burrows and humidity, with enough ventilation to keep it from turning stagnant.
- Cross ventilation at substrate level: fine-mesh vents low on two opposite walls, so air moves through the burrow and litter layer, not just the lid.
- Hold 70-80% by keeping the deep substrate damp and running a full water dish, with air moving freely above it, rather than by restricting vents.
- Read the substrate with your hands: the bottom third should clump and hold shape when squeezed with no water running out, the surface allowed to look drier.
- Keep a proper water dish with pebbles or flat stones so the waterline sits below the rim, rinsed a couple of times a week. Mist the hides, not the whole tank.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Crickets, dubia roaches, the occasional superworm; prey up to about body length, smaller for juveniles. Juveniles every 5-7 days, adults every 1-2 weeks; don't power-feed adults.
- As a live-bearer, the mother carries white first-instar young on her back until their first molt. Feed her small, calm prey and don't disturb her.
- Communal groups can work with deep substrate, plenty of space and heavy feeding, but cannibalism still happens around molts and size mismatch.
- Remove boluses, uneaten feeders and mold, and keep the water dish clean. Chronic over-wetness is the usual killer.
- Wild-caught stock often carries mites: quarantine anything new. Spot-clean rather than tearing down an established burrow.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: South and Southeast Asian humid forest regions including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, or Indonesia depending on species.
- Habitat translation: Deep moist substrate, cork retreats, water access, and ventilation.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Species IDs in this genus are often messy; don't state an exact locality you can't back up.
- Humid does not mean sealed. Stagnant substrate causes mold, mites, and poor molts.
- The trade name H. spinifer is usually H. petersii; H. swammerdami is the real giant, body to about 9 in. Quicker to pinch or sting, but venom is mild.