Hottentotta caboverdensis
Cape Verde Alligator Back Scorpion: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A small parthenogenic buthid that is display-worthy but not beginner-safe: adults only about 2.5 inches.
Group: ScorpionsDifficulty: Spice 5: Extreme (Medical Significance)Setup: Dry/rocky buthid setupHandling: NEVER
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 | 78-88°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | Low-Moderate ambient (55-65%) with steady airflow; dry surface, one damp pocket |
| Setup Type | Dry/rocky buthid setup |
| Substrate | Dry soil/sand mix with bark or rock hide |
| Feeding | Small prey weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 5: Extreme (Medical Significance) |
| Handling | NEVER |
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: secure burrow setup for larger juveniles and adults
Warnings First
- Medically significant caution
- Parthenogenic reproduction possible
- Tiny offspring can escape
- Parthenogenesis means you can find a brood of tiny instars you did not plan for. An open water dish becomes a drowning hazard overnight, so keep pebbles in it as standard rather than as an afterthought.
Simple Care
- Keep secure above all else.
- Steady airflow from small vents low on two opposite walls; dry surface with one damp pocket.
- Use small prey and small housing.
- Shallow water dish kept permanently filled with pebbles: a parthenogenic species can produce instars with no warning.
- Watch for unexpected young.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Dry surface conditions with a controlled moisture pocket work better than a fully humid enclosure.
- That contrast between a dry surface and one damp pocket only survives if air is moving. Put small vents low on two opposite walls, at or just above the substrate line, so air crosses the substrate layer. Without it, moisture from the damp pocket spreads until the whole enclosure sits mildly clammy, which suits this species far worse than either a properly dry surface or a properly damp retreat.
- Ventilation and ambient humidity trade against each other. Hold 55 to 65% by maintaining the damp pocket and the water dish underneath free airflow, not by restricting vents. On a rocky, dry-adapted buthid, closing the box up to hold a humidity number is what produces cuticle fungus.
- Check by hand rather than by gauge. The open substrate and the exposed rock or bark faces should read dry, while the damp pocket stays lightly moist with no free water. If nothing in the enclosure ever dries out, the answer is more airflow.
- The pebble-filled dish matters more here than on almost anything else you keep. A parthenogenic species can produce a brood without a male present, so you may go from one adult to a dozen tiny instars between checks. Keep the dish shallow and permanently packed with pebbles or coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim, and there is never a window where an unnoticed brood can drown.
- Mist under the hide or behind the rockwork to recharge the damp pocket, not across the open surface. That keeps one dependable humid microclimate for the animals to use while the rest of the enclosure and the airflow stay dry.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Feeding: small crickets or roach nymphs at or under body length, smaller for instars. Young eat every 4-7 days, adults weekly to every other week; remove uneaten prey promptly. Use long tongs over a catch container.
- Growth: matures over roughly 5-6 molts. This species is parthenogenetic (a lone female can produce a surprise brood), so plan offspring containment in advance, and don't disturb a female carrying white first-instar young on her back. Never feed a soft, freshly-molted scorpion.
- Maintenance: an arid island endemic. Hydrate with short damp-corner pulses, not wet substrate, and keep the surface dry. Spot-clean boluses and feeder parts; size all ventilation so tiny offspring can't slip out. Hot-scorpion handling discipline applies: secondary containment, tools only, no contact.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Cape Verde Islands; arid island scrub and rock habitats.
- Habitat translation: Dry, ventilated enclosure with one controlled moisture point and tight refuges.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Keep an adult female and you can get a brood with no warning. Have containment for the young ready before it happens.
- Island/arid species often stress under constant humidity; use short hydration pulses, not wet substrate.
- Adult size ~2.5 in; a Cape Verde island endemic. Hottentotta is a serious buthid genus. Keep it no-contact, with secure containment, regardless.