In stock Sesriem Scorpion for sale All scorpions for sale
Hottentotta conspersus
Sesriem Scorpion: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A small, quick Namib desert scorpion from a genus with deadly members. Dry packed sand and clay, a flat stone, a warm end with a cool side, and double containment for every service. - Big Z
Group: ScorpionsDifficulty: Spice 5: ExtremeSetup: Dry rock-and-sand desert, double containedHandling: No handling, tongs and a locked second box
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 | 80-90°F warm end, cooler side |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 25-40%: dry sand, one damp corner, low vents |
| Setup Type | Dry rock-and-sand desert, double contained |
| Substrate | Packed sand-clay, 1 in juvenile, 2-3 in adult |
| Feeding | Juveniles about weekly; adults every 7-14 days |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 5: Extreme |
| Handling | No handling, tongs and a locked second box |
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
- Juvenile (0.5-1 in): small vented cup inside a locking tub, warm and dry, prey its size or smaller
- Sub-adult (about 1-2 in): small locking desert tub, deeper packed substrate, real stone shelter
- Adult: low, wide locking desert build, 2-3 in packed sand-clay, stone shelter, warm end and cool side
Warnings First
- Treat it as medically significant. Some Hottentotta have killed people, and this one's sting effects aren't recorded. Any sting needs medical care.
- No handling, ever. Tongs, a catch cup and a second locked container for every feeding and cleaning.
- A 0.5 in scorpling fits through surprising gaps. Pin-hole vents and a smooth-sided cup.
- Heat one side only, on a thermostat, with a cooler side to retreat to.
- Dry with airflow. A wet, stuffy box invites fungus; dampen one corner, not the floor.
- Check local laws before you buy. Some places restrict hot scorpions.
Simple Care
- 80-90°F warm end by day, cooler side; nights to 65°F are fine.
- Packed sand and clay with stacked flat stones for shelter.
- Dry surface; dampen one corner under a stone every couple of weeks.
- Pebble-filled bottle cap kept full on the dry side.
- Pull uneaten prey within 24 hours; nothing live in during a molt.
- Cup lives inside a locking tub; tongs and catch cup out before the lid.
- House it alone.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Wild animals live under stones on rocky slopes and dry riverbeds in the Namib. Build a rock-and-sand floor with a flat stone, not a deep burrow.
- Mix sand with a little clay or coco, moisten, pack and dry before it goes in so it holds a scrape.
- One warm side around 85-90°F from a mat on the outer tub wall, on a thermostat. Nights can drop into the 60s.
- Numbers here come from keepers of related Hottentotta and the home desert's climate; this species has no published care data yet.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Juvenile: a pinhead cricket or small roach nymph no wider than its abdomen about weekly; pre-kill if it hesitates.
- Adults: one right-sized cricket or roach every 7-14 days, less when plump.
- Water comes from prey and a tiny pebble dish. A deep dish drowns a scorpling.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Namibia and southern Angola: rocky slopes, gorges and dry riverbeds of the Namib and its escarpment, including the Brandberg and the Sesriem area it is named for. No locality came with this group.
- Habitat translation: Wild: under stones on rocky ground in a desert with about an inch of rain a year, summer days near 90°F, ground heat well above that, nights in the 50s, damp foggy mornings and bone-dry afternoons. Your build: dry packed sand and clay, stacked flat stones for a shelter, a warm end near 85-90°F with a cooler side, nights allowed to fall, one lightly damp corner every couple of weeks standing in for the fog, low cross vents, a tiny pebble dish, and a locked lid inside a locked tub.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Lab work found the same sodium, potassium, chloride and calcium channel toxin families as the hot buthids.
- One of few Namibian scorpions active by day, so daytime movement alone isn't a stress sign.
- Related species reach adulthood in about a year when warm; the early molts are the risky ones.
- Group housing gets floated for adults. Treat it as a later experiment, never for juveniles.