Hottentotta sousai
Giant Hairy Alligator Back Scorpion: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A bigger, hairier relative of the Cape Verde Alligator Back with the same medically significant Hottentotta venom. Keep it dry and secure with one damp spot under its retreat, and never touch it.
Group: ScorpionsDifficulty: Spice 5: ExtremeSetup: Dry rocky setup, rock or bark retreatHandling: No handling, tools and catch cup only
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 | 55-65%, dry surface, one small moisture point |
| Setup Type | Dry rocky setup, rock or bark retreat |
| Substrate | Dry soil/sand mix under a rock or bark hide |
| Feeding | Right-sized crickets or roach nymphs weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 5: Extreme |
| Handling | No handling, tools and catch cup only |
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
- Juveniles and adults: secure Burrow Buddy, dry soil/sand, rock or bark retreat, one small moisture point, pebble-filled dish
Warnings First
- Medically significant venom. No handling, ever: tools and a catch cup for every enclosure job.
- Fast, defensive buthid. Secure lid required, and secondary containment for all maintenance.
- Small instars drown in an adult's dish. Pack the shallow water dish with pebbles or coarse grit.
- Never feed a soft, freshly molted scorpion, and remove uneaten prey promptly.
- A rock or bark retreat traps still, damp air. Vents low on two opposite walls stop cuticle fungus starting there.
Simple Care
- Never handle it. Use tools and a catch cup for every enclosure job.
- Keep it dry and secure above all else.
- Vent low on two opposite walls so air moves past the retreat.
- Give a rock or bark retreat instead of deep loose substrate.
- Keep water in a shallow dish packed with pebbles.
- Feed right-sized prey and remove leftovers.
- Hold 78-88°F.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Keep the surface dry with one small, controlled moisture point. This genus does not want a wet enclosure.
- Vent low on two opposite walls, at the substrate line. The thin gap under its retreat has no air of its own, and still damp air there starts cuticle fungus.
- Good airflow holds 55-65% on its own. If humidity drifts high, add airflow instead of removing the moisture point.
- Check by hand: open substrate and exposed rock or bark dry, the moisture point lightly damp and drying back over a few days. If nothing ever dries, add airflow.
- Recharge the moisture point under the retreat instead of misting. A general spray wipes out the dry-versus-damp contrast it needs.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Offer right-sized crickets or roach nymphs weekly, and remove uneaten prey promptly.
- Feed with long tongs over a catch container, never bare hands.
- Expect several molts to maturity, with normal fasting around each one. Never feed a soft, freshly molted scorpion.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Africa, in arid to semi-arid scrub and rocky ground typical of Hottentotta.
- Habitat translation: A dry, ventilated enclosure with a rock or bark retreat and one controlled moisture point beside a properly dry surface.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Less common in the trade than other alligator backs, so size prey and setups conservatively.
- Every Hottentotta is a serious buthid. No contact and secure containment, whatever its size or reputation.
- Hot-scorpion discipline at all times: secondary containment, tools only, no contact.