Tityus 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.
Brazilian Yellow & Black Scorpions: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: Among the most medically significant scorpions on earth. T. serrulatus kills children in Brazil every year, breeds without a male, and is illegal in much of the world. Hot keepers only, zero margin for error.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 5: ExtremeSetup: Dry escape-proof enclosure, one tight hideHandling: No handling, long tools and containment 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 | 75-85°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 45-60%, dry substrate, one humid retreat |
| Setup Type | Dry escape-proof enclosure, one tight hide |
| Substrate | Dry soil/sand mix, tight hide, one small damp spot |
| Feeding | Young every 4-7 days, adults roughly weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 5: Extreme |
| Handling | No handling, long tools and containment 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
- Instars (2i-3i): Baby Buddy with escape-proof ventilation and a pebble-packed dish
- Grow-outs: secure small enclosure, dry substrate, one tight hide, bare layout
Warnings First
- Medically significant, among the deadliest scorpions in the world. T. serrulatus has killed children; antivenom isn't available in most countries.
- Strict no contact. Secondary containment, long tools and a catch system every time, never on an open table.
- Parthenogenetic: one female can produce broods with no male. Have containment ready before it happens.
- Instars can appear between checks and drown in open water. Keep the dish permanently packed with pebbles.
- Illegal or restricted in many places, including many US states and much of the EU. Check your local laws first.
- Tiny instars slip through gaps. Use many small vents, never a few large openings.
Simple Care
- Put security first, everything else second.
- Keep it dry with one small humid retreat under the hide.
- Use many small vents low on two opposite walls, not a few big ones in the lid.
- Keep a shallow water dish permanently packed with pebbles.
- Keep the layout bare so you can see the scorpion before you open anything.
- Never handle, and never open it on an open table. Use tools and a catch system.
- Recharge the humid retreat with a pipette instead of misting.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Many small vents low on two opposite walls beat a few big lid vents. You get real airflow across the substrate with no gap an instar could pass through.
- Still air grows cuticle fungus under the hide, even in a dry enclosure. Airflow holds 45-60% on its own, so never close vents down.
- Check by hand during tool-based maintenance: open substrate dry, retreat lightly damp and drying back over a few days. Nothing drying out means it needs more airflow.
- Keep the scorpion visible before you open anything. Simplicity beats display here.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Small crickets or roach nymphs at or under body length, smaller for instars. Young every 4-7 days, adults roughly weekly. Remove uneaten prey within a day.
- Drop prey with long tongs over a catch container. Never feed or do maintenance on an open desk.
- Growth: matures over roughly 5-6 molts. Pull feeders when it goes off food, and leave the soft, pale new molt alone until it hardens.
- Don't disturb a female carrying first-instar young.
- Hydrate through prey plus a tiny damp corner or the pebble dish, not misting.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: South America: Brazil and neighboring countries, in scrub, forest and urban habitats.
- Habitat translation: Scrub, forest and city edges become a small, dry, escape-proof enclosure with one tight hide and a small moisture point, built for total containment, never interaction.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Hobby species: T. serrulatus (Brazilian yellow, the dangerous one), T. stigmurus (Brazilian black), T. bahiensis and T. obscurus.
- T. serrulatus is among the most medically significant scorpions anywhere, responsible for human deaths in Brazil, especially children.
- Legal note: illegal to keep without permits in many US states and much of the EU. Check your local laws before you buy.
- Hot-keeper specialty only. A lone female can produce surprise broods, so plan offspring containment first.