Tityus spp.
Identity confidence: provisional. This is a genus, group, or trade name rather than a confirmed species. Treat it as the closest match we can stand behind, and use the more conservative end of any range.
Brazilian Yellow & Black Scorpions: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: Among the most medically significant scorpions on earth: T. serrulatus, the Brazilian yellow, kills children in Brazil every year, is parthenogenetic, and is illegal or unkeepable in much of the world. A hot-keeper-only animal with no margin for error: documented in medical literature, antivenom unavailable in most countries. Adults reach about 2.5-3.5 inches.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 5: Extreme (Medical Significance)Setup: Tropical/semi-arid 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 | 75-85°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | Low-Moderate ambient (45-60%) with steady airflow; dry substrate, one humid retreat |
| Setup Type | Tropical/semi-arid buthid setup |
| Substrate | Dry soil/sand mix with a tight hide; one small moisture point |
| 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)
- Secure small enclosure for grow-outs
Warnings First
- Among the deadliest scorpions in the world: documented child fatalities (T. serrulatus); antivenom not available in most countries
- Parthenogenetic. One female produces broods with no male. Have somewhere to put them before it happens.
- Illegal or restricted in many jurisdictions; strict no-contact, secondary containment always
- Parthenogenesis means instars can appear with no warning. Keep pebbles in the water dish as standard so an unnoticed brood cannot drown.
Simple Care
- Security first, everything else second.
- Keep dry with a small humid retreat; tiny ventilation only, but many small vents low on two opposite walls, so air still crosses the substrate.
- Shallow water dish kept permanently packed with pebbles; a parthenogenetic species can produce instars between checks.
- Never handle, never open on an open table; tools and a catch system every time.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- The hobby names: T. serrulatus (Brazilian yellow: the dangerous one), T. stigmurus (Brazilian black), T. bahiensis, T. obscurus: South America. A small, escape-proof enclosure with dry substrate and one tight hide; a small moisture point rather than a humid box.
- The animal should always be visible before you open anything. Simplicity beats display complexity here.
- Tiny ventilation is correct, but the number and placement of the openings is what decides whether the animal gets air. Use many small vents low on two opposite walls, at or just above the substrate line, rather than a few larger ones in the lid. That gives real airflow across the substrate with no gap an instar could pass through. A dry enclosure with still air still grows cuticle fungus under the hide.
- On a dry-kept species the ventilation and humidity trade works for you: airflow holds ambient at 45 to 60% by itself, so the humid retreat and the dish are the only inputs you manage and there is never a reason to close vents down.
- Check by hand rather than by gauge, during the tool-based maintenance you are already doing. The open substrate should read dry while the retreat stays lightly damp and dries back over a few days. Nothing drying out means the box needs more airflow.
- On this species a pebble-filled dish is not optional. A parthenogenetic female produces broods without a male present, so you can go from one adult to a scatter of tiny instars between checks. Keep the dish shallow and permanently packed with pebbles or coarse grit so there is never a window in which an unnoticed brood can drown, and so you are not opening a Tityus enclosure to fix it.
- Recharge the humid retreat under the hide with a pipette rather than misting. That keeps one damp microclimate available while the open substrate stays dry, and it avoids spraying an enclosure you want opened as rarely as possible.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Feeding: small crickets or roach nymphs at or under body length, smaller for instars. Young eat 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 all feeders when it goes off food for a molt, and leave the soft, pale new molt alone until it hardens. T. serrulatus in particular is parthenogenetic (a lone female will produce surprise broods), so plan offspring containment before it happens, and don't disturb a female carrying first-instar young.
- Maintenance: keep the layout bare so the animal is always visible before opening; spot-clean boluses with tongs; hydrate via prey plus a tiny damp corner or small dish rather than misting. Strict no-contact husbandry (secondary containment and long tools every time), because Tityus venom is medically significant, with fatalities documented mostly in children.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: South America: Brazil and neighbouring countries; scrub, forest and urban habitats.
- Habitat translation: A small, escape-proof, dry enclosure with one tight hide and a small moisture point: built for absolute containment, never display interaction.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size ~2.5-3.5 in. T. serrulatus is among the most medically significant scorpions globally: responsible for human deaths (especially children) in Brazil, well documented in medical literature; antivenom is not available in most countries.
- Hot-keeper specialty only, and in many US states and much of the EU it is illegal to keep without permits. Verify legality before acquiring.
- Strict no-contact: secondary containment for every transfer, long tools, no open-room handling, and a plan for the parthenogenetic broods.