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Salt Lake Scorpion - Australobuthus xerolimniorum

The Salt Lake Scorpion is a small species to about 45mm found active on a warm summers night on any one of South Australia's inland salt lakes. They normally take daytime refuge in amongst shoreline vegetative litter or hide in cracks. When darkness comes they take to the salt surface and actively forage until a food item such as a resting fly is found. They generally remain still until the meal is finished before off hunting again if still hungry. They can be found up to 100 metres or more off shore.

This species is quite hardy in captivity due to its highly surface active foraging behaviour. The behaviour has enabled it to have a minimum evaporative water loss from its cuticle, which is a good thing for captivity.

Sexing: The sexes are almost identical, however, the male does have slightly longer pectines which protrude well beyond the trochanter-femoral joint of the 4th walking leg. Otherwise the female is often slightly larger and a little more robust.

How many in a tank: This is quite a communally tolerant species, in fact I have kept many together, even with gravid females and never witnessed cannibalism.....of course that doesnt mean it will never occur, keep them well fed.

Housing: Almost any size housing will do from small takeaway food size tubs to glass terrariums. Being a salt lake surface scorpion, they are not a very good climber, so I often dont use a lid on larger housing, or only use a partial lid to maintain good ventilation. Your housing needs to be generally dry. Use desert sand or similar purchased from a pet shop. Good ventilation is a must, so plenty of holes drilled into the side of one end only, or an open top. If establishing a linear hydration system only add a tiny amount of water every now and then to the hydrated end and keep the rest bone dry. Add leaf litter for refuge spots and logs for access to above ground areas. If possible always allow desert buthids access to refuges off ground.

I suggest using a shallow water dish filled with small stones such as scoria as a safety net, so the scorpion can drink if you allow the environment to completely dry out. To do this I cut about 20mm-30mm from the base of a plastic coffee cup. This filled with stones will last longer than something shallow where evaporation can be an issue. Water will creep across the stones via capillary action and so will always be slightly wet allowing the scorpion to moisture. Have some access wood, stones etc around the dish.

Parturition and ecdysis: When it comes time for the mother to have young or a young scorpion to shed its skin, you will need to have areas where humidity is a little higher. This still needs to be established with good ventilation to discourage mycosis and mite growth. I suggest a small hollow log, or piece of curved terraccotta pot placed at the hydrated end and maybe some extra leaf litter to help trap a little more moisture. Always be careful to watch not to have the hydrated end damp, it should not be damp...the water should not last too long, it should vapourise in a couple of days. Add a little water say once per week in summer and less during cold weather. Once again, the water dish is insurance.

Feeding: Feed adlib, and I suggest small items such as little crickets or flies purchased from a pet shop. Be aware of potential insecticides with any wild caught insects.

Weighing: This may seem a little extreme, but if you are really keen to keep your scorpion healthy you may wish to purchase a set of diamond scales accurate to 0.001g. They are quite cheap and readily available on ebay.com.au. They are a good insurance to make sure your scorpion is either maintaining or increasing its weight.

Good Luck