 Name: Inland or Desert Scorpion
(Urodacus yaschenkoi)
Care Information:
Handling Scorpions:
Excessive handling of scorpions is not recommended as this tends to create stress, which can cause a gravid female to resorb her young. Handle scorpions gently by grabbing their tail with tongs or tweezers and offer support to the body when lifting. You can get them to move into another container easily by ushering them in.
Remember the end of the tail of the scorpion has the sting, which contains venom. Australian scorpions are not considered dangerous to humans although a possible reaction as sometimes occurs with spiders may result, hence be careful. A sting causes localised pain that can be quite bad and could last up to 12 hours.
Don't expect to be able to handle your scorpion at all, its to be avoided as much as possible. I have also witnessed this species spraying venom as a fine mist when agitated, which is also a known behavior for some overseas species. Don't risk getting venom in the eye or any cuts/abrasions.
Housing:
In the wild this scorpion digs a burrow up to 1 meter deep depending on how arid the location is. The scorpion seeks a subterranean depth where moisture and temperature are suitable for its existance. In captivity there are numerous ways of keeping this scorpion, depending on what the keeper is aiming to achieve. You may wish to reproduce the natural environment as closely as possible or you may wish to create an environment which gives better viewing without hampering your scorpions health. Housing can be anything from which the scorpion cannot escape such as a clear plastic takeaway container or glass terrarium.
**UPDATES
I have recently changed the notes here suggesting that an air tight fitting lid is good for maintaining a steady humidity and hence stops the scorpion from dehydrating. Opening the lid once in a while is a good idea to refresh the air. This will happen when food is added, but may also need to be done during winter when the scorpion is not feeding. Very little carbon dioxide is produced and little oxygen is used as scorpions have such incredibly low metabolic rates. This means a tight fitting lid will not hamper your scorpions health as long as fresh air is allowed to replace the old air once every few weeks, more often during summer.
UPDATE: 1/2/2003
The original recommendation is for desert soil to be used as a substrate, as this is the natural substrate of this species. However, I have found it is difficult to maintain correct water levels with sand in small containers and have discovered shellgrit to be a more suitable substrate. Medium sized shellgrit mix of about 5mm down to particle size shows better physical properties to keep the scorpion on than sand. I have not tried larger size(coarser) shellgrit, and this too may be ok. This means water can be added to the shellgrit to one end of the container after a time as water is lost from repeated opening to feed etc. This water finds its way through the shellgrit creating a more even water balance and does not lead to hazardous clumping on the feet as sand can do. Too much water added to shellgrit does not cause a problem as it does with soil.
UPDATE: 16/2/2005 - desert soil will work just fine at 2% water by weight as long as the container is 100% air tight and maintained around 20-25C.
Only a couple of centimeters of soil is required and the scorp will feel as though it's at the base of its burrow in these conditions, meaning you'll always be able to view the scorp. You can have deeper soil and the scorp may burrow, but it will most likely still spend most of its time above ground where it can be seen, only using the burrow if it feels threatened. I have stopped using shellgrit, although it works, it is not the natural substrate of this species.
I have found sand works well in a larger terrarium type of tank, as long as it is sealed. In this case the greater volume of sand is more stable and takes a much longer time before water is added due to its physical size. In this case around every six months, before summer and after it is a good idea to remove the scorpions and add fresh water to the soil by mixing it in and starting fresh. I have kept numerous young yaschenkoi in one terrarium each creating their own short burrow into soil about 75mm deep. With this method the young scorpions come out at night with a dim light, or during summer when temps get up a bit they will surface during the day as humidity within the burrow probably gets too high. The amount of water added to this soil is discussed below and remains accurate.
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This method works well with desert adapted burrowers and should not be taken as a generalisation for keeping scorpions.
Takeaway container keeping:
Desert soil is recommended(or shellgrit, see update above) and may be purchased through myself or possibly through a petshop near you. The amount I recommend is 250 - 300 grams to suit a 170mm x 120mm x 70mm takeaway container. It is recommended to only keep one adult or medium within one takeaway container. Four small size (2nd , 3rd instars) may be kept in one container. Information on the definition of instars may be found here.
If the above method is used, I recommend adding enough water to the 250g sand so that it feels soft, cool and fluffy. Too much water will make the sand feel heavy, and clumpy. Mix water into the sand by hand until it is uniform. Add very small amounts of water until the desired cool, fluffy soil is reached. I find 8ml of water should be adequate for 250 grams of soil. This level of moisture best reflects the soil at the base of the scorpion's burrow. Keep the lid on the container at all times. No holes in the container or lid are recommended. Water evaporation from the soil should be minimised if there are no holes. If the soil is too wet, the scorpion may develop clumps of dirt on the feet. These can be removed by washing the scorpion's feet in water and using a small paintbrush to help remove the clumps. If these clumps form they should be removed or water uptake by the scorpion may be hampered. Clumping indicates the soil is too wet and too much air is being lost due to evaporation. Temperatures are optimal at around 20 - 28C. Temperatures over 30C may increase water loss leading to dehydration. Temperatures over 40C may lead to death.
It is important not to allow the soil to lose its slight dampness. Every couple of weeks or more if temp's are high add a little water to one end of the container if water is lost, which it shouldnt be if there are no holes in the container( holes are NOT recommended).
If your scorpion starts looking thin in the body with little stretch in the plural membranes then this may indicate a dehydrated scorpion. Your scorpion should maintain a good stretch on the plural membranes, look fattish, and stilt most of the time during summer months when temp's are over 25C. A scorpion that is frequently lying flat on the ground may indicate a state of dehydration. It may be necessary to remove the scorpion and bring the soil back to its 3% or so water content. The scorpion will appreciate this and you may find it lying flat against the soil to maximise water uptake and also for cooling.
Urodacus yaschenkoi does not drink free liquid water, but rather takes water from the soil using the tension produced by its body fluids. This process is known as osmosis. If 8ml of water is used in 250g of soil, this represents about 3% soil water by mass. In the wild Urodacus yaschenkoi can take water from soil at about 1.5% by mass. The extra water content recommended helps to create a level of humidity within the container that minimises water loss from the cuticle.
Observation of the scorpions state of health should be maintained. Observation of the soils characteristic colour should also be noted. Dry soil will appear lighter in colouration than soil with a decent water content, ie 1.5% - 4% by weight. Water content over 4% should be avoided. When calculating the percentage of water being added to the soil, just measure millilitres of water as grams. As an example if we add 10ml of water to 300 grams of dry desert soil, we measure the percentage as follows.
% water content = water (ml) / weight of dry soil.
% water content = 10ml (g) / 300 g = 3.3%
We can do this because 1 ml of water can be considered to weigh 1 gram, as a close enough approximation.
The takeaway container method will not have enough soil for the scorpion to burrow into. This allows the scorpion to be observed at any time, and the scorpion will feel as though its at the base of the burrow if humidity and temperature are close to recommended. . Never let sunlight reach the scorpion. During the day subdued light seems to work, and then a dim light for observation at night.
The above notes for keeping Urodacus yaschenkoi cannot guarantee success, as each situation is different. They are intended as a guide, and have shown good results in maintaining scorpions kept by the author.
Any further questions should be directed to Mark Newton (scorpion@thedailylink.com).
Realistic Setting
This method is NOT recommended as the best way to maximise your scorpions chance of survival in captivity. The reason for this is that it is very hard to estimate and maintain subterranean moisture conditions.
For a realistic setting and the most natural behaviour a good depth of sand is required. Use as much sand as you can get into the tank without the scorpion climbing out, leave at least 12cm from the top for a good safety margin. Use dampened sand as explained above, packing it down hard bit by bit so the soil is compact and not loose or it may collapse onto the scorpion. Once you have packed the soil hard to the depth you require you can add whatever things you like for appearance. If you are using a deep sand setup then push a tube or pipe into the sand in each corner of the tank reaching about 20mm from the base(do this before filling with sand).
These tubes allow water to be added to the base of the soil. Its usually damper under ground and this is one reason why the scorpion burrows. The soil only needs to be slightly damp at the base, not wet. Water should not have to be added if the housing has a tight fitting lid that does NOT allow air to escape.
Introduce your scorpion/s to the tank. Sometimes they may need encouragement to burrow or you may prefer to have them burrow at a particular place, like at the front of the tank. You may dig a slight hole yourself to help the scorpion get started. Once the scorpion starts digging it will continue to do so and it wont require further assistance.
Click here to see a burrow being excavated.
Click Here to see a diagrammatical representation of a burrow.
Feeding
Scorpions are largely insectivorous, hence crickets are a good source of food. Beware feeding insects that may be carrying poisons from insecticides etc. Feed as much as the scorpion chooses to eat. These scorpions sit and wait at the burrow entrance, when something walks past they will come out and nab it.
Q: How many scorpions can I keep in one tank?
I have found the inland scorpion to be reasonably tolerant of others of it's own species. Generally scorpions are solitary creatures and don't get on too well together. It is my experience that young scorpions tolerate each other far more than older scorpions. The inland scorpion is less problematic here and more can be kept together as once they have their own burrow they are unlikely to interact. Scorpions kept in a situation where they cannot burrow are more likely to kill each other as the possibility of interaction increases. A 2 foot aquarium could easily house 4 adult scorpions in my experience.
Q: How do I sex my scorpion?
This is a very difficult thing to do with respect to the species I'm discussing here. As juveniles it's generally impossible to sex the scorpion. As adults it's not much easier, the male may have a very slightly longer fifth tail segment than females. If you can see underneath the scorpion you will notice a plate located at the sternum, this plate is called the genital operculum(see images below). The genital operculum is usually split longitudinally in males and fused in females. Also with very keen eyesight you may notice 2 tiny projections protruding from underneath this plate at the rear, these are genital papillae and are only present in males. Sorry , but that's about it for sexing this species.
Some Basic Scorpion Biology
Scorpions are arachnids like spiders, ticks and mites. They are believed to be one of the oldest living arthropods and were possibly the first to colonise land around 450 million years ago. For a basic structural morphology Click Here.
Scorpions are long lived for arthropods, the Inland scorpion discussed here reaches sexual maturity at the age of 4 years, and is generally thought to live at least 5-10 years after that. Females have a gestation period of approx 18 months and give birth to around 20 live young. The mother looks after the newborns until they shed their skin for the first time about 6 weeks after birth. The young scorpions then leave mums burrow and dig their own burrows. Male scorpions search for females during warm weather for the coupling which is achieved externally and very carefully.
Mark A.Newton
The information on this page is the copyright of Mark A. Newton and is not to be copied or displayed elsewhere on the internet without permission of the author.
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