Mystery Heterometrus

[miss moxie]

I purchased two "Vietnamese Forest" scorpions from a cruddy pet store today. I know, I know. Pet stores, ugh. I just felt bad for them. ALL of their tarantulas and scorpions were being kept in small KKs with a single paper towel for "substrate" and water dishes with sponges in them. I know they'll just replace them but I was weak when faced with scorpions on paper towels.

They also had a "Chinese Forest" scorpion so I think they had two different types of Heterometrus and that the two I purchased are the same species but I'm honestly not sure, because pet stores are unreliable as heck. Maybe they were ALL the same species. Maybe they're three different species. I don't have any clue.

One is in an appropriately sized enclosure, the other is in a smaller temporary enclosure until the KK I ordered gets here. I ordered one a day ago on Amazon to rehouse my L. klugi but I can wait to rehouse him. The one in the smaller enclosure began to dig almost immediately and I almost got a little emotional. Okay fine. I DID get emotional. Happy? I'm not as black hearted as I'd like to be. Can't imagine what it must be like for them, living on "substrate" they can't dig in and not understanding.

So what sort of hides do these guys need? Cork bark, or a rock? Vertical, or horizontal? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

I would try and steer away from Kks with sp. Like this that require moisture ane humidity because of the open lids. But they are very easy to keep..few inches of sub with a mix of moss and a cork hide. You're all set.. i have 4 sling together in this

 

[miss moxie]

Oh! Okay, then what I have them both in will work for moisture-retention. I'll get a second container like I have the bigger one in then, for the smaller one. They both have lids without holes in them. And then I'll toss in some cork bark tomorrow. Right now it's dark in my room, no lights. So they should feel fine until the morning.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Whats its in now looks just fine. Give it a hide and its all set.. if you got a little sand. Mix it in with the moist cocofiber.. will help hold better burrows

 

[miss moxie]

Whats its in now looks just fine. Give it a hide and its all set.. if you got a little sand. Mix it in with the moist cocofiber.. will help hold better burrows

I do have some white play sand actually, so I'll do that tomorrow for the bigger one and when I get the other container delivered I'll make it up the same and rehouse the one in the cube.

 

[Scorpionluva]

Im glad you rescued them from that store. Im sure you'll give them a much better home than they coulda ever provided for them ( even if you told them how to keep them) not sure which species they are but most times vietnamese forest are referred to as H laoticus

 

[darkness975]

Your Heterometrus spp. look good. Nice to see they survived their ordeal.

 

[Mila]

great rescue. H.sp love burrowing. my two H.cyaneus like to dig burrows against the enclosure walls then they press their bodies against the substrate and wait for vibrations. theyre kinda like tarantulas without the webbing in that sense

 

[drapion]

Nice rescue job you did.. Heterometrus are aewsome scorps. Enjoy them

 

[miss moxie]

Im glad you rescued them from that store. Im sure you'll give them a much better home than they coulda ever provided for them ( even if you told them how to keep them) not sure which species they are but most times vietnamese forest are referred to as H laoticus

Your Heterometrus spp. look good. Nice to see they survived their ordeal.

great rescue. H.sp love burrowing. my two H.cyaneus like to dig burrows against the enclosure walls then they press their bodies against the substrate and wait for vibrations. theyre kinda like tarantulas without the webbing in that sense

Nice rescue job you did.. Heterometrus are aewsome scorps. Enjoy them

Thanks everyone! I -am- really enjoying them, they're very different from my other scorpions (C. gracilis & B. jacksoni) but in a good way. They're unique. Definitely more defensive and I feel like they have really good eye sight. It cracks me up when I move my hand over the enclosure and they reach their chela up to tell me off. It's cute!

 

[Mila]

Thanks everyone! I -am- really enjoying them, they're very different from my other scorpions (C. gracilis & B. jacksoni) but in a good way. They're unique. Definitely more defensive and I feel like they have really good eye sight. It cracks me up when I move my hand over the enclosure and they reach their chela up to tell me off. It's cute!

all scorpions eyesight sucks. they can basically only tell the difference in light intensity so when you move your hand near them they can tell its getting darker which theyre programme to respond to as a threat and seen as H.spp are like paranoid pot heads anything causes them to be defensive.

 

[miss moxie]

all scorpions eyesight sucks. they can basically only tell the difference in light intensity so when you move your hand near them they can tell its getting darker which theyre programme to respond to as a threat and seen as H.spp are like paranoid pot heads anything causes them to be defensive.

Yeah I guess "really good eyesight" wasn't the term I was looking for since I figured it had to do with the change in light more than them actually having clear vision, considering they don't turn to follow or track me.

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

No way that those are vietnamese scoots KEK. I purchased one 2 weeks ago look in exactly the same. He was a boy as well. It's probably a Asian forest scorpion aka AFS. Just wonder if yours is aggresive. Mine never tried to sting his meal or me trying to RE house him.. He only crunched a cricket in half and destroyed 3 tongs. Dammit those guys know how to use their claws.

 

[Red Eunice]

@Collin Clary I'm thinking along with @Scorpionluva as H. laoticus, but another common AFS is H. petersii. You're best at Heterometrus identifications.

 

[miss moxie]

No way that those are vietnamese scoots KEK. I purchased one 2 weeks ago look in exactly the same. He was a boy as well. It's probably a Asian forest scorpion aka AFS. Just wonder if yours is aggresive. Mine never tried to sting his meal or me trying to RE house him.. He only crunched a cricket in half and destroyed 3 tongs. Dammit those guys know how to use their claws.

Haha, rehousing was actually a breeze, and I do believe I have a male and female, given their pectine size/shape but I could be wrong. Still learning. I haven't seen either attempt to use their stinger, just their claws. It actually amuses me because they really are reminiscent of a child wanting to be picked up.

I'm gonna offer them food today and see how it goes.

 

[G. Carnell]

Some useful info

'Asian forest scorpion' and 'Vietnam/Vietnamese forest scorpion' are common names, often multiple different species are sold as these

Asian forest scorpion can be pretty much any Heterometrus species
Vietnamese forest scorpions are most commonly H.spinifer, H.laoticus, H.petersii, as these are the most common species sold from Vietnam

The Heterometrus present in China are not currently in the pet trade, any Heterometrus labelled as from China will be from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia or Thailand
these are once again the typical H.spinifer, H.laoticus, H.petersii species.

That scorpion is either H.laoticus or H.petersii IMO! Both awesome species

 

[MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf]

Well when i got mine i called it an "Emperor Scorpion". It looks female to me. Mine's pesticines are twice as big, which indecate that he is 95% male. Yours could be a female . But also a male. I Found that mine is not as "hungry". They arent like other inverts, which will eat till their stomach bursts open. They only eat when they want to. I've fed mine 3 times since i got him. And its been about 15 days with me. Once every 5 days. But it took some serious "annoying" to get hi mto eat. When i tried to give him the crickets, they would just hide and never been seen again. So i had to put the cricket in front of him, in order to annoy him and make him crush it. He seems more aggresive against water when i mist it, than he does with food. Jesus christ those guys prefer hitting water.

 

[miss moxie]

It looks female to me. Mine's pesticines are twice as big, which indecate that he is 95% male. Yours could be a female . But also a male. I

Lol, there are two different scorpions up there. Not just one.

 

[Red Eunice]

@G. Carnell ,didn't know China had Heterometrus species, I must do some research on them.
@MatisIsLoveMantisIsLyf , Heterometrus genus is well known to be skittish/defensive scorps, not aggressive. You must have caught yours having a bad day or it was hungry. Lol! If they don't bolt to their burrow, they'll stand erect and give the threat posture. They may charge forward a bit then back away. Touch the palps with a paintbrush and watch them run about like a decapitated chicken. Rarely will the telson be used to subdue prey, very weak venom in this genus. Besides, why waste precious vemon when you've strong massive palps that are more than adequate to crush and kill prey with? Same is true with the Hadogenes genus, but are considered the most docile of scorpions.
Heterometrus are kept in moist/high humidity enclosures vs Hadogenes are kept dry like Brachypelma tarantulas.
@miss moxie ,whatever species you have, do enjoy them. Hopefully Colin will respond soon and then you'll know.

 

[Collin Clary]

Are all of the pictures of the same individual?

If not, please label which scorpion is which.

Some of the pictures are clear enough for identification, while others are not. The ones that are indicate Heterometrus petersii.