Scorpions of the Genus Tityus in Captivity: Care, Breeding and Life History
Page 2 of 4 | text by Oliver St John, photos by Alexander Tietz
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Tityus bahiensis (Perty, 1833)
Tityus
bahiensis is a fairly new addition to the hobby, but there are now
many specimens both in Europe and the US. T. bahiensis is typically
a bit larger then T. serrulatus. Subadult specimens are a vivid
orangish-brown, and adults are generally darker. This species has a wide
range in South America, occurring in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. This
species, like T. serrulatus, is responsible for many human envenomations.
This is partly due to its adaptability to human environments as it can happily
live in cities and highly developed areas (Lourenço, 2002). It is
one of the more venomous species of Tityus with reported LD50 less
than 9.35 mg/kg (sc, Habermehl, 1981). It is one of the more aggressive
Tityus species and seems more willing than other species to adopt
a defensive posture when provoked. In captivity this species prefers to
stay mostly above ground, hiding in dark crevices in bark. Adults can be
housed together communally with little fear of cannibalism. Males have conspicuously
more bulbous chela than females. Captive mating of this species has not
yet been reported. In captivity wild-caught females give birth to 20-30
young. The gestation period is approximately 3-4 months. Females are capable
of producing up to 3 broods (Matthiesen, 1969-1970) from a single insemination
(most Tityus species are iteroparous, with females capable of multiple
broods after a single insemination). Males reach maturity in the 5th instar,
with females sometimes taking one extra instar to reach adulthood. This
species probably takes 10-14 months to reach maturity in captivity (Rouaud
et al., 2000), and has a life expectancy about 3.5 years.
Tityus falconensis González-Sponga, 1974
Tityus
falconensis is a reddish-brown scorpion with white speckling across
its body that is most beautiful after a moult. Adults are generally 50-60
mm [2-2.4 in] in total length, but males may vary quite substantially in
size. Found in Venezuela, this species has been in the hobby for some time
and all specimens in captivity are descendants of the same original specimens.
The toxicity of this species is unknown and it does not seem to be responsible
for many human envenomations. Nevertheless, it should be treated with respect
by hobbyists. In captivity this species would rather retreat, but it will
use its stinger more readily than some of the other Tityus species.
This species is quite difficult to sex even when adult. Males and females
are quite variable in size and very similar in morphology, although males
are often thinner than females and have slightly longer and thinner metasomas.
Pectine counts for males and females overlap and are not helpful for sexing.
This species is easily mated, once inseminated females take around 2-2.5
months to give birth. Females give birth to large number of scorplings,
generally 17-24. Females of this species can produce at least two broods
from a single insemination. This species is the fastest growing of the Tityus
species and can mature in as little as 7-8 months, which is responsible
for its rapid proliferation throughout collections in Europe and the US.
Males reach maturity in the 5th instar and females take an extra moult to
reach adulthood. In captivity this species lives about 2 years. Males generally
live longer than females due to the stress of giving birth (females on average
produce 3 broods in a lifetime). It is likely that this species will be
synonymised with Tityus magnimanus in the future. It was a originally
identified as a separate species due to confusion over locality (Lourenço
& Bruehmueller Ramos, 2004).
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