Orthochirus scrobiculosus negebensis - Israel Pillar Tail Care

I just bought a pair of Israel Pillar Tail scorps. The female is gravid.

I've been searching online for a couple of days for full information on their care. I know they are desert scorps and need some heat (over 80 degrees). I already have a small red lamp to place above the cages. I plan to use sand mixed with coir and slightly damp as substrate to allow burrowing. I will give them small cork bark hides. Since the female is gravid I'm keeping her separated from the male for now.

I read a bit of info that stated that gravid females should be kept in a small dark enclosure, like a small box? Apparently in the wild they seal themselves in a dark burrow when gravid. Is this true? Or does she just need a dark hide?

What size of enclosure do they need? I have small kritter keepers and clear deli cups with vent holes. Can they escape from a kritter keeper through the slots in the lid? Or do they need something bigger?

Any other details on their care, habits etc. would be appreciated! :biggrin:

I'm from Israel, so I see them often.
Thay need a small cage- 15X15 cm will be enough for them. Small but a bit hight kritter keepers will be good for them (About 10-15 cm hight)
I think that you can keep a gravid female in the "normal" cage.
*Be careful with them, their sting really hurts!

Thanks for the info! On the advice of the guy who sold them to me, I separated the male and female into the smallest sized kritter keepers. I keep a UV bulb over their cages for heat. They have a sand/coir mix for substrate and I use pieces of egg carton as hides. They each have a bottle cap water dish with pebbles to prevent drowning. I've seen both of them drinking the water. so I leave the water dishes in their cages. I've tried feeding them pinhead crickets and tiny roach nymphs but they don't seem interested. I'll get a flightless fruit fly culture for them and see how that goes.

I was checking the female with a magnifying glass a couple of nights ago. She's definitely still gravid and I thought I could see a couple of embryos in her side. I read that these guys are slow growers and gestation can be a year or more.