Gentil’s Hottentotta Scorpion — Fact Sheet

Warm surface: 30–32 °C
Day air: 25–29 °C
Cool zone: 21–24 °C
Night: 19–23 °C

Hottentotta gentili · Gentil’s Hottentotta Scorpion


Adult size	7–11 cm
Lifespan	3–6 years
Subspecies	No captive-care subspecies split
Origin	The modern supported range is Morocco and Algeria. Revision records place it in dry Maghreb foothills, stony plains and wadis where slabs, cracks and compact soil buffer cold nights and intense surface heat. Captive labels should retain the actual country and locality, not merely ‘North Africa’.
Activity	Nocturnal
Difficulty	Expert
Legal	CITES: not listed; EU: not listed; local venomous-animal rules still apply

Pack at least 12 cm of mineral substrate made from roughly two parts pesticide-free sandy loam, one part coarse sand and a small clay fraction. Set one flat stone or cork slab firmly on the enclosure base before filling around it, so excavation cannot cause a collapse. Keep most of the top dry and one deep edge slightly moist.
House one adult in a 30 × 25 × 25 cm unit inside a second locked, escape-proof room or cabinet. Use non-removable fasteners, fine metal ventilation and a small service opening. Quarantine for at least 90 days with separate long tools; record feeding, moults and body condition before adding complex stonework.

Offer one appropriately sized captive-bred roach, locust or cricket every 7–14 days. This large species can look lean without being underfed; use abdomen width and a monthly weight rather than prey refusal alone. Present food in the open so it can be removed with forceps, and remove every live feeder before a moult.

A hot enclosure with no cool crack causes chronic heat stress even when room air seems moderate.
Loose stacked stone can crush a burrowing animal; supports must rest on the base.
An unidentified dark Hottentotta loses the provenance needed to distinguish it from close relatives.
After any sting, call emergency services or a poison centre immediately, give the scientific name and do not drive yourself.