Taming Skitterflame is very similar to the taming of Solix in that he cannot be tamed until his energy is at or below 20%. Like Solix, he will also die if his energy reaches zero, so be careful.
If he gets dragged through lava, his energy will instantly refill to 100. This can be helpful if you find you've dropped him too low in his energy bar and he's about to die.
Survival hunters can make this a very easy tame by using [Wyvern Sting].