diff --git a/src/mcp_optimizer/toolhive/toolhive_client.py b/src/mcp_optimizer/toolhive/toolhive_client.py
index 7d603f3..12e8cf6 100644
--- a/src/mcp_optimizer/toolhive/toolhive_client.py
+++ b/src/mcp_optimizer/toolhive/toolhive_client.py
@@ -149,13 +149,22 @@ def _discover_port(self, port: int | None = None) -> None:
             asyncio.run(self._discover_port_async(port))
 
     def _parse_toolhive_version(self, version_str: str) -> Version:
-        """Parse ToolHive version string into a Version object."""
+        """Parse ToolHive version string into a Version object.
+
+        For development/build versions that don't follow SemVer, returns a default version.
+        """
         try:
             version = Version.parse(version_str.replace("v", ""))
             return version
-        except (ValueError, TypeError) as e:
-            logger.warning("Invalid semver version string", version=version_str, error=str(e))
-            raise ToolhiveScanError(f"Invalid ToolHive version string: {version_str}") from e
+        except (ValueError, TypeError):
+            # For development builds like "build-7c3a3077", use a default version
+            # This allows the connection to succeed while still logging the issue
+            logger.info(
+                "Using default version for non-semver ToolHive build",
+                version=version_str,
+                default_version="0.0.0-dev"
+            )
+            return Version.parse("0.0.0-dev")
 
     async def _is_toolhive_available(self, host: str, port: int) -> tuple[Version, int]:
         """
@@ -165,7 +174,7 @@ async def _is_toolhive_available(self, host: str, port: int) -> tuple[Version, i
             Tuple of (Version object, port) if available, raises ToolhiveScanError otherwise
         """
         try:
-            async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=1.0) as client:
+            async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=self.timeout) as client:
                 response = await client.get(f"http://{host}:{port}/api/v1beta/version")
                 response.raise_for_status()
 
diff --git a/tests/test_toolhive_client.py b/tests/test_toolhive_client.py
index 43cf2c4..3e5f1f9 100644
--- a/tests/test_toolhive_client.py
+++ b/tests/test_toolhive_client.py
@@ -356,6 +356,7 @@ async def test_is_toolhive_available_validates_response_format(monkeypatch):  #
     """
     client = ToolhiveClient.__new__(ToolhiveClient)
     client.thv_host = "localhost"
+    client.timeout = 5  # Set the timeout attribute that _is_toolhive_available needs
 
     # Test case 1: Service returns 200 OK but response has no 'version' field
     mock_response_wrong_format = Mock()