Best Starter Desert Scorp

[Morphershazza]

Hi ive been wanting to get a desert species for a long time now but im not sure what scorpion to get?? I was wondering if you guys could tell me some options based on:
Easy to care for
Activity
Good feeder
Non-dangerous venom ( if that makes sense )
Thanks

 

[ShredderEmp]

Hadrurus sp., Smeringus sp., Hadogenes sp., Vaejovid sp., Hoffmannius sp. Just to name a few, but you also miht prefer a size.

 

[Newports]

If you know how to respect a venomous animal. I seriously recommend any androctonus sp. They are very hardy, great eaters, and look so cool. A. Bicolor, a. Australis, and a. Mauritanicus are all good. A. Crassicauda seems a bit harder.

 

[snippy]

And they are damn aggressive and hard to handle with tweezers, so it is a rather silly idea to start with them. It has nothing to do with respect. Respect you can have to begin with, experience in handling these animals you do not!

Regards
Finn

 

[vespers]

I agree with some points Newports makes, but I agree with snippy too. The OP specifically asked for "non-dangerous venom" when being recommended a desert species. Some people just don't want the risk of dealing with a potentially lethal animal, and that decision should be respected too. "Looks so cool" may not seem all that special, next to "can possibly kill you".

 

[tech]

i suggest a Hadrurus arizonensis. hardy and a good large display specimen.

 

[Nomadinexile]

Thank you Finn!

When someone puts low venom and beginner together, for the love of snoopy do NOT recommend they get a hot scorpion. Thank you.

Poster is from U.K. Which means Hadrurus may or may not be available, and will be expensive if they are. I wouldn't call them beginner either though. They get huge and are awesome active scorpions, but highly defensive. If you are looking for an intermediate species and have £50 op, go for it. Hadogenes are great beginner species, but not as active. A Vaejovis would be great, but you will have trouble finding them I believe. Ill try to squeeze in a little time to look at some other available to you options later.

 

[Newports]

Why anyone would want to handle a scorpion with tweezers I don't know. There are other simple and safe ways to move scorpions to different housings, etc.

I was just throwing an idea out there. By my meaning of respect of the scorpion I simply meant you take precautions as you would with any scorpion and you will be fine. The general idea is to NEVER handle a very venomous scorpion. The ones that do are just playing with fire.

I started keeping scorpions at a very young age. My first was a desert hairy at age 12 so maybe I just learned better.

 

[Avery]

Key word being "learned". I agree with Finn. Obviously respect should be shown to every animal, regardless of venom. However, sometimes a scorpion will need to be transferred to a new enclosure, etc., and tweezers or not, there is risk involved. Someone with no experience with scorpions shouldn't even consider a medically significant scorpion in my opinion. That's just a blatant lack of respect.

 

[Newports]

To each his own.

 

[Nomadinexile]

To each his own.

Should be to each their own, but it's not. Unfortunately America is becoming a nanny state where we expect the government to rid us of any risk of death or lawsuit. So every irresponsible hot keeper and every hot scorpion they have and every stupid choice they make, puts the entire hobby at risk. One well publicized incident could mean extensive regulations or outright bans on keeping scorpions. And if you don't believe me, read about what is going on in the herp industry. The way snakes are being banned, I think it's a matter of time until scorpion keeping is banned, including emps. And bad keeping practices will only speed this up.