Scorpion Business Questions

[Victor Koney]

My business partner and I are interested in making some money milking scorpions. Does anyone have any information on what it takes to pursue this dangerous undertaking. What kind of scorpion venom are pharmaceutical companies interested in? What kind of enclosure and habitat does scorpion need to survive? What is a good website to buy scorpions online? Please any information would be helpful in our new adventure!!

Thanks, Vic

 

[RTTB]

Not sure if there is a market for it here in the US.

 

[darkness975]

My business partner and I are interested in making some money milking scorpions. Does anyone have any information on what it takes to pursue this dangerous undertaking. What kind of scorpion venom are pharmaceutical companies interested in? What kind of enclosure and habitat does scorpion need to survive? What is a good website to buy scorpions online? Please any information would be helpful in our new adventure!!

Thanks, Vic

The U.S. does not have any really medically significant species. Centruroides sculpturatus is the most potent and it is not on the scale with more infamous species like A. bicolor or L. quinquestriatus.

The set up for keeping a Scorpion depends on the species you are keeping. What species are you thinking of keeping?

Also, it is not really a "dangerous undertaking." They are not the crazy things that the media and mass hysteria/misinformation have made them out to be.

 

[Kayv]

Seems like in various forums, people are popping up wanting to milk scorpions because of some viral video or article saying that scorpion venom is the most expensive liquid on earth.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

The amount of scorps it would take to even gather a Pint lol you would drown yourself buying scorps to milk .

 

[Victor Koney]

The U.S. does not have any really medically significant species. Centruroides sculpturatus is the most potent and it is not on the scale with more infamous species like A. bicolor or L. quinquestriatus.

The set up for keeping a Scorpion depends on the species you are keeping. What species are you thinking of keeping?

Also, it is not really a "dangerous undertaking." They are not the crazy things that the media and mass hysteria/misinformation have made them out to be.

Buthacus Arenicola and Lieurus Quinquestriatus are some of the scorpions we are looking into. I understand these scorpions are some of the more dangerous scorpions out there. What kind of set up would I need for these scorpions? Is there demand for the vemon on these types of scorpions in the pharmaceutical world?

 

[Victor Koney]

Seems like in various forums, people are popping up wanting to milk scorpions because of some viral video or article saying that scorpion venom is the most expensive liquid on earth.

Yes we did see that article online and we were wondering if there truth to it?

 

[Victor Koney]

The amount of scorps it would take to even gather a Pint lol you would drown yourself buying scorps to milk .

Yes we are eventually going to probably need tens of thousands of scorpions. Is it possible to breed a specific type of scorpion in a controlled environment or is it more reasonable to collected a specific scorpion at its source?

 

[darkness975]

Yes we are eventually going to probably need tens of thousands of scorpions. Is it possible to breed a specific type of scorpion in a controlled environment or is it more reasonable to collected a specific scorpion at its source?

For a project of that type of undertaking it would be more practical to breed thrm yourself yes.

 

[Victor Koney]

For a project of that type of undertaking it would be more practical to breed thrm yourself yes.

Yes that was my thoughts as well, however this is going to be somewhat of a challenge considering I've never even seen a scorpion in real life.

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

For L. quinquestriatus and some of the more potent scorps, you'd probably have to export out of the country to places like the middle east where scorpions can actually kill. Not much point in having deathstalker venom if a fraction of a fraction of the population even owns them in the US. The other concern would be initial startup. I recently talked to someone selling L. quinquestriatus as 2i slings. They go for $60 each, and are pretty rare to come across. As others have said, you'd need a huge facility with lots of these scorps to even get a small amount. With the rarity and cost of these scorps, you'd be hard pressed to get even a decent amount of them. Not only that, but you would probably be buying slings and would need to take months and even years to raise them enough to milk them. To me, it really isn't profitable in the US unless you have a big facility built to process and care for them. The initial would be gigantic and the overall profit wouldn't be worth it really when you export overseas.

 

[Victor Koney]

For L. quinquestriatus and some of the more potent scorps, you'd probably have to export out of the country to places like the middle east where scorpions can actually kill. Not much point in having deathstalker venom if a fraction of a fraction of the population even owns them in the US. The other concern would be initial startup. I recently talked to someone selling L. quinquestriatus as 2i slings. They go for $60 each, and are pretty rare to come across. As others have said, you'd need a huge facility with lots of these scorps to even get a small amount. With the rarity and cost of these scorps, you'd be hard pressed to get even a decent amount of them. Not only that, but you would probably be buying slings and would need to take months and even years to raise them enough to milk them. To me, it really isn't profitable in the US unless you have a big facility built to process and care for them. The initial would be gigantic and the overall profit wouldn't be worth it really when you export overseas.

Well the huge facility is something we are looking into getting as of right now. I agree the initial startup cost might be costly but perhaps after breeding these specific types of scorpions for milking purposes would be profitable in the long run. It's something my business partner and I are currently discussing. Androctonus Crassicauda, Androctonus Amoreuxi, Buthus Occitanus, Buthacus Arenicola and Lieurus Quinquestriatus are some of the scorpions we are interested in first learning how to take care of them in a responsible manner and then eventually in the near future breed them. We are even considering going to the source of these scorpions to learn more about them from people that live with them on a day to day basis. I seems like a dangerous adventure but we only live once right?

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

Well the huge facility is something we are looking into getting as of right now. I agree the initial startup cost might be costly but perhaps after breeding these specific types of scorpions for milking purposes would be profitable in the long run. It's something my business partner and I are currently discussing. Androctonus Crassicauda, Androctonus Amoreuxi, Buthus Occitanus, Buthacus Arenicola and Lieurus Quinquestriatus are some of the scorpions we are interested in first learning how to take care of them in a responsible manner and then eventually in the near future breed them. We are even considering going to the source of these scorpions to learn more about them from people that live with them on a day to day basis. I seems like a dangerous adventure but we only live once right?

Honestly, the more licrative buines in the US may be to just sell them in the pet trade. Keepers like myself are actively looking for "dangerous and rare" species like H. tamulus and L. quinquestriatus and are willing to pay quite a bit. Especially when in this huge facility, you could have many breeding groups.

Also, on the topic of care, MANY of the desert species are similar if not exactly the same care-wise. Desert scorps need dry sub with periodical light misting and 80-85 F heat. Some of the more "tropical" species like to have a water dish and a mix of sand/cocoa fiber with a little more misting. Other than that, I would feed most the same. Feeding depends on slings, but the scorps you mentioned eat quite a bit. Maybe as slings, you feed twice to three times a week and as adults once or twice a months with roaches. Most of the species you mentioned are desert species that need it dry.

 

[Kayv]

As someone who works in the biotech industry, you'll most likely not be able to just milk and sell. You'll have to have a controlled environment, aseptic sampling, sterile containers, store the venom in a specific temperature, and specific shipping requirements, etc.

 

[Victor Koney]

As someone who works in the biotech industry, you'll most likely not be able to just milk and sell. You'll have to have a controlled environment, aseptic sampling, sterile containers, store the venom in a specific temperature, and specific shipping requirements, etc.

Yes I understand that completely, the first important question we are trying to figure out is what specific scorpion venom are pharmaceutical companies interested in and is there demand for it. Hottentotta tumulus scorpions are ones we are very interested in and fact we are possibly planning a trip to India to learn more about their habit and possible transportation of some of them back to the states.

 

[Victor Koney]

Honestly, the more licrative buines in the US may be to just sell them in the pet trade. Keepers like myself are actively looking for "dangerous and rare" species like H. tamulus and L. quinquestriatus and are willing to pay quite a bit. Especially when in this huge facility, you could have many breeding groups.

Also, on the topic of care, MANY of the desert species are similar if not exactly the same care-wise. Desert scorps need dry sub with periodical light misting and 80-85 F heat. Some of the more "tropical" species like to have a water dish and a mix of sand/cocoa fiber with a little more misting. Other than that, I would feed most the same. Feeding depends on slings, but the scorps you mentioned eat quite a bit. Maybe as slings, you feed twice to three times a week and as adults once or twice a months with roaches. Most of the species you mentioned are desert species that need it dry.

For the more rare and dangerous species, how uncommon are they in the United States?

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Just about EVERYTHING from africa and middle East
Androctonus
Parabuthus
Leiurus.
Etc.....
Obviously none the wich native to here so unless your going to import them your self or order them over seas. You're going to have to find breeders on forums like this who can sell you adult pairs ti everything you want to breed

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

For the more rare and dangerous species, how uncommon are they in the United States?

Rare species (a great example would be Leiurus jordanensis, which is basically a black deathstalker) can go for upwards of $200 for a sling, and adults could be sold at an incredibly high price. I see them more and more, but they are still very rare to see. The problem woth the US is the import laws. Many countries like Africa and possibly the Middle East where the scorpions are most deadly have highly strict import laws that stop almost all hobbyists from getting species there. You can get permits, but that takes a lot of time. Depends on the scorp though, mostly. I know of only one seller recently that is selling H. tamulus slings, but he is also one of the best to get rare scorps from. Most of the really venemous and rare species are uncommon in the US since not many want to sell potentially deadly animals. Probably won't find the quantity of them to milk, but oossibly to breed...

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Rare species (a great example would be Leiurus jordanensis, which is basically a black deathstalker) can go for upwards of $200 for a sling, and adults could be sold at an incredibly high price. I see them more and more, but they are still very rare to see. The problem woth the US is the import laws. Many countries like Africa and possibly the Middle East where the scorpions are most deadly have highly strict import laws that stop almost all hobbyists from getting species there. You can get permits, but that takes a lot of time. Depends on the scorp though, mostly. I know of only one seller recently that is selling H. tamulus slings, but he is also one of the best to get rare scorps from. Most of the really venemous and rare species are uncommon in the US since not many want to sell potentially deadly animals. Probably won't find the quantity of them to milk, but oossibly to breed...

Facebook. Once you realise who the main distributors are you can start to order from all the guys that the users on here are selling, that most poeple dont know how to obtain... many big sellers on here are going to hide their sources but again. Get on the pages and youll catch on very quickly. These scrops arent as hard to obtain as most General hobbiest think they are. Their are so many people selling these rare and "hard to obtain scorps" ive recently put all this together after a few months in the hobby. Im now able to pretty much get a hold of anything i want. But price is always the big X FACTOR

 

[Victor Koney]

Facebook. Once you realise who the main distributors are you can start to order from all the guys that the users on here are selling, that most poeple dont know how to obtain... many big sellers on here are going to hide their sources but again. Get on the pages and youll catch on very quickly. These scrops arent as hard to obtain as most General hobbiest think they are. Their are so many people selling these rare and "hard to obtain scorps" ive recently put all this together after a few months in the hobby. Im now able to pretty much get a hold of anything i want. But price is always the big X FACTOR

Yes we are definitely looking into going to the source of all the rare scorpions and bringing some back home. I think the challenging part is getting them back alive and putting them into an controlled environment that they will survive in. I can't wait to go to where these scorpions live and see them in their natural habitat.