These weren't really pets, but I like the story.
I grew up in the desert, so scorpions were common (I have no idea what species this story is about, one of these guys... http://www.desert-scorpions.com/photo.html).
One night when I was in high school, I woke up feeling itchy all over my shoulder and arm, almost like I had chicken pox. So, I went to the bathroom to see what was aggravating me. I pulled my shirt down a little and saw some little red spots. Interesting I thought. I saw about 5 of them. So, I made note of them, and decided I would check on them in the morning to see if they had changed. As I was readjusting my shirt back over my shoulder, this stupid scorpion came flying out and landed in the sink. So, I of course start screaming hysterically.
My parents came running in, and immediately, my dad got mad at me. Why would I be screaming and waking them up when the scorpion was all the way in the sink not posing any threat to me? Finally, I managed to get the words out that it had been on my body (this took a couple of minutes, I was horrified), and then my parents took it seriously.
We inspected more of my body, and found about 20-30 little red spots on the top of my shoulder near my neck, extending down my arm, and a few on the side of my body under my arm. My mom gave me some benadryl to slow any potential reaction, and we stayed up for about an hour to make sure nothing bad happened.
I don't know if scorpions can even sting that many times (or if maybe some of them were dry???). It's possible there was another scorpion involved, or that some of the bumps were allergic reactions to the main ones. It was a pretty big scorpion for the type that lived near my house (maybe 2" long). I used to have sleep issues, and I slept REALLY deeply. I know it sounds weird that I could sleep through multiple stings... but if there's anyone who could... it was me.
Then, a few months later, I was asleep again... and half-asleep, realized something was tickling me. I instinctively grabbed it to move it out of the way. My first thought was... hm. It's a rubberband (since I guess I was squeezing the legs together). Then the sting came and my thought was... Oh, no, it's a paper clip. Instinct continued, and I threw it across the room. Then about 30 seconds later realized that there were no rubber bands or paper clips in my bed and that it had been a scorpion.
I started keeping my room a lot cleaner after that! lol Also, I'm really not that afraid of scorpions anymore. If you can get stung that many times, and have NO adverse reactions besides some red spots, what is there to be scared of? (Of course there are more dangerous ones out there, but those are not the ones I would be likely to find in my bed.)
EDIT:
I grew up in the desert, so scorpions were common (I have no idea what species this story is about, one of these guys... http://www.desert-scorpions.com/photo.html).
One night when I was in high school, I woke up feeling itchy all over my shoulder and arm, almost like I had chicken pox. So, I went to the bathroom to see what was aggravating me. I pulled my shirt down a little and saw some little red spots. Interesting I thought. I saw about 5 of them. So, I made note of them, and decided I would check on them in the morning to see if they had changed. As I was readjusting my shirt back over my shoulder, this stupid scorpion came flying out and landed in the sink. So, I of course start screaming hysterically.
My parents came running in, and immediately, my dad got mad at me. Why would I be screaming and waking them up when the scorpion was all the way in the sink not posing any threat to me? Finally, I managed to get the words out that it had been on my body (this took a couple of minutes, I was horrified), and then my parents took it seriously.
We inspected more of my body, and found about 20-30 little red spots on the top of my shoulder near my neck, extending down my arm, and a few on the side of my body under my arm. My mom gave me some benadryl to slow any potential reaction, and we stayed up for about an hour to make sure nothing bad happened.
I don't know if scorpions can even sting that many times (or if maybe some of them were dry???). It's possible there was another scorpion involved, or that some of the bumps were allergic reactions to the main ones. It was a pretty big scorpion for the type that lived near my house (maybe 2" long). I used to have sleep issues, and I slept REALLY deeply. I know it sounds weird that I could sleep through multiple stings... but if there's anyone who could... it was me.
Then, a few months later, I was asleep again... and half-asleep, realized something was tickling me. I instinctively grabbed it to move it out of the way. My first thought was... hm. It's a rubberband (since I guess I was squeezing the legs together). Then the sting came and my thought was... Oh, no, it's a paper clip. Instinct continued, and I threw it across the room. Then about 30 seconds later realized that there were no rubber bands or paper clips in my bed and that it had been a scorpion.
I started keeping my room a lot cleaner after that! lol Also, I'm really not that afraid of scorpions anymore. If you can get stung that many times, and have NO adverse reactions besides some red spots, what is there to be scared of? (Of course there are more dangerous ones out there, but those are not the ones I would be likely to find in my bed.)
EDIT:
I think this opening sentence didn't come across the way I meant for it to. I like telling the story. I didn't mean that it was a story that I heard from someone else. It's all about me... lucky me.... ha ha :}