# Scorpions having "personality" "preferences" and "feelings"



## Connerl8k (Jun 6, 2017)

Ok so I actually spotted a thread about this on another forum, there was a lot of debate about it with some spouting the scorpions nervous system being too simple for them to have a personality or preferences or even having the ability to "feel" emotion.

However it quickly turned derogatory as children often do when faced with differing opinions and the safety of being behind a computer screen however I thought this would be a great question to pose here with a far more social and intelligent community.

So without further ado what is your opinion on the complexity of scorpion intelligence/personality etc


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## Smokehound714 (Jun 6, 2017)

scorpions do not have a simple nervous system.. they actually have a pretty large brain in relation to their body, like many arthropods.  not quite as advanced as a spider's, but well-developed nonetheless, and they all display very complex behaviors.. they definitely have their own personalities.  I have three H arizonensis, and they all act different.  the largest is completely placid and gently takes mealworms from my fingers.  He knows i'm not food or foe.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Rugg the bug man (Jun 6, 2017)

Erertgvj

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 3


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## Rugg the bug man (Jun 6, 2017)

Sorry 
Cat walked on keyboard 
But I believe they do have different personalities

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 4


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## Red Eunice (Jun 6, 2017)

As with all living things, personalities differ individually.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Connerl8k (Jun 6, 2017)

I thought this was possible as mine seems to have a routine and placed he "prefers" sitting.

Although he often tries to
Climb up towards the lid he doesn't ever learn that his attempts to escape are futile and that he cannot lift the lid. Which makes me think he is a little dim.

Reactions: Disagree 1


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## Tleilaxu (Jun 6, 2017)

I had two different emperors, my biggest female, once she settled in, quickly dropped any pretense of defense, even after she had her babies, she was never stressed with me around.

My second emperor was slightly more nervous and would hide or try to run if I ever got too close.

And well my Paravaejovis spinigerus is quite the pansy and flees at the slightest disturbance, getting feeding videos is an impossibility right now, kinda sad when compared to others of it's species whom have their enclosures greatly disturbed and still eat without a care.

And finally my Deathstalker would trip over it's own feet trying to get into a defensive posture at the slightest disturbance.


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## RTTB (Jun 6, 2017)

Definitely they have their own unique traits and disposition.


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## Connerl8k (Jun 8, 2017)

It's hard to tell with my afs cause mostly his just aggressive whenever I bother him.


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## CreepTumorXD (Jun 9, 2017)

I have 2 asian forest scorps, one hates me the other is indifferent.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## Connerl8k (Jun 9, 2017)

Ya see blackie (my afs) doesn't seem
To hate me...he doesn't go at me as such but his definitely an angry lil guy in general and doesn't want anyone to  mess around in his enclosure but if you frighten him he will run faster than usain bolt back to his burrow so I think it's partly a bluff party a hatred of all things not
Him.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## TheScorpionMan (Jun 9, 2017)

Some of my scorpions just sit around and dont even get bothered by my presence. However some like my Franzwerneri go straight into stinging position when i walk by them. My community tank of arizona barks are pretty active but i've never seen them defense posture at me. They are all interesting little creatures!

Reactions: Like 1


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## darkness975 (Jun 10, 2017)

Tleilaxu said:


> And finally my Deathstalker would trip over it's own feet trying to get into a defensive posture at the slightest disturbance.


That happens with some of my Scorps too.  It is like they cannot possibly stretch that telson of theirs any higher and they get unstable and start wobbling.  
Kind of similar to _P. murinus _when they get super annoyed (not hard to do) and get so worked up in their threat posture that they actually fall backwards.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Scorpusvonpork (Jun 11, 2017)

If they are observed closely enough over a long period of time it becomes evident they are individuals at some level. What mental abilities they may have are seemingly capable of developing along different lines from their tank mates. One thing I have noticed is how reactive scorpions are to being fooled with. They very much have their own ideas about personal space and handling they deem out of bounds. Tarantulas in my opinion , and I have kept many of them, seem more on the programmed end of things whereas the scorpions are just more in the moment and highly unpredictable.


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## Connerl8k (Jun 11, 2017)

Scorpusvonpork said:


> If they are observed closely enough over a long period of time it becomes evident they are individuals at some level. What mental abilities they may have are seemingly capable of developing along different lines from their tank mates. One thing I have noticed is how reactive scorpions are to being fooled with. They very much have their own ideas about personal space and handling they deem out of bounds. Tarantulas in my opinion , and I have kept many of them, seem more on the programmed end of things whereas the scorpions are just more in the moment and highly unpredictable.


 precisely how I feel, I feel it is less about life experience and more about there personality because as far as concerned blackie hasn't had any negative experiences with people his
Never been harmed he has all his legs and everything and simply doesn't trust or like anyone to get too close.


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## Stugy (Jun 11, 2017)

Just going to make an example by using my 3 Grosphus grandidieri. They are all still rather young but they show personality very well. Gonna call them by GG1 GG2 and GG3 for now until I can think of names for them. GG1 is extremely skittish while GG3 attacks almost anything that moves. GG2 is very active but she is the more unpredictable of the 3 as she'll either run or defend herself unlike the other two who have only 1 mode.


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## Connerl8k (Jun 11, 2017)

My chap is more like CG3 as in depending on how his feeling he will either become defensive and angry or run away straight to his burrow and hide for the next several hours!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Cheyenne Exotics (Jul 13, 2017)

I have my own adult Bark scorpion and she is docile as can be, but every single one i have found is extremely docile. Is this normal behavior for them?


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## Extensionofgreen (Jul 14, 2017)

I feel as though scorpions certainly don't plan ahead, don't have long memories, don't have complex communication methods or social hierarchies, and aren't always even that great at recognizing food.
On the other hand, I think the mating routine is pretty fantastic and elaborate, and while it may be instinct-driven, it is still a marvel of nature. I also not differences in temperament from individual to individual and species to species. I think other behaviors, such as choosing the same spot or showing a preference for different areas of the enclosure, prey, or substrates are instinct based and associated with their perceived needs.

I am happy with them being less intellectual beasts, as this makes keeping them in smaller enclosures possible and preventing escapes/stings, and other aspects of husbandry simpler.


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## Jason Brantley (Jul 14, 2017)

I just see them as neat little killing machines. More instinctive than intelligent. I hope they don't get so smart as to start f*ing with me, you know like hiding the remote or putting salt where the sugar should go so when I eat Crispix in the morning my cereals don't taste like salt. Or adding a sock to my laundry so they make me think that I'm always missing one but I'm not...

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 2


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## lizardminion (Jul 15, 2017)

Extensionofgreen said:


> I feel as though scorpions certainly don't plan ahead, don't have long memories, don't have complex communication methods or social hierarchies, and aren't always even that great at recognizing food.
> On the other hand, I think the mating routine is pretty fantastic and elaborate, and while it may be instinct-driven, it is still a marvel of nature.


Interesting feelings. Despite this, it's becoming more commonly known that there are some basic fundamentals in their behavior for certain things such as territorial nature, as well as becoming more familiar with members of the same family unit, particularly in the genus _Heterometrus_, (a genus I'm more familiar with) where siblings can coexist more peacefully as opposed to, say, two female strangers who were introduced to one another more randomly after being purchased from a pet shop when specifically asking for breeding pair.
Most of their interesting behaviors are displayed when it comes to a context of reproduction. As previously stated, females in the genus _Heterometrus_ are typically very territorial towards one another, and which I've seen first-hand when being given two female _H. petersii_ despite asking for a breeding pair, only to end up with the two fighting. (I now have a male after one of the females incidentally and unfortunately perished) However, females kept together from the same brood have been known to peacefully cohabitate with one another. In addition, it appears mothers in the genus _Heterometrus_ seem to recognize their young, as they feed and nurture them even beyond their second molt, notoriously catching prey items and eviscerating them into bite sized pieces appropriate for a scorpling. Perhaps other genuses may do this as well.
Other than that, scorpions only need to communicate with one another for the purposes of mating. Anyone ever having the good fortune of introducing male scorpion to a female can attest to their graceful, complex, and intriguing method of communicating towards the opposite sex (under peaceful conditions of course) as the males vibrates, the female wags her metasoma, and the two lock pedipalps and dance before eventual insemination. Beyond that, I'd theorize individual recognition between two cohabitating individuals likely arises from pheromone recognition.

On the topic of personalities, I'm under the theory, from what I know so far unprofessionally studying much of the animal kingdom for much of my entire cringey teenage life and into my 20th year on this planet, that two factors seem to influence as organism's personality. (provided said organism has a centralized nervous system) The first being genetic fundamentals, as genes provide the basis for the chemical compositions and structuring that make up all the organ systems, including the nervous systems. A simple mutation altering the appearance or lack thereof of one protein may entirely change or dismantle an animal's personality and behavior from it's basal form. Alternatively, it may do nothing at all. It simply depends on the compound in question.
The second factor that plays a role are environmental influences. Environmental cues can induce behaviors that relate to stress, or other adaptive mechanisms, including activity in neural pathways that relate to memory. (barring animals incapable of this sort of information retention) I will also include hormone activity under this category as it relates to the internal environment of the animal. Male and female animals are known to behave differently, obviously, and a female animal may or may not become more temperamental when gravid or in the presence of their young, whereas testosterone may make some animals (usually vertebrates but not always) either more competitively aggressive or, conversely, more placid in other situations. Environmental factors during embryonic and fetal development are the most important here as well, as the very basis and fundamentals of the neural network is formed during this time.
To put it short, genetics are the primary culprit here, with environmental factors also playing important roles, especially during embryonic development, and much of this flexibility bleeds into juvenile life stages in the case of many more complex vertebrates. Environmental factors also determine much of the behaviors expressed by an animal, with core personality probably influencing what kind of reaction said animal would make.
I'd reckon more basal animals such as most if not all invertebrates are mostly bound by their genetics in terms of personality and behavior as opposed to environmentally influenced memory, due to their simple limitations when it comes to memory retention. This does not mean, however, that an entire species can be expected to behave the same, as mutations occur randomly and can be quite often, and this can result in, say, one bark scorpion behaving with docility whereas another may be more easily agitated. When it comes to scorpions, there does appear to be very basic information retention as individuals may establish a territory that they become familiar with and will defend from other individuals. 

So, to sum up, I would say it appears that any animal with a centralized nervous system may have a genetically written personality basis that determines their limitations to be docile or temperamental. Scorpion behaviors in specific, do seem to have a basal information retention system when it comes to certain, specific things, such as individual recognition in social species. In addition, they seem to retain information in regards to their territory and as such probably some aspects of their surroundings, such as their preferred hiding spot or the like. I would not, however, suggest a scorpions may be expected to figure out metaphysics anytime soon, or which one would make a funnier presidential candidate. Regardless, enjoy your basal little primitive beasts for what they are, and what they've been for the past millions of years.


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## Connerl8k (Jul 23, 2017)

My afs blackies smart enough to know where the exit to his enclosure in...forever trying to find a way out of the lid


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## Connerl8k (Jul 23, 2017)

lizardminion said:


> Interesting feelings. Despite this, it's becoming more commonly known that there are some basic fundamentals in their behavior for certain things such as territorial nature, as well as becoming more familiar with members of the same family unit, particularly in the genus _Heterometrus_, (a genus I'm more familiar with) where siblings can coexist more peacefully as opposed to, say, two female strangers who were introduced to one another more randomly after being purchased from a pet shop when specifically asking for breeding pair.
> Most of their interesting behaviors are displayed when it comes to a context of reproduction. As previously stated, females in the genus _Heterometrus_ are typically very territorial towards one another, and which I've seen first-hand when being given two female _H. petersii_ despite asking for a breeding pair, only to end up with the two fighting. (I now have a male after one of the females incidentally and unfortunately perished) However, females kept together from the same brood have been known to peacefully cohabitate with one another. In addition, it appears mothers in the genus _Heterometrus_ seem to recognize their young, as they feed and nurture them even beyond their second molt, notoriously catching prey items and eviscerating them into bite sized pieces appropriate for a scorpling. Perhaps other genuses may do this as well.
> Other than that, scorpions only need to communicate with one another for the purposes of mating. Anyone ever having the good fortune of introducing male scorpion to a female can attest to their graceful, complex, and intriguing method of communicating towards the opposite sex (under peaceful conditions of course) as the males vibrates, the female wags her metasoma, and the two lock pedipalps and dance before eventual insemination. Beyond that, I'd theorize individual recognition between two cohabitating individuals likely arises from pheromone recognition.
> 
> ...


Thank you the very large and well informed reply i enjoyed reading it, my scorp fits your full analysis, I don't know if he recognises me and hates me or doesn't recognise me and Hates everyone (territorial?) he gets very wound up and aggressive when I lift the lid and rarely chooses to run to his hide


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## Extensionofgreen (Jul 26, 2017)

I think scorpions tolerating members of the same brood, yet reacting toward "strangers" of the same species can be attributed to differences in the smell of the stranger. The scorpion probably recognizes as a member of the same species, but knows it is not from the current colony. Outsiders are competition for resources and possible predators.
Male and female behaviors can also be explained by instinctual behavior. Females are either more aggressive or more secretive, when gravid or with young on the back. Males of some species likely fight for and defend territories, in some instances. Whatever the behavior, a detailed life history of the species, with a through study of its behaviors will likely explain the reason behind them and although the behaviors may be complex, they don't always require much thought.
I get a thrill out of watching scorpions hunt by following scent trials and chasing down prey. This requires responsiveness and decision making, but it's all still very basal and simple survival. 
Scorpions don't show a whole lot deviation from one another. Some of the same species may have examples that grow faster, eat more, are more ill tempered, or other differences from a counterpart showing the opposite attributes, but this is true in most animals and to some extent plants. There's isn't a whole lot individuality being presented amongst scorpions of the same species. To make the point more easily, if there was a colony of 10 or more of any species, aside from possible a few individuals, you'd be unlikely to tell them apart, given they were at the same stage in life.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Dovey (Feb 5, 2018)

Connerl8k said:


> I thought this was possible as mine seems to have a routine and placed he "prefers" sitting.
> 
> Although he often tries to
> Climb up towards the lid he doesn't ever learn that his attempts to escape are futile and that he cannot lift the lid. Which makes me think he is a little dim.


Or... He's exhibiting never give up and never give in spirit! I can't help but look at it through that lens. What does he have to do but try?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Dovey (Feb 5, 2018)

Cheyenne Exotics said:


> I have my own adult Bark scorpion and she is docile as can be, but every single one i have found is extremely docile. Is this normal behavior for them?


Yes and no. Bark scorpions are very secretive creatures, unlike the striped tails and desert hairies they overlap with here in Arizona. Both of those species are far more bold, though far less venomous. The AZ barks are definitely programmed to flee rather than fight as a first response. This is very unlike the spunky striped tail, who will totally charge you for daring to walk on his territory, i.e. the planet Earth. However, once a bark pulls the trigger, it's all over but the crying. Also, they can be unpredictable as to what they perceive to be a threat.

I have a marginally idiotic young friend who occasionally used to handle his AZ barks. One day his mother walked into his room and flipped on the ceiling fan. He spent the entire evening indisposed with ice on his wrist and in a great deal of pain (which lasted several days), heart palpitations, the works. He doesn't handle them anymore.  Extreme Caution if AZ species.


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## Tim Benzedrine (Feb 5, 2018)

The real question is...do they like tasty bass guitar licks?

Reactions: Like 1 | Love 1


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## Mjb30 (Feb 5, 2018)

Tim Benzedrine said:


> The real question is...do they like tasty bass guitar licks?


Only if they get a high five....

Reactions: Like 1


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## Dennis Nedry (Feb 5, 2018)

Tim Benzedrine said:


> The real question is...do they like tasty bass guitar licks?


*She's pickin up good vibrations, man*

Reactions: Like 1


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