# Spitting Scorpion



## Finntroll86 (Aug 23, 2009)

Hello all, I was looking around on the internet and came across what is called a Black Spitting Thick Tail Scorpion or _Parabuthus transvaalicus_. I was curious to know if anybody has kept these before and what their experience was with them? If so did they get to witness the venom being shot? THANKS!


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## Buthid (Aug 23, 2009)

Hi there,

I've got four sub adults here at the moment and really I've not had a ton of aggression from them or seen them spit/spray venom.

Its only if you really wind them up apparently..

Heres some pics of mine


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## Finntroll86 (Aug 23, 2009)

Oh sweet, yea i saw your post previously but i didn't put two and two together :wall: . So they haven't been handfuls then? do you think the spraying venom acts as a defense towards larger predators or do they use it when hunting? thanks for the response! :worship:


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## Buthid (Aug 23, 2009)

Finntroll86 said:


> Oh sweet, yea i saw your post previously but i didn't put two and two together :wall: . So they haven't been handfuls then? do you think the spraying venom acts as a defense towards larger predators or do they use it when hunting? thanks for the response! :worship:



No worries, these have been really easy so far to be honest.. They only do it rarely, so I guess its prob just a last defence if a large predator came along aye.

When I've fed mine they just sting their prey, didn't spray


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## Buthid (Aug 23, 2009)

New pics, if you wanna see


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## Bazzgazm (Aug 23, 2009)

Just understand it pumps alot of fairly potent venom into you.. Most healthy adults should be fine but there's always a chance of hypersensitivity.

beautiful species.. the first one i ever wanted.. but looks like i should probably start with something else..

other than that it seems an easy to keep species.


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## DireWolf0384 (Aug 24, 2009)

I may add that to my list of species to buy! Sweet Scorpion!


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## BIG D3Z (Aug 24, 2009)

i woudl recomend an emperor...they are a good beginner species


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## Buthid (Aug 24, 2009)

BIG D3Z said:


> i woudl recomend an emperor...they are a good beginner species



He didn't say he was a beginner.. he was just unsure about this species..


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## Finntroll86 (Aug 24, 2009)

BIG D3Z said:


> i woudl recomend an emperor...they are a good beginner species


Yea, I already own four emps, i was mainly curious about these kind. They look sweet and have an interesting background, thanks for the info Buthid!


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## Widowman10 (Aug 24, 2009)

mine is pretty highstrung. the higher the temps you keep them, the more active and aggressive they will be. when i cooled mine down, s/he was very laid back. 

and a few people on here have witnessed the 'spraying' of venom from the telson on these guys.


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## Vidaro (Aug 25, 2009)

someone posted a video of his squirting venom a couple of weeks ago but i dont remember who...

here you go http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=159137&highlight=squirt


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## Finntroll86 (Aug 25, 2009)

Vidaro said:


> someone posted a video of his squirting venom a couple of weeks ago but i dont remember who...
> 
> here you go http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=159137&highlight=squirt


Wow, thanks a lot! that's a nice sized scorp too, and a lot of venom being squirted, I just might think about procuring one.


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## whitewolf (Aug 25, 2009)

wow so ya really gotta tick them off pretty bad to make them squirt. Man I was a sissy for not getting one back when I had a chance. All well. Note to self later buy this.


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## DireWolf0384 (Aug 27, 2009)

But the idea is not to try to piss them off. Thats where bad things start happening. :?


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## rd_07 (Aug 28, 2009)

whew! from the vid even if its not lvl 5 i wouldnt dare picking it up
dang thats awesome and scary


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## johnharper (Aug 29, 2009)

Be very careful the schwartz in strong in them lol. One day I may get into hotter scorpions for not I will stick to my hairys and b. gigas. The envenomation factor is always in the back of mind. Although I kept a black widow when I was younger.

John


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## HTX-Skorpo (Dec 26, 2009)

I really want one but I cant seem to find any


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## Mack&Cass (Dec 26, 2009)

We recently got one in November. Honestly, it's the calmest thing. Not quite as calm as our H. spinifer, it stings its prey, however, our B. jacksoni is a million times crazier than the P. trans. Great species.

Cassandra


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## pandinus (Dec 26, 2009)

cool guys. i have a very small matured male that is about 2.5", but in some rare cases these can get close to almost 5", as they are one of the largest species of their family, although if i'm not mistaken the current holder of that title is Parabuthus villosus, although the two do often compete for the rank, both species are capable of an impressive spay of the venom, though i have never seen my specimen do more than occasionally fling a small amount from its tail rather than a forced spray. i have heard that this is a much more commonly encountered trait in freshly caught specimens from the wild as opposed to captive bred specimens which would make perfect sense to me as a captive raised scorpion would probably be more accustomed to a certain amount of interference due to husbandry etc, whereas a wild scorpion would be more inclined to deal with the situation as a matter of life or death as opposed to a possibly dangerous irritation. Keep in mind that venom is very expensive for the scorpion to manufacture so spraying it in such a way would be a very costly maneuver the scorpion would want to avoid if at all possible.




John


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